Six months ago, multi-award-winning trio Mi Casa almost disbanded. But they found a way to channel their discord into their music - and the result is their fourth studio album, entitled Familia.
The trio - trumpeter Mo-T, vocalist and songwriter J Something and beat-maker Dr Duda - were in Cape Town on Friday for the new album roll-out, following a launch in Johannesburg and a listening session in Pretoria.
A post shared by Mi Casa (@micasamusic) on Sep 3, 2017 at 4:04am PDT
They wowed the crowd with their hit singles These Streets, La Vida, Heavenly Sent, Bar Man. Fans also got a chance to hear singles from their latest offering.
“There was a lot of speculation that we were going to dissolve," J Something says.
That's not happening, Mo-T reaffirms. “We nearly broke up six months ago, but that story has resulted in the album we have now,” he says.
“We got to fight for what we love, which is music. We brought our differences on to one table and we spoke about it and the issue was resolved. We realised that the only way to continue to do this thing is just music,” Dr Duda says.
The meaning behind the title of the new album is "experiences families go through", they say.
Mi Casa entertained fans at Grand Africa for the WeAreFamilia Album Launch in Cape Town. Picture: Jason Boud
Mi Casa have kept to their aesthetic on the new album: soulful house music mixed with Latin, funk and jazz sounds.
“We love that we are a multi-cultural group, because it allows us to experience different things and to express it in different ways. All we have done, as cheesy as this may sound, is we have just been ourselves. We haven’t tried to change for anything or anybody or any sound, we have kept it Mi Casa.
"We focus on the people that love what we do, that appreciate the craft that we make and we've got millions of fans across the globe,” J Something says.