Listen to Thandiswa Mazwai's New Single "Kulungile" Featuring Nduduzo Makhathini

Legendary South African musician Thandiswa Mazwai has been up to a lot lately. She recently performed an acclaimed Tiny Desk Concert, where she reintroduced her glittering catalog to its audience of music lovers. That performance saw her give a passionate shout-out to her motherland, establishing the long relationship between her artistry and cultural forms.

After celebrating the 20th anniversary of her classic solo debut album, Zabalaza, earlier in the year, Mazwai has her mind set on the next. Her new album Sankofa is expected on May 10, but as with all things concerning her, there’s a mapped-out sequence for listeners to enjoy the work. One of those is today’s release, “Kulungile,” whose own brilliance suggests what to expect from that body of work.

“Kulungile” translates to “it is well” in isiXhosa and carries a serene atmosphere, realized by the soft drums and traditional instruments used in the production. Featuring the masterful Nduduzo Makhathini, it’s a showcase of the musical qualities Mazwai has demonstrated since the start of her solo career.

"'Kulungile' is the first single off my upcoming album Sankofa," Mazwai tells OkayAfrica. "It is a song about healing the childhood wounds that we carry with us into adulthood. These are things that often affect how we move in the world and how we see ourselves. I wanted to write a song that speaks directly to those wounds and healing them."

She continues, "the Xhosa umrhubhe mouth bow with whistling is the instrument you hear at the beginning of the song. It was sampled from field recordings of Xhosa music that we got from the International Library of African Music (I.L.A.M.), housed at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. These field recording really became the sonic bedrock of the entire album. And it was the framework that Meshell Ndengeocello and her stellar line-up of session musicians responded to in the New York sessions. Nduduzo Makhathini did the same as producer for some of the Joburg sessions and those we did in Dakar."

"Big shout out to Tendai Shoko, a young bass player from Zimbabwe, who did all the pre-production with me on the album," Mazwai adds. "It was those early writing sessions with him and our friend and hip-hop producer, Ph, that gave me the impetus to work on new music.:

About the forthcoming album, Mazwai says: “Sankofa in the Ghanaian language Twi means to go back and fetch what’s left behind — what is important, what honors you, and what needs healing."

To celebrate the release of the album, Mazwai will have a concert on the day after its release, May 11, at Carnival City, Johannesburg. You can find tickets here.

On her recent NPR Tiny Desk performance, Mazwai tells OkayAfrica, "I am really humbled by people's response to the Tiny Desk, especially South Africans. I have received messages from all over the world telling me how people feel about the sound and the general energy of our performance. I have been doing this for 30 years now and the love is still incredibly affirming. I am humbled by everyone’s kind words and I look forward to sharing more music with you."

Listen to the new single below and check out Mazwai's recent Tiny Desk performance underneath.