Makhathini Explains The Inspiration Behind His Album ‘Ikhambi’
Makhathini speaks of his controversial music proudly inspired by culture and societal norms
Makhathini Explains The Inspiration Behind His Album ‘Ikhambi’. Jazz star Nduduzo Makhathini has taken a chance to explain how he makes such beautiful and unique music.
The musician stated his secret into creating such breathtaking music and said it was none other than an inspiration he finds from African Culture and Mythologies. His album Ikhambi which released last year in September has all the ingredients he aims to offer which include culture, tradition and christianity.
Each song in the album is well made, one can tell from the titles of the songs that there’s lesson to be learned. Makhathini’s music is powerful enough to give the mind something rarely spoken of to think about and that’s a powerful tool to use as a musician.
“My music focuses on imagination around our culture, and crystallises the African methodology. I have realised that there is nothing wrong about our ways of doing things,” he said.
He added that with his music he tries to reach beyond normality.
“Through music I try to look beyond what is presented to us by the West and what is presented by the colonial period and try to create new definitions of what democracy means to us.”
He said he became fascinated with the word “umthakathi” (the witch) because it denotes a powerful being in the spiritual realm.
“When we were growing up, we heard about umthakathi, but we have never seen that human being with our naked eyes. Though umthakathi has negative connotations, it is the highest being in the realm of spirituality though it happens in a negative way.”
He concluded by saying that one of the songs in the album Ithemba is a song for hope and peace dedicated to the students of 1976.
Click on the link provided below to download the Album :
https://itunes.apple.com/za/album/ikhambi/1285160305
