Release Radar: Kwela offers an ode to Africa’s ambient and un/heard voices on the captivating new single “Pieces (Pt. I, II, III, IV)”

Kwela’s latest single “Pieces (Pt. I, II, III, IV)” is an ode to Africa’s ambient and un/heard voices - and again demonstrates the South African artist’s fertile creative imagination and ability to bring together music, lyricism and storytelling in an entirely original way.

The new single comes on the heels of "Kgalagadi. Not Kalahari", released at the end of April and setting the scene for We The Beautyful Ones, an upcoming body of work  from the Johannesburg-based lyricist, vocalist and producer.

“‘Pieces’ is an abridged A-Z list of Africa’s offerings, attractions, loot and spoils to the world,” says Kwela of the new single. 

“It’s a puzzle, taken apart and reassembled lyrically, on a boom-boom-bap beat. It’s a treasure trove that keeps giving, from a part of the world ridiculously rich in culture, people and nature.”

Recorded in transit, the song is divided into four parts, in this way echoing the geographical areas of the African continent. An ode to voices ambient and un/heard, which play throughout the song’s four suites, “Pieces” was initially imagined as a children’s song from the future and is imbued with a lightness that comes from Kwela’s storytelling and rhymes. 

Joining the multi-talent on the track is Sibusile Xaba on guitar and Mahlatse “Ribatone” Riba on keys.

Ribatone is a keyboardist, singer-songwriter and Kwela’s fellow Kwani Experience member. His work includes the deep house duo Sai & Ribatone and work with DJ Black Coffee and other television and film work.

Kwela is a versatile lyricist, vocalist, and producer who comes from Soweto via Johannesburg, the City of Gold. Born in 1983, his  life and work are a reflection of his influences, inspirations, aspirations, and memory. Kwela’s world of music is unorthodox and visionary, made up of childhood kwaito memories and Le Club subplots, including Joburg poetics, jazz, early 2000s live band scenes, and most of what is considered alternative, whether obscure or conveniently labelled "world music". 

In 2004, Kwela joined the renowned band Kwani Experience, inspiring a generation with their bold and unapologetic afro-funk sound and aesthetic. Since then, Kwela has compiled and co-produced projects, including record label consulting and music supervising for television, vocalising the contemporary African experience from a perspective of growing up in, living and walking the streets of Johannesburg, with music that fuses his influences: afro-pop, indigenous music, praise poetry, hip-hop, synth, and electronica.