Qkumba Zoo is a dance music trio from Johannesburg, South Africa, consisting of vocalist Levannah, dancer/sculptor Tziki and musician/producer Owl. The band was originally formed by Owl and Levannah as a duo called "Ocean Road". BIG
Qkumba Zoo's first release was titled BIG, and released in South Africa on Gresham Records. At the time, the band's name was spelled Qcumba Zoo, and even Tziki's name was the elongated Tsatsiki. The booklet contained a very colorful, busy design, featuring original artwork from Tziki, and pictures from Qcumba's stage shows. The title track on BIG has slightly different music and vocals from its subsequent release on Wake Up & Dream, and "The Child (Inside)" has a fading outro.
Track Listing
- Rain (3:58)
- Happy Earthday (3:42)
- The Child (Inside) (3:27)
- Cloud Eyes (I'm Scared, You're Scared) (4:28)
- Flesh & Blood (4:04)
- Big (3:48)
- Into The Night (5:04)
- Mermaids (4:45)
- Time of Wonder (5:18)
- Big - Mothership (4:15) Wake Up & Dream
Qkumba Zoo's international debut, Wake Up & Dream, was released on Arista Records in 1996. As Levannah said, "We wanted to form something that could be part of the global village. And, at the same time, have it be tied to its birthplace." This is apparent with Owl's fusion of tribal & synth, backed by Levannah's trilling vocals.
Track Listing
- Rain (3:45)
- The Child (Inside) (3:58)
- Cloud Eyes (I'm Scared, You're Scared) (4:32)
- Flesh & Blood (4:03)
- Big (3:48)
- Into The Night (5:04)
- Weeping (5:06)
- Mermaids (4:46)
- Happy Earthday (3:42)
- Time of Wonder (5:14)
- Big Mothership (4:04)
Their first single, "The Child (Inside)," produced by the Berman Brothers, hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1996 and #69 on the Hot 100. It peaked on the Radio & Records contemporary hit radio charts at #34 on 10/18/96. The 1996 Arista maxi-single of "The Child (Inside)" featured a mix by DJ Junior Vasquez that became the standard for the song in American clubs. Vasquez followed up with a version of "Cloud Eyes (I'm Scared You're Scared)" that was played regularly at the Arena party at New York's Palladium night club on Saturday nights. (More recently, for his October 2008 Halloween party, Vasquez played a mashup of his Piano Dub of "The Child (Inside)" and Shannon's "Let the Music Play" done by Swiss DJ/Producer Nick Harvey.) In recent years, the original mix of "The Child (Inside)" has been used in several US television commercials, the most popular being from Seaworld amusement parks and Carnival Cruise Lines.
The track Weeping was added to this release, the a cover of an anti-apartheid song by Bright Blue, another South African band. Bonus tracks are also provided on this album, including a musical remix of "Mermaids" and two stories/poems narrated by Levannah. Butterfly Peepl
Several years after the release of the debut album, band member Tziki committed suicide. This was one of the catalysts that changed Owl and Levannah, which can be heard in the music of their second album, Butterfly Peepl, released in 2000. In addition to the album's release, the band's name was officially shortened from Qkumba Zoo to QZoo. The group also left Arista Records in favor of their own independent label, Zoocumba Music. The unfortunate part of the Butterfly Peepl release is that it hardly gained attention, and even slipped through the hands of many QZoo fans, only having been for sale for a short time on QZoo's official site.
Track Listing
- Beautiful (4:28)
- Torn Between You and the Sky (7:01)
- Invisible (3:55)
- Slap Bang (4:00)
- Virgin (4:28)
- Wonder Woman (4:54)
- DNA (4:51)
- Butterfly People (4:03)
- Let the Light In (4:50)
- Words (6:41)
- In The Moon (2:57)
The album, simply put, is all about "becoming a butterfly" - going through the cocoon and emerging as something better and new. Butterfly Peepl shows a deeper side of QZoo, diving into emotional tracks like "Torn Between You and the Sky" and "Let the Light In". However, the band still retains its initial upbeat nature in songs like "Invisible" and "DNA". Bonus tracks are also included on this album, such as a musical track with middle eastern flare that is accompanied by Levannah's "world language." The CD is also enhanced, and when played on the computer, shows a short slideshow/video promoting the album and website.
