Have you ever had one of those moments when, at the end of a film in the cinema as the end credits roll – nobody gets up? Everybody remains seated, not wanting to break the spell. I just had something similar, at the end of a piece of music. Not unlike like that momentary pause at the end of the performance, before the applause starts, and you’re quietly hoping nobody will be so crass as to actually start the clapping. The track was ‘Stimela’ from Hugh Masekela’s album Hope (Analogue Productions, SACD). It’s a track that captivated me the first time I heard it and, despite being a staple at hi-fi shows, despite the familiarity, despite the hundreds of times I’ve heard it on many, many different systems, I still love it. I’ve played it scores of times, over the years. And it just captivated me all over again. It’s the last track on the album and when it ended, I just sat there, savouring the experience.
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