UKZN music alumnus and SA-based singer and songwriter NOSIHE Zulu has released an EP (extended play album) titled: Emotions Live EP which is available on iTunes and on www.nosihe.com
Recorded live at UKZN’s Centre for Jazz & Popular Music, NOSIHE explores through her vocals the emotions produced by experiences in life, love and relationships on the five-track EP accompanied by a concert video, recorded on the day the EP was made.
Backed by her band comprising bass guitarist Freeman Gumede, drummer Lesedi Tlholoe, pianist Sanele Phakathi and trumpet player Thabo Sikhakhane, NOSIHE delivers new yet nostalgic sounds that pay homage to the art of live music and African jazz at a time when technology continues to overwhelm raw authenticity often so evident in live music.
‘We’re in a world where everything is curated into a perfect and finished form,’ said NOSIHE. ‘I want to bring people along the messy road because that is life. At the moment, my music is not in any genre, so I want people to get an opportunity to listen to it unedited and grow with me as my sound evolves and grows too.’
Emotions is the official follow-up to her experimental, unplugged Motions Mixtape project released in 2020.
As a musician who finds herself at the intersection of soul, jazz, blues and even pop music, the Emotions Live EP represents a project and journey that allows NOSIHE to come into her own as an emerging African musician with global ambitions.
Creatively inspired by visual artist Dr Ester Mahlangu, who NOSIHE depicts beautifully on the album’s cover design, the project represents a moment in time when the singer lets go of stereotypes and limiting boxes and simply chooses to focus on making music for her audience and her peace of mind.
Musically, the EP draws from iconic live albums such as Letha Mbulu & Caiphus Semenya (Live), Mariam Makeba (Live at Bern’s Salonger, Stockholm, Sweden), Erykah Badu’s Live, and the classic Busi Mhlongo & Jabu Khanyile Live at the Market Theatre.
The full Emotions Live EP is available on iTunes or on www.nosihe.com, and the concert film is on sale and/or streaming through Apple Music.
