Sebenza
by L.V.
  • Record Label: Hyperdub
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2012
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. BBC Music
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    Substance is favoured over production sheen throughout the album, with every element of each track having a definite function and no sonic fat or filler allowed.
  2. Beats Per Minute
    Sep 25, 2012
    82
    The results are fun as hell, yet it's hard not to feel like LV have accomplished something with some legs on it.
  3. CMJ
    Sep 20, 2012
    70
    LV's skill and savvy when it comes to crafting spotlight-gobbling beats presents the biggest drawback for the album in that it's disappointing that there's not one instrumental number on Sebenza.
  5. Fact Magazine (UK)
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    Sebenza demonstrates yet again that LV are an act as admirable as they are on, on their day, masterful.
  6. Mixmag
    Oct 16, 2012
    80
    Sebenza ranges and explores, opening sonic doors that deserve more regular use.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    There really ain't anyone bringing the world party quite like LV.
  8. NOW Magazine
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    There's an underlying complexity here, but ultimately these are bare, potent rhythms created to, in global parlance, make you "werq."
  9. Pitchfork
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    The tracks feel like true collaborations rather than features. The energy exchange feels mutual. Sebenza feels like the future, now.
  10. Resident Advisor
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    Sebenza sounds like nothing else out there and yet LV's knack for genre-mincing produces an album that sounds both timeless and completely of its time, crossing musical and political borders with confident finesse.
  11. Slant Magazine
    Sep 20, 2012
    90
    The expertly produced Sebenza creates a flowing, carnival atmosphere packed with ideas and stripped of the pomposity often associated with world music.
  12. Spin
    Sep 20, 2012
    80
    Sebenza, though, is less a showcase for younger SA talent than a genuine international collaboration of equals.
  13. The Wire
    Oct 3, 2012
    80
    LV's South African explorations sound fresh in the current vogue for Footwork and trap rap references. [Sep 2012, p.73]
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  14. XLR8r
    Sep 20, 2012
    70
    While it presents many tracks worth praise, it lacks the masterful touch that made Routes such an instant standout.

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best Album of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. analogbrat
    Jul 7, 2013
    9
    Part of the exciting boundary-melting that today's technology makes effortless, and building on their 2011 collaboration with beat poet JoshuaPart of the exciting boundary-melting that today's technology makes effortless, and building on their 2011 collaboration with beat poet Joshua Idehen (Routes), the London-based production team returns to Hyperdub with South African vocalists Okmalumkoolkat (whose previous collaboration for the label, "Boomslang," was a huge success), Spoek Mathambo and duo Ruffest for an album of irrepressibly manic UK funky and kwaito energy. The productions match the mood of the vocalists: dark and murky for Mathambo, cheeky and wild for Ruffest, and all over the map for primary vocalist Okmalumkoolkat this is party music with a killer global flavor, unafraid of limitations or of destroying your subwoofer.… Full Review »
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