AFS063
With a recording career already spanning nearly two decades, South African jazz musician Mpumi Dhlamini has developed a reputation as a singular talent in an illustrious field. A graduate of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir and the National School of the Arts, he plays 16 instruments and is an award-winning producer, composer and music director.
Besides his work producing prominent local artists and composing for TV, he has released four solo albums to date. His most recent, Nebula Nomad, follows his debut Combined Elements, released in 2008 when he was only 21, Note to Self (2018) and Imvuselelo (2022).
Recording Nebula Nomad was no simple matter. In 2024 Dhlamini fell ill and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a condition causing weakness or paralysis. He had to learn to walk and talk again. He later recalled in an interview: “I nearly died. I went through a lot. I couldn’t hear anything. I had to centre myself, figure myself out and start new hobbies, which was part of my mental health. I was at the precipice of not hearing any more. The majority of my senses were gone. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk. I had to teach myself how to walk again – and I did it on my own.”
Just as he had started to recover from the ordeal, his father passed away. After taking time out to heal and come to terms with the loss, Dhlamini emerged, somehow rejuvenated and inspired. “That moment in my life helped me a lot. It improved my playing in the weirdest of ways. It triggered something,” he says of that time.
Ready at last to record new music, he made Nebula Nomad in just a week and rushed to release it in September 2024, a triumphant end to a tumultuous year and a project, he says, “which had me fall in love with my music again”.
Dhlamini wrote all the songs, played most of the instruments himself and produced the album, even designing the artwork. “I do everything myself, not because I don’t trust anyone else but because I’m just more efficient in doing what I do.”
Forged from pain and loss, the 90-minute album explores themes of deep inner reflection and cosmic wonder, weaving together eclectic soundscapes in innovative compositions that challenge genre boundaries. It includes several reimagined versions of songs from earlier albums, two of which have been chosen for this three-track EP: ‘Sibusise Nkosi’ featuring Mzizi & Tendai ‘Shoxx’ Shoko and ‘The Higher Being’ featuring Zoe ‘The Seed’ Masuku (both originally from Imvuselelo). Also included on this sampler is ‘Culmination’ featuring Ayo Solanke & Sibusiso Nkosi, an original composition from the 2024 album.
These three tracks, pressed on vinyl for the first time, give listeners a brief introduction to a remarkable talent at the vanguard of South African spiritual jazz who has battled adversity and come out stronger, with something important to say.
“This album is an ode to the idea of being a nomad in the universe — constantly moving, searching and evolving,” adds Dhlamini. “It’s about the journey rather than the destination, and the limitless possibilities of sound and space.”
Written, performed, produced & mixed by Mpumi Dhlamini
Artwork: Mpumi Dhlamini
Design: Michael MacGarry
Mastered for vinyl by Wouter Brandenberg
Distributed by Rush Hour
© 2024 Mpumi Dhlamini/MoBlaq Productions
℗ 2026 Afrosynth Records
Pre-order AFS063 here.
No comments:
Post a Comment