Bongi Mvuyana’s range embraces soul, jazz, folk, house and more making her a versatile songwriter and performer that many of you will know from her 2019 collaboration with the mighty Ralf GUM, remixed by Da Capo and supported by big names including Black Coffee and Louie Vega. She’s continued to work alongside GUM into 2020 amongst solo projects. Ahead of her latest release on Vth Season, UM caught up with her for a chat.
Thank you for your time as well. Music has always been part of my life, at home, with my neighbours and my sister and her friends, we were always surrounded by good music from different genres, so my love for music started there. I was always a writer as well, in primary school I had a poem published in an anthology called “Buttons and Bows” and later I began to do performance poetry. I was also in the school choir and studied classical music with piano as my instrument, but over the years, voice become my instrument.
I didn’t go looking for the opportunity, it just found me while I was minding my own business! A DJ I know and grew up with, DJ Lips, called me up one day and asked me to write a poem for his track with Nite Grooves. I decided to sing on it instead. It was then remixed by Groove Assassin and one day it released as part of a compilation for the Miami Winter Music Conference in 2009. That was the first song I’d ever recorded and released, with my voice on it, which for me was inspiration enough to keep pursuing music.
I don’t think there’s one genre that I lend my voice to that I can say connect with more than the other. The two main genres I write and release in are alternative soul (which is my core genre through which I released my album, Dopamine, this year) and house (which I’ve collaborated with some dope musicians in). Each has it’s own style and way of expressing the messages, melodies and ideas I want. For me, it’s a dance between the two, and I always apply the right genre to the right song and message I want to deliver.
I am an unsigned artist at the moment, though I’ve worked with a few record labels, including the ones you’ve mentioned. I believe that artists should collaborate with labels rather than outright signing over their careers to labels. Labels have reach, expertise, contacts and can make things happen for that you wouldn’t be able to do for yourself as an independent. With that being said, always be careful of what you sign and what rights and income you give away. This is where musicians go wrong, and I have learnt through some mistakes of my own, what the pitfalls are.
6AM is a song off my album, Dopamine, which I released with Vth Season. Dopamine had an incredible artistic journey and I do believe that this is evident in what we offer the listener. 6AM was a great part of that journey where I got to work with 2 artists I admire, Tiago Correia Paulo (producer) and Pedro da Silva Pinto (singer/songwriter), both of whom are from the band 340ml. This song is highly conceptual and it’s one of my proudest songwriting moments. After we released the album, in May 2020, I wanted to extend some of the music on the album to my house audience, which is why I collaborated with the highly talented, Karyendasoul, who has been featured alongside the likes of Kenny Dope and Black Coffee. I find him to have a great ear for music and a style that is fresh and absolutely captivating. He did a great job, lending that flavour to the remix of 6AM.
I only work collaboratively. I don’t like to force the process, I allow the song and the ideas to breathe, take on their form until I’m happy with what I have delivered. This can take 2 weeks, and sometimes even 2 years. Songs have a life of their own and they need to be given the respect and time to become what they need to be without pressure and dictation.
I have a vocal coach and I also train at home, I am serious about my art and growing as a singer, so I invest as much of my time and money into my growth.
The best advice I’ve received is to run my music career like my own business. I think of myself as an entrepreneur in this space and so I invest, look for opportunities, gather the right individuals and teams around me, develop strategies etc, just like I do with my other business.
I have quite a few, because of different things. Right now, I absolutely love “Don’t Let Them Love You”, a song I released with Ralf GUM in July 2020. I loved singing that song on the recording and I often find myself singing parts of it, which shows me, that I actually just enjoy the song as a music listener too. I also loved recording 6AM, Sweet Love and Dopamine, which are all on my album, Dopamine.
I really like being on stage, but to be honest, more times than not, I enjoy the process of creating music – writing, coming up with melodies, figuring our harmonies and watching a song become a beautiful piece of work is the most rewarding for me. There’s just something about creating that I can’t quite describe. It’s a beautiful thing.
Our musical culture and the things that influence it. So much of the South African experience is laced with music – from our cultures as tribes, to street culture and even when we take a political stand on anything, when South Africans come together there has to be music. That influences and inspires many musicians to create and use their talents in rich and diverse ways.
There are so many, I’m an absolute fanatic of live music, so I am always on the live music ciruits listening to artists from Nomfundo Xaluva and Mandisi Dyantis, to international artists like Maxwell, Hiatus Kaiyote and Gretchen Parlato. I also have many friends who are vocalists and I always make it a point to attend as many of their shows as I can. I enjoy watching them on stage, their growth makes me happy, it’s a beautiful thing to watch the artists you know, grow and become the best versions of themselves as artists.
Be clear about what you and stay true to that. Be authentic, don’t force yourself to do things because of trends and what others expect. And if I can extend to you the great advice I received a few years ago, run your music career like a business. You are not a struggling artist, you are an entrepreneur.
There have been quite a few. I’ve said this many times before, but I guess it’s because it’s true, I absolutely value having worked on two songs with Ralf GUM in my career. Releasing my first album was also a huge highlight for me, working with two members of 340ml on my music and also a number of other milestones that are loading, are already highlights in the making.
I think I adapted to lockdown quite well. I released a twelve-track album, a single called “Don’t Let Them Love You” with Ralf GUM and also now, 6AM with Pedro da Silva Pinto and Karyendsoul. That’s helped me to stay active musically, and connect with my audience. I am currently working on other projects that will release as they become ready so I’ve been very creative and busy over this time.
I have songs in the pipeline, by like I said earlier, those can take their own time so I won’t announce anything just yet.
Where can people follow you?
Bongi Mvuyana’s range embraces soul, jazz, folk, house and more making her a versatile songwriter and performer that many of you will know from her 2019 collaboration with the mighty Ralf GUM, remixed by Da Capo and supported by big names including Black Coffee and Louie Vega. She’s continued to work alongside GUM into 2020 amongst solo projects. Ahead of her latest release on Vth Season, UM caught up with her for a chat.
Thank you for your time as well. Music has always been part of my life, at home, with my neighbours and my sister and her friends, we were always surrounded by good music from different genres, so my love for music started there. I was always a writer as well, in primary school I had a poem published in an anthology called “Buttons and Bows” and later I began to do performance poetry. I was also in the school choir and studied classical music with piano as my instrument, but over the years, voice become my instrument.
I didn’t go looking for the opportunity, it just found me while I was minding my own business! A DJ I know and grew up with, DJ Lips, called me up one day and asked me to write a poem for his track with Nite Grooves. I decided to sing on it instead. It was then remixed by Groove Assassin and one day it released as part of a compilation for the Miami Winter Music Conference in 2009. That was the first song I’d ever recorded and released, with my voice on it, which for me was inspiration enough to keep pursuing music.
I don’t think there’s one genre that I lend my voice to that I can say connect with more than the other. The two main genres I write and release in are alternative soul (which is my core genre through which I released my album, Dopamine, this year) and house (which I’ve collaborated with some dope musicians in). Each has it’s own style and way of expressing the messages, melodies and ideas I want. For me, it’s a dance between the two, and I always apply the right genre to the right song and message I want to deliver.
I am an unsigned artist at the moment, though I’ve worked with a few record labels, including the ones you’ve mentioned. I believe that artists should collaborate with labels rather than outright signing over their careers to labels. Labels have reach, expertise, contacts and can make things happen for that you wouldn’t be able to do for yourself as an independent. With that being said, always be careful of what you sign and what rights and income you give away. This is where musicians go wrong, and I have learnt through some mistakes of my own, what the pitfalls are.
6AM is a song off my album, Dopamine, which I released with Vth Season. Dopamine had an incredible artistic journey and I do believe that this is evident in what we offer the listener. 6AM was a great part of that journey where I got to work with 2 artists I admire, Tiago Correia Paulo (producer) and Pedro da Silva Pinto (singer/songwriter), both of whom are from the band 340ml. This song is highly conceptual and it’s one of my proudest songwriting moments. After we released the album, in May 2020, I wanted to extend some of the music on the album to my house audience, which is why I collaborated with the highly talented, Karyendasoul, who has been featured alongside the likes of Kenny Dope and Black Coffee. I find him to have a great ear for music and a style that is fresh and absolutely captivating. He did a great job, lending that flavour to the remix of 6AM.
I only work collaboratively. I don’t like to force the process, I allow the song and the ideas to breathe, take on their form until I’m happy with what I have delivered. This can take 2 weeks, and sometimes even 2 years. Songs have a life of their own and they need to be given the respect and time to become what they need to be without pressure and dictation.
I have a vocal coach and I also train at home, I am serious about my art and growing as a singer, so I invest as much of my time and money into my growth.
The best advice I’ve received is to run my music career like my own business. I think of myself as an entrepreneur in this space and so I invest, look for opportunities, gather the right individuals and teams around me, develop strategies etc, just like I do with my other business.
I have quite a few, because of different things. Right now, I absolutely love “Don’t Let Them Love You”, a song I released with Ralf GUM in July 2020. I loved singing that song on the recording and I often find myself singing parts of it, which shows me, that I actually just enjoy the song as a music listener too. I also loved recording 6AM, Sweet Love and Dopamine, which are all on my album, Dopamine.
I really like being on stage, but to be honest, more times than not, I enjoy the process of creating music – writing, coming up with melodies, figuring our harmonies and watching a song become a beautiful piece of work is the most rewarding for me. There’s just something about creating that I can’t quite describe. It’s a beautiful thing.
Our musical culture and the things that influence it. So much of the South African experience is laced with music – from our cultures as tribes, to street culture and even when we take a political stand on anything, when South Africans come together there has to be music. That influences and inspires many musicians to create and use their talents in rich and diverse ways.
There are so many, I’m an absolute fanatic of live music, so I am always on the live music ciruits listening to artists from Nomfundo Xaluva and Mandisi Dyantis, to international artists like Maxwell, Hiatus Kaiyote and Gretchen Parlato. I also have many friends who are vocalists and I always make it a point to attend as many of their shows as I can. I enjoy watching them on stage, their growth makes me happy, it’s a beautiful thing to watch the artists you know, grow and become the best versions of themselves as artists.
Be clear about what you and stay true to that. Be authentic, don’t force yourself to do things because of trends and what others expect. And if I can extend to you the great advice I received a few years ago, run your music career like a business. You are not a struggling artist, you are an entrepreneur.
There have been quite a few. I’ve said this many times before, but I guess it’s because it’s true, I absolutely value having worked on two songs with Ralf GUM in my career. Releasing my first album was also a huge highlight for me, working with two members of 340ml on my music and also a number of other milestones that are loading, are already highlights in the making.
I think I adapted to lockdown quite well. I released a twelve-track album, a single called “Don’t Let Them Love You” with Ralf GUM and also now, 6AM with Pedro da Silva Pinto and Karyendsoul. That’s helped me to stay active musically, and connect with my audience. I am currently working on other projects that will release as they become ready so I’ve been very creative and busy over this time.
I have songs in the pipeline, by like I said earlier, those can take their own time so I won’t announce anything just yet.
Where can people follow you?