- 2022-12-09
-
MUSIC
-
Msaki & Tubatsi Mpho Moloi Team Up for New Song “Subaleka”
South African singer-songwriter Asanda Lusaseni Mvana, aka Msaki and Johannesburg-based singer-songwriter Tubatsi Mpho Moloi teamed up to release a new song “Subaleka” via Nø Førmat! records.
This time, they formed their new project "Msaki x Tubatsi" and will release their upcoming debut album “Synthetic Hearts” on March 10, 2023.
The song is the first single off of their debut album. Also, French cellist Clément Petit joined in the song.
“Subaleka” is an invitation to the listener and lover, a playful welcome and journey into the shared world of Synthetic Hearts. Here the contradictions of love are laid out in a sound that's both light and loaded, as Tubatsi Mpho Moloi and Msaki's vocals float over Clémént Petit's rhythmic cello riff. With imagery of a raven, mention of a dirge, it's a reminder that the element of danger is always nearby when risking your heart – and yet we do it anyway, for its abundant rewards.- The accompanying music video was directed by South African director Sanaa.
Tubatsi Mpho Moloi said of the video, “I tried to show an honest description of South Africa through a chant that adopts the spirit of closure. This film has recurring themes of love, passion, freedom and travel. Using my iPhone to capture this gave me access to be a fly on the wall, to capture honest moments without any intimidation. This art piece also focuses on representing different spheres in our country, and is inclusive of the sentiment of Love & Comfort.” -
The debut album comprises 9-track and began with ideas from Petit's archives, with Msaki and Moloi selecting the songs that resonated, to forge something new together over a week-long residency at Nirox Sculpture Park (just outside Johannesburg) in April 2021.
Created in an organic and unprescribed process, the music naturally moved towards explorations of love's knotty realities, in what they describe as a productive and unlaboured creative process. Recorded at Jazzworx, Johannesburg and co-produced by Petit and Frédéric Soulard, it's a body of work that intentionally reveals the inescapable brokenness at the heart of what it means to be human, and the inescapable risk of what it means to love.
The album “speaks about having an equal responsibility to look after each other” and questions how “we express feelings of love towards each one another”, Tubatsi Mpho Moloi explained.
Photo by Kgomotso Neto - source : Apple Music
