New songs speak out on nation in trauma

Msaki to deliver latest songs with other stars at Arts Theatre

FROM receiving her first nod at the South African Music Awards to taking to big stages around the continent, East London singer Msaki is determined to grow her brand at her own pace. The Imfama Ziyabona hitmaker has for the past few months been living between East London and Johannesburg while she grows her brand. This weekend, she is putting together a live music show at the Arts Theatre in Arcadia, which will see Samthing Soweto and Vinny Mak performing. Speaking with the Daily Dispatch this week, Msaki said she was busy working on a new project, titled Platinumb Heart, which she first tested out at the National Arts Festival this year. “The plan now is play it and get to know the work to out loud in front of people. I want to practise performing it and watch it change,” she said, adding that she was not in a hurry to record it. “I want it to mature first. Also, I can’t record it yet because it is still writing itself. “I am still writing, adding ideas and coming up with songs around the same theme. The country is giving me new songs,” she said. Unlike her first album, Msaki said Platinumb Heart was an “outside-looking-in” album. “Zaneliza was an [inside-] looking-out album, it was very contemplated, meditated and personal.” She said on Zaneliza she was dealing with personal issues in a poetic manner. In the new album she is a “little bit angrier and songs are a bit more direct”, she said. Msaki said the album was driven by the country’s current state, from women abuse to the lack of care for communities shown by political leaders. She said it was almost as though the country challenges one to shut down in order to cope with all the trauma that is happening. “On this album I am offering my own coping mechanisms. I am offering my own way of feeling sane in a space that could potentially make a person with a heart that works insane,” she said. Msaki said she would still perform songs from her first album. “I’ve been to Swaziland and Lesotho, and I went to play in Madagascar for the prime minister with other South African musicians. That was a highlight, being in Madagascar for the Nelson Mandela Day celebrations. “It was great, I got to see that music translates in different spaces,” she said. The mother of two said she was enjoying the pace of her growth in the music industry. “It’s not overwhelming. People are discovering me in small batches. The people that catch onto my music have a deeper connection to it and that’s what I’ve always wanted.” Msaki said being nominated earlier this year for the Sama best adult contemporary album had been hugely encouraging. “It showed me that live music was being valued.” She was nominated alongside Elvis Blue, Majozi, Mango Groove and the legendary Hugh Masekela, who won the award. Catch Msaki this Sunday at the Arts Theatre. Tickets for the show cost R150 and are available at Musica. The show starts at 5pm. —