Wandile Mbambeni Teams Up With Shekhinah On His Brand New Single ‘Wanted & Loved’
Local rising star, Wandile Mbambeni has teamed up with Shekhinah on his latest single ‘Wanted & Loved’, which is released today and taken from his debut album ‘Kwakumnandi’.
Have a listen to the single here: http://africori.to/wantedandloved
Fresh off his national support tour with international Soul Singer TAMIA, Wandile celebrates a great start to 2019 with the release of his duet with Shekhinah on ‘Wanted & Loved’, which also has the “Le Prezident” remix of the single released today.
‘Wanted & Loved’ sees two of SA’s top soulful voices collaborate on a single that celebrates both their talents in one incredible track.
Wandile absolutely adored working with Shekhinah, saying “It was an amazing experience working with Shekhinah, I’ll cherish that moment forever. I would do it again and again, it was effortless, it was beautiful.”
The theme for ‘Wanted & Loved’ was inspired by the need for individuals to know whether they are wanted and loved by others. Whether they are someone’s dream and need. The relevance of the song is that curiosity.
“I’m very excited about this duet, this collaboration and the remix. I would like to thank everyone for the support they have shown for the song, I’m very excited for this next journey with my supporters. Let’s Go! Kwakumnandi to the world,”exclaims an ecstatic Wandile.
‘Wandile Mbambeni – Wanted & Loved (feat. Shekhinah)’ is out now across all digital platforms – http://africori.to/wantedandloved
About Wandile’s debut album ‘Kwakumnandi’:
Watch the music video for the single ‘Kwakumnandi’: https://youtu.be/PezfL34-YTw
Asking Wandile what the inspiration is behind the title ‘Kwakumnandi’, he explains, “I was sitting in my studio apartment and homesickness struck, I was missing being under one roof with the whole family. We went through a divorce and it was never the same, but instead of reflecting on the bad past, I chose to reflect on the times that was absolutely nice and lovely to me. ‘Kwakumnandi’ in isiXhosa is translated ‘it was nice/it was a lovely time’ used when referring to past happy times. I sing in the chorus ‘Kwakumnandi back then…’”
‘Kwakumnandi’ is an impressive debut album release from Wandile, and with so many tracks on it to be proud of, which is Wandile’s favourite song’?“My favourite songs in the album change every time, today it’s ‘Kwakumnandi’! In this album I got to work with people who are extremely talented, and the bonus is they believed in me. Congratulations to Shekhinah and Bongeziwe Mabandla for the SAMA Awards, they both contributed (collaborations) to my album and I’m ever so grateful. I also worked with LasNumber on a song we wrote in 2015, I’m so excited about this record.”
‘Kwakumnandi’ was recorded at Jazzworx studio, produced & engineered by Greg Nottingham, and had Robin Kohl add his world class touch to the mixing and mastering of the album.
As a final thought to let fans know why this record is so special, Wandile concludes“This album is about Nostalgia, reflecting on the good times. No matter what we can always say ‘Kwakumnandi’, everyone can say ‘Kwakumnandi’ and reflect :). We are not saying we do not love the present we are living in right now, we enjoy the present so we can reflect and say ‘Kwakumnandi’.”
Wandile Mbambeni’s debut album ‘Kwakumnandi’ is out now across all digital platforms – http://smarturl.it/WM_Kwakumnandi
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About Wandile Mbambeni
Wandile Mbambeni was born and raised in the Eastern Cape – a region known as a hotbed for African talent as it’s the birthplace of many icons, including the late Nelson Mandela. Surprisingly, music was not Wandile Mbambeni’s first love. Coming from a sports-focused family, he initially pursued a career in professional rugby. Featuring at scrumhalf, he enjoyed success during the early stages of his rugby career, winning domestic competitions with Border U19s and the Eastern Province Kings U21s.
However, Wandile decided for a complete career switch song is the beginning of big things for this young man. This has seen the highly-acclaimed soul musician become high in demand.
“It was really difficult in the beginning, but I was very encouraged as more and more people started following my music. A big reason for the positive reaction is because I make a big effort to make timeless music. The greats of the music world are legends because their work is able to trend in every generation. I create my music with the same intention. Every song I’ve created tells a small part of my life story,” he says. “Looking back from where my journey started, I can proudly say that all the hard work was worth it… and now I hope to tell the Wandile Mbambeni story around the world.”
“I always enjoyed singing and received my first guitar when I was 16. I taught myself how to play it and started discovering my own sound. Music was always a hobby since then, but I was always encouraged to take it further whenever I played for friends and family,” says Wandile. “Music sparked this fire in my heart, which was something rugby didn’t do for me. So in 2014, I told my parents that i was quitting sport to pursue my passion. Later that year, I was lucky enough to tour Germany. Then in 2015, I packed up my things and left for Cape Town, where I was hoping to make a name for myself.”
While it was a bold life-changing move, the initial stages of Wandile’s musical journey wasn’t easy as he found himself backpacking from friend to friend, sleeping on couches as searched for opportunities on the Cape Town music scene. However, it didn’t take too long before he found his way.
Over the past two years, the 24-year-old has played at some of the biggest music festivals in South Africa, including Rocking the Daisies and the Richmond Hill Music Festival. A big accolade was being voted as one of the top 20 performances at last year’s Rocking the Daisies event, which included over 270 acts.
He has also released three EPs, including ‘Maturation’ which as dropped in May 2017. Famous music blog Texx in the City also rated ‘Lovers Like You’ single as one of the top 20 South African songs of 2016, describing the hit as “…a textbook case of finding beauty in the simplicity of the quieter moments.”
