Katlego Sekhu
Renowned South African singer/songwriter Thandiswa Mazwai recently joined The Jazz Standard with Sis Brenda for an exclusive sit-down.
Mazwai spoke about her creative process and emphasised the importance of allowing herself room to play, especially in the early stages of songwriting.
“These are things I don’t think of in the creative process. A lot of the creative process is about playing. I play quite a lot in the early stages of any song to try and find my footing.”
“I do revel in the process. Sometimes, it is not fun. I just started with one small building block.”
When discussing her latest album, Thandiswa mentioned that she had over 200 field recordings in her archive.
“Somewhere during lockdown, I stumbled on the folder and called my base player to see what we could do. We sat together and played around. The first song we did was Sabela.”
Thandiswa also revealed her approach to producing quality music, stating, “The main thing that I do is that I know nothing; I surrender to the idea with any project. I’m a novelist.
“It helps me to then come into it with a certain naivety. I don’t come into it with 30 years of experience in songwriting, I think that allows for genuine interpretations.”
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