Producer of Southern African Music

In 1990, due to his knowledge of African music, Robin Hogarth began representing one of the largest catalogues of Southern African traditional music in the world.

This has involved acquiring an in-depth knowledge of this music, and the production of the necessary research material. From there, he began producing albums of traditional Southern African music.

'I first became interested in this area while recording a cross-section of South African Music for film and television some years ago.'

''When going into the meaning of some the songs, it became very clear that there was a wealth of culture and unique musical styles which had hardly been tapped as far as the Western world was concerned.'

'I began exploring the musical elements of these cultures and the diverse music forms they had to offer.

'So many of these wonderful cultures are rapidly disappearing and seem to have been largely ignored or shunned by the West in earlier times, despite their very spiritual nature, and the tremendously positive lessons that can be learned from them.'

The Children of Agape

Robin with the Agape Children's Choir

In 2007, Robin was invited to become involved in recordings linked to a feature documentary called "WE ARE TOGETHER (Thina Simunye)", which tells the story of a group of children from the Agape orphanage in Waterfall, near Durban, South Africa. The children formed a choir and have outstanding talent. The film has picked up much acclaim worldwide including winning both the Special Jury Prize and Audience Award at the TRIBECA film festival in New York.

Robin with Thina Exec Producer, Paul Taylor and Ladysmith Black Mambazo

The film follows the children of Agape and their musical journey over a period of 3 years. After a series of tragic events, the children end up travelling to New York and performing on stage with Alicia Keys and Paul Simon in a concert to raise funds for their orphanage. The film has been picked up by HBO Television (US) and Channel 4 in the UK.

In the film, the children record a CD album, and Robin was asked in 2007 to produce a brand new soundtrack album that will accompany the film. The album also features the orphanage choir performing with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Soweto Gospel Choir, as well as the live performance introduced by Alicia Keys, and featuring Paul Simon.

All of the profits from both the film and the CD are donated to  charities to help children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

The album was mixed at British Grove (Mark Knoplers studio) by veteran engineer Mick Glossup (Van Morrison, etc.), and mastered at Abbey Road in London. The soundtrack was released by EMI in the UK in 2008. All involved have donated their services as regards the album due to its charitable nature.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN RELEASES PRODUCED/COMPILED BY ROBIN HOGARTH

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