Afrotraction’s dedication pays off
AWARD-WINNING singer, songwriter and producer, Mzwandile Moya has just been given a SAMA nod for his latest album. Known as Afrotraction, the musician has been nominated in the Best Male category at this year’s South African Music Awards for Relationships, an album he released late last year.
“I am very excited: a nomination like this one says that I am among the best in the industry within that category. For me, even a nomination is recognition enough,” he says.
Having won a SAMA before and a Metro FM Music Award, Moya said he takes awards very seriously and does not discredit their importance. “My music career is a full time job, I don’t have a 9-to-5 job during the day and then focus on music in my spare time. I put my all into my music because it is my job. So when I am nominated or receive an award, it means a lot to me because this is my everything. I don’t think there is someone who does not like getting recognition for their work and its important to have that in place,” he says.
Speaking about the album he was nominated for, he says he started working on the album as soon as he was done with his previous body of work, Love and Respect. “Some of the songs on this album were actually left off my previous album. I am always writing music, for myself and for a lot of other artists and I don’t give myself a break. As soon as I am done with one album, I start with the next one. I got a head start with Relationships because I wrote so many songs for Love and Respect and I did not use all of them, and I knew that I had to use some of them for my new album,” says Moya.
Although he admits to never having a set vision for his albums, preferring themes to unfold organically, he says that things happened a bit differently with this album. “I never write more than one song with the same mindset, it is always different. However, I found that with this album, the theme from my previous album was about love and being in a relationship carried on to my new album,” he says.
Moya says he drew inspiration from the people around him. “I write a lot from what I see people going through. In fact, my friends know not to tell me too much about their love lives because I will turn it into a song, that’s what I do. I write from real situations, but I also believe that I don’t have to go through the situation myself to fully understand it.”
Wearing the hat of singer, songwriter and producer was not easy when he first started his career, but now he does it with ease. “It was hard at first, but now it isn’t at all. It’s a breeze and that is because I grew in my music and with growth has to come the ability to do your best at whatever it is your craft is,” he says.
Moya will start his country wide album tour in June, which kicks off at the Soweto Theatre. “A lot of the venues I am playing at will be theatres. I love theatres, I feel as if soul music belongs in theatres, which is why I am going that route,” he concludes.