Simphiwe Dana talks about new album Bamako

Dana, whose music is influenced by older-generation South African artists like Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka, recorded Bamako in the Malian capital, which speaks of the great lengths the artist will go to bring new elements to her music.

Music In Africa spoke with Dana ahead of Bamako's release about its making, and why it took her so long to satisfy her dedicated fan base.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: Can you take us through the making of Bamako?

SIMPHIWE DANA: Oh my God! It took me long to complete the album. I was in the studio for about three years, first by myself before I went to Mali. I spent something like 20 hours in my home studio recording. When I thought I was done, I got a brilliant idea to add a bit of West African spice to the album and that’s when I went to Mali for almost a month working with Salif Keïta’s band. So it took me another year and there was a need to postpone the release of the album. The album has been ready since June last year. It was stressful postponing the album release, but it had to be done because there was some legal stuff to tie up before it could come out.

Why West Africa?

I really enjoy West African music, especially from Mali. I think they have a very rich music culture and I love the kora, because it is a very sophisticated instrument and it sounds lovely. You definitely can’t find a better player in South Africa and Malian artists are generally good with string instruments, rhythmically as well, and that’s the reason I chose Malian musicians.

What is ‘Usikhonzile’, the first single off the album, about?

I think the world needs more empathetic leaders who don’t see themselves above other people. The world needs leaders who are empathetic to all people. So that’s basically how I want people to interpret the song. When the song is out of my hands, it belongs to everyone and how they interpret it is based on their own experiences. I like that.

What other themes have you addressed in this album?

I think generally the album is aligned towards dealing with human-to-human relationships. I actually have a lot of break-up relationship songs on the album. The album deals with matters of the heart quite a bit, but I have songs that try promote self-care, self-love, and black consciousness in general. 

Most governments around the world have banned public performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a performing artist, what are you doing to weather the storm?

My industry has been hit hard because there hasn’t been much we can do. I like this idea of digital performances, but when it comes to my kind of sound, it requires that I gather a few people and be in the same space. So it’s going to be very challenging for us. This pandemic took us by surprise and I think it’s going to be very difficult for us to do anything right now. It’s going to be very challenging for someone like me who hasn’t been in the game for a while. We just have to brace ourselves and cross our fingers that the government deals with this issue quickly so that we can get back to work.

Do you have other sources of income to keep you going?

I actually don’t have any other avenues of making money. I think something like this is perhaps a wake-up call for us to diversify, but it might not be so easy to diversify. The pandemic hit us in first few months of the year, when there is little work for artists. Our savings are depleted. It’s going to get a bit messy for us.

You recently tweeted, 'The future is very uncertain, I am Dana, I am exhausted.' Are you retiring from music?

No, I am not. I am just very anxious and I feel like there should be more support for us musicians from our government. I am rather mentally exhausted. It’s very challenging, the anxiety is quite a lot, but no, I am not going to retire!

Listen to Bamako on Deezer.