Thandiswa Mazwai performing at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan, November 14th 2024, presented by the World Music Institute

It’s not often we get to see Thandiswa Mazwai here, in New York, so it was a treat to hear her new music in the intimate setting of Le Poisson Rouge. Thandiswa first came to our attention as lead singer in the kwaito group Bongo Maffin, While she performed at Afropunk in New York in 2019, Carnegie City wide festival 2019 and African festival in 2022, her set at globalFEST earlier this year was the first time we heard her since she released ‘Zabalaza’ in 2006.

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The music was drawn from largely from her latest release, "Sankofa", an album of 11 songs released in May, it is a project launched post Covid that recognizes her mentors and Xhosa roots.

Thandiswa was exposed to a wide swath of music growing up in multicultural Soweto. Some time ago  she had the opportunity to dig into  the archives of ILAM  (International Library of African Music). Reflecting during Covid, it finally made sense to her  what she was going to do with it. Thandiswa starting calling friends to work on some ideas in October of 2021, She drew on her cultural history, focusing on the Xhosa music she found in the archives.

“In 2022 while working on the new album ‘Sankofa’ (Twi word meaning going back in order to go forward) Thandiswa spoke with journalists Mnisi Wemvula and DJ Sbu of House of Sankofa saying: "I am inserting the information into the new music, using that as the bed that everything is being put on, I am excited about it.  I brought on Meshell Ndegéocello as a producer on three to four songs.  I really want to find joy again in this work even though there are some sad songs, I began with sad songs.

Continuing, Thandiswa said “Sankofa” was chosen as the title "because of the excavation, and on a personal note a way go back and fetch what has been lost,  all the losses, Hugh Masakela, Mam Busi Mhlongo, and all the losses during Covid, go back and collect the things we lost and build a new garden, its newness, its vitality.  when you go back you pick up a seed and the sed has vitality, it grows it creates more and more life."

In keeping with the spirit of the album, Thandiswa sang almost entirely in Xhosa, to the delight of many ex-pats in the audience. The singer was bathed in monochromatic light, blue or magenta. Her band, Lungile Maduna - Drums, Tendai Shoko - Bass, Sunnyboy Mthimunye - Guitar, and Sanele Phakathi - Keys were silhouetted in front of historical images (from the era she drew on to create the music) flashing on a large screen behind her.

For the World Music Institute Plus At Home series, Thandiswa talked with Farima Kone Kito. Farima. a Burkinabe writer, researcher, and cultural producer, is currently based in New York City. Thandiswa told her about her latest album “Sankofa” (a Ghanaian word meaning ‘to go back and fetch what has been left behind’).