Dumza Maswana’s recently released double CD and DVD set album ‘Live At The Guild Theatre’has been two years in the making. For this performance , he gives a he is accompanied by his 10-piece band, featuring profound arrangements while highlighting his powerful baritone voice and deeply evocative musical expression.
Maswana recently joined Nicky B for a conversation on the genesis of the project and how it was a dream that he’d always wanted to manifest.
Taking it back to his roots
Maswana shared how the audience in the Eastern Cape, where he originates from, is a special one; as he put it, they can hear him in real-time and have a deeper understanding of his music. He also said that he wanted to also inspire young people who are from his hometown and let them know that they can tell their stories through music.
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“It has been a dream for a long time. I started talking about this album in 2013. The actual performance on this album was in 2018, the 2ndof June in East London at the Guild Theatre. I had an opportunity to do it here in Johannesburg, we had a show with Msaki and I was asked, ‘Why don’t you record this show into a DVD?’ I was like’ I want to record my first DVD in the Eastern Cape.’”
Purity of the sound
Maswana writes about his life experiences and views as well as various things that inspire and motivate him. He is deeply rooted in his culture and religion, so his music displays his strong sense of tradition and religious beliefs. The album is a culmination of all his influences with an insistence of purity and authenticity.
“I said to Gurran who was doing the mixing and editing,’ I want the album to be as pure and authentic as it was when we recorded it.’ Everything you hear on the album is exactly as the show was, we couldn’t cut any song. ”
He has been singing and composing original music since he was a child, and he even started an all-male gospel band back in high school before moving up to Johannesburg in the late 2000s. The musicians told Nicky B that anew project is currently in the works, and that he will be workshopping the music between the 5th and the 10th of April 2021.
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