AKA’S change of tune

AKA is standing behind the seated conductor. The orchestra sits in a semi-circle, facing the artist and almost enveloping him. AKA’S band is behind him, and the visual metaphor is not lost on me.

Tomorrow, AKA is taking a decade’s worth of his music to Pretoria’s Sun Arena inside Time Square, to perform it with a 30-piece orchestra.

When they cue in Sweet Fire and the violins add an ethereal layer to it, AKA is all smiles.

During his rehearsal break, AKA was asked if he was worried the orchestra would take the soul out of his songs.

The short answer? He’s not worried at all. It shows in how he glides through rehearsal.

How did he decide he wanted to bring in an orchestra for this once-off performance?

“The idea came to me as a proposition by the guys who are putting the show together – Vertex and Mahog, my friend. They sat me down and said: ‘this is what we want to do. Are you interested?’ And I said: ‘hell yeah!’”

“I think it’s important that we try to give our fans different experiences. There are big artists who’ve done orchestral shows – Jay Z did one.”

■ Catch AKA’S Orchestra on the Square at the Sun Arena inside Time Square in Pretoria tomorrow. Tickets are at Computicket