Terri Dunbar-Curran
JAZZ singer Nono Nkoane’s debut album, True Call, will be available mid-September, but if her fans can’t wait that long, they’ll find it on iTunes. The 10-track live album is mainly jazz-based, “but it also has a few African elements to it”, she says, adding that it features Xhosa rhythms and lyrics. It includes songs like Baleka, Ndalila, My Journey, Voice from the Past and Meditative State.
Nkoane writes her own music and delights in exploring sounds and feelings as part of her process.
“I love to experiment within the jazz genre. I’m not completely boxed up, but I’m drawn towards that sound and anything that is somehow close to it and linked to it,” she says, adding that that openness leads to her collaborating with a variety of other artists. “I like to look into other people’s worlds. I just love music so much. I just want to be a part of it.”
True Call is essentially about “seeking” she says. “Human beings are always seeking an understanding of why we are here and what our purpose is. And it explores what happens after. I speak about good things happening in the world and also about injustice. It’s very introspective music.”
But there are also fun elements to the album.
“There are some melodies that can’t help but make you smile,” says Nkoane.
One of those melodies can be found in the single Baleka, which has been out for a little over a month and has been receiving extensive radio airplay on local stations.
“It’s a fun song, it’s not as intense as some of the others,” she says.
It’s a Xhosa song in which she highlights the various click sounds in the language.
“I deliberately put in close proximity words that have very obvious clicks,” explains Nkoane.
The track is also being used as the title track for Long Story Short– an online platform where celebrities read excepts of African literature. The idea is to encourage people to listen, download and ultimately be motivated to by the books featured.
“People can be quite lazy when it comes to reading. And I’m very honoured for my music to be used for something like this.”
One of the South African musicians she looks up to is Themba Mkhize.
“Before this album was released I sent a link to him to have a listen and tell me what he thought and give me some input. He described it as ‘a breath of fresh air’,” Nkoane says, adding that he also remarked on the “beautiful element of storytelling”, calling it work that is “very brave”. “That was very humbling,” she says.
As a young artist, the input of experienced musicians is invaluable, and one of her mentors over the years has been Dizu Plaatjies.
“That goes back to when I was about 11,” she says. “I idolised him. He taught me all about African music and instruments. I shadowed him in matric, and we worked for years together. We have a very strong relationship that goes way back. I still consider him a mentor. I even went to him soon after I recorded this album, for advice. He’s that kind of person. If you need something he’s always willing to share what he has.”
Besides marketing True Call, Nkoane has also been selected to perform with Jimmy Dludlu at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival in Joburg from September 24 to 26.
“I got an e-mail from his management. They’ve been following what I’ve been doing and asked if I would like to collaborate with him at Joy of Jazz. I come as a representative of South Africa. With what has been happening with the xenophobic attacks, it was a great way of uniting the people of Africa,” she says.
Nkoane will perform two songs, one of her own and one of Dludlu’s. And there is also the possibility of that whole ensemble going on tour to elsewhere on the continent.
She hasn’t met face-to-face with the others artists who will be joining them on stage yet, but she has only heard good things about their musical skill, and is looking forward to rehearsing with them when they finally come together next month.
She also promises fans that she will embark on a national tour as soon as her busy schedule allows.
Her plan is to visit Cape Town, Durban, Joburg and the Eastern Cape.
She is also currently seriously considering releasing a deluxe version of True Call, rearranging the same music with a string quartet.
“I want a more mature and sophisticated sound, more technical. I’ve studied jazz and there are big elements of jazz in there, but it’s more laid back,” she says.
“The deluxe edition would be a little more technical. Something the jazz community will appreciate. Or people who simply appreciate good music. It’s very exciting.”
l Follow @NonoNkoane on Twitter, 071 545 6587.