Bongeziwe Mabandla has been featured in The Guardian, where the acclaimed South African singer-songwriter reflects on his creative journey, the themes behind his newly released album Ndingubani, and the experiences that have shaped his music.
The feature arrives shortly after the release of Ndingubani, Mabandla’s fifth studio album, which explores identity, healing, memory, and self-discovery through his distinctive blend of folk, soul, and African songwriting traditions.
Read an excerpt from the feature below:
He grew up in Tsolo, a rural town about two hours drive inland from the southeast coast of South Africa. The youngest of his siblings (and the only one at home as he grew older), Mabandla had a deep connection with his mother and his home, and recounts seeing the white house and its red roof appearing in the distance as he walked home from school. “Every time I draw a house, I can’t help but draw that house,” he says. On the cover of Ndingubani, Mabandla walks through a scrub field, carrying a painting he’d done of that same house. “It had a big stoop and a dramatic arch, great for performing and imagining I was in a concert,” he says serenely. “I’d sing for friends, for family. I would perform for the trees sometimes.” He’d obsessively listen to and memorise songs by everyone from Tracy Chapman to Whitney Houston to South African pop legend Brenda Fassie. While he never imagined growing that obsession into a career, he attended a boarding school for the arts and started exploring the opportunity, eventually releasing his debut album Umlilo in 2012.
Read more here.
