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The Background behind the name Khumalo is a brother and sister dynamic duo - Cecilia and Mike Haines Gärding. The name Khumalo comes from their South African roots. Their great grandmother was the daughter of a chief in the Khumalo clan of the Zulu nation. They grew up in Sweden with a dual ethnic identity a South African one and a Swedish one. They chose the name Khumalo to celebrate their mixed background. Khumalo signed their first record deal during the beginning of 1998. They had met Rob´n´Raz at a party in Umeå. Shortly after the cooperation began and two singles were released Lover Lover and Love is tha Reason. Both had good coverage on Ztv, Mtv Nordic Top 5 and on Swedish radio stations. Khumalo were part of the Rob ´n`Raz summer tour in 1999 covering the length and breadth of Sweden. During the summer of 2000 they embarked on tour of radio stations to promote the singles. Cooperation with Rob´n´Raz ended in 2001 as Khumalo decided to focus on Hip Hop, Soul and R´n´B.Khumalo have performed at different Festivals in Sweden such Piteå Dansar och Ler, Storsjöyran and the Malmö Festival and clubs such as Sturecompagniet and Stacys in Stockholm. They have been active in the Umeå music scene over the last 8 years playing in different nightclubs and events as well as at Digital Tone Festival concerts between 1998-03. They have also performed on several occasions at da Umeå Open Festival. During 2000/1 Khumalo attended a singer-songwriter course at Stockholms Conservatory of Music. Both Cecilia and Mike received awards from the Conservatory for their enthusiasm and music style. Khumalo did in produce 2003 Appaloosa Crescendo with 11 tracks. Appaloosa Crescendo took them all the way to the Seychelles and to the US. In April 2003 they performed at the Seychelles Art Festival under the theme Art for Peace. During the summer of 2005 they played in New York and Philadelphia as the first hip hop act from Umeå to perform in the US. The initial invitation was for a performance at the Swedish Midsummer celebrations in New York. They ended up giving 6 performances during a two week periodMusic Style Khumalos music style is a mixture of hip hop (with influences primarily from the East Coast)/r´n´b and funk/jazz hiphop. As both sing and rap they have been compared to groups like The Fugees or Black Eyed Peas with influences from bands like Outcast, and solo acts like Erykah Badu and Jay-z. Appaloosa Crescendo stands out in Umeås musical history as the first home produced record of its genre. It is also one of the few productions of its kind that has used live music featuring only musicians from Umeå and some of Swedens greatest performers as guest artists e.g. Daddy Boastin, (Teddybears, Latin Kings) ADL in Blacknuss and Andrez in former Navigators.)