Thandiswa Mazwai’s ‘A Letter to Azania’ comes to Cape Town

When one speaks of an artist of our times, Thandiswa Mazwai’s voice truly reflects what it means to be an artist of this era. Her work is a reference point and has deep resonance for many different generations in SA and beyond.

Mazwai’s music reflects different post-democratic perspectives, ranging from her early career as part of a generation of young people who pioneered kwaito as a genre, reflecting a new and hopeful moment in SA, to the deep disappointments and disillusions that have accompanied the realisation of democracy for many. This fragmentation is explored in her solo projects such as “Zabalaza” and “iBokwe”— “A Letter to Azania” could easily land in any moment in SA over the last 30.

Opening with a line from Che Guevara’s “the revolution is driven by great feelings of love,” “A Letter to Azania” invites us to think about the revolutionary role of love in reimagining the possibilities of where our future can take us. This show is Mazwai’s offering of hope, calling on us to remember that the greatest changes often begin with a single act of love.

Featuring a blend of poetry, music and dance, “A Letter to Azania” takes audiences on a journey through SA’s past and the possibilities that still exist for its future. The show also promises to be a celebration through themes of freedom and justice, woven together through music and poetry, creating a powerful and emotional experience for audiences.

Mazwai shares her thoughts on the show, music in current times and her upcoming album, Sankofa.

On conceptualising ‘A Letter to Azania’:

This is something I have been thinking about for a long time, this idea of a dream deferred or even one turned nightmare. Azania was a dream, a figment of our imagination born out of the desperation that comes from being oppressed. You begin to invent worlds where justice and love thrive. Thinking about Azania is giving wings to the idea that, still, we deserve better, far better than this dystopia created by greedy politicians.

On why ‘A Letter to Azania’ is relevant to the times:

The country has sunk into a dystopia. Everything is in discord and society is ravaged by violence and greed. I feel that in many ways we have lost our compass (politically, socially, morally). The greed and lawlessness exhibited by our leaders has shredded the very fabric of our society. This work seeks to celebrate our ancient history of empire while offering the sonic respite we need to be able to envision or invent a new world. 

On how music continues to play a role in reflecting and capturing the current social and political climate in the country:

Music, especially in our country, has always played an important role in reflecting to the world the sentiments of the oppressed. From the songs we sing when we toyi-toyi to the songs we play while we drown our collective sorrows. To be poor in this country is to suffer a lot and music still has a part to play in speaking truth to power and giving voice to the voiceless. Music also has the divine ability to heal people from the many afflictions that come from being alive. Music must give hope for newness and this is my works noblest intention.

On the nearing of the 20th anniversary of her first solo album, ‘Zabalaza’, and its lasting effect and timelessness:

I could never have anticipated that ‘Zabalaza’ would be that work endenza umntu in my community — that it would be my magnum opus. All my work is an attempt at holding on to memory and healing so at the time that I was working on this album I was grappling with these subjects. What is the importance of memory to an oppressed people whose history has been erased? How could my music reawaken the desire to know uba sizalwa ngo-obani? How could my music be an agent of healing? I was trying very much to mimic the heart of Miriam Makeba, who’s music always spoke truth to power and love to the people. What it is, is a canon. Where Mama Makeba or MamBusi end, I begin and where I end the new school begins but the song never ends. The song continues and the original melody remains. 

On recording her upcoming album ‘Sankofa’ in Dakar and the influence of Senegalese soundscapes and musicians:

I have been working on this album for almost a year now, with part of it being recorded in New York with a stellar band put together by Meshell Ndegeocello. The Dakar sessions ( produced with Nduduzo Makhathini) were something I had been contemplating for years; speaking to this idea of Sankofa, of going and fetching what has been lost or left behind.

I am a pan-African at heart and believe that all of Africa is home and that all the beauty of Africa is my legacy. I have always been in love with instruments like the ngoni and the kora and had originally hoped to record those in at Moffou, Salif Keira’s studio on Bamako. Dakar brought me close to these sounds and included guitars and that undeniable Senegalese drumming. The album also uses a great archive I was given by the international library of African music at Rhodes university, most of which was field recordings of Xhosa traditional instruments like umrhubhe, uhadi, istolotolo and umrhubhe nomlozi.

• Experience  “A Letter to Azania” by Thandiswa Mazwai at The Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, February 25