“Love comes naturally to me…it’s love that I will give” said Azana about her second upcoming album.
Azana is an open book, with her music always depicting her life story through melody. And while love comes naturally to her, music that speaks about love became an obvious subject choice from which she would create music from. She is known as
Her second album, titled Igagu, will be no different. With the body of work carrying themes of love, faith and hope – topics that dominate the 10 track album that is ready for consumption. She describes the music as “beautiful”.
“I made this album when I was in Johannesburg, so it basically retells life on this side of the world,” said the KwaZulu-Natal born singer. “Of how hard that journey was for me and how I have given up and will not give up. It’s a more grown up version that has experienced more things than when she was 19 years old,” said Azana.
The making of this album came after almost eight months of the artist not being able to record any new music. And this suffocated her. The desperation leading her to pause her studies so she could move down to Johannesburg from Bloemfontein. Azana was pursuing her qualification in Law.
“You can imagine how difficult that music drought was for me. It actually made me sad because prior to that pause, I had been making music since the age of 14 years old. So in Bloemfontein, I experienced a hard time in finding the right people to work with and finding the right quality of studios to record in. That’s where the decision to pause my studies came in, to relocate to Johannesburg because I knew of the amount of opportunities that awaited me here,” she said.
“I told myself that after the album is completed, I will then make the decision about my studies. Right now I am satisfied that I have achieved what I had set out to do, recording my second album which was impossible while I was in Bloemfontein,” she said. Igagu is a wholesome project, she said, filled with timeless music rather immediate hits.
Music, for her, started even before stepping before a mic. During the time when she was surrounded by great music records that were influenced by her own father’s taste. There was a also a time when she was kept after school at a particular neighbour’s house, waiting for her parents to come home from work, she recalls being exposed to amazing African music like that of Shwi Nomtekhala. Those two genres, African and modern music, influenced her outlook on music. Leading her to make great music like her hit song Your Love.
Her first studio exposure was in her teens, in a local backroom studio and since then the muso has been hooked to making music. She caught the attention of music lovers across Mzansi through her social media posts, and that in turn has allowed her to build herself a lucrative career.
Azana is a free spirited individual, even over a simple call, one is attracted to the lightness of her voice. She expresses her liberation not only through her music but also how she dresses. Her love for her expression has earned her the label of a body-positive ambassador, although she said it was never intentional.
“Living your life authentically has that effect, people just feed off your authentically. I didn’t set out to be an ambassador in any form,” she said laughing. “I am just living my life I guess,” she said.
It is through that authenticity that Azana hopes Igagu encourages love again, especially within a society that is not so confident about the subject of love anymore. As someone who said love comes naturally to her, she hopes to spread the love around.
Her second single, Shona Malanga, which releases today taps into the hopeless romantic within her – speaking of this fairytale love that she has been fortunate enough to have experienced. And just like the singles that preceded this one, love is at the center of it all. The song release will be accompanied by a vibrant music video “that depicts summer,” she said.
“I wrote this song in total delusion and I loved it,” she said laughing. “Because sometimes when you allow yourself to be delusional about love, looking at all the positive things, you can be very happy. My fairytale love allowed me to write such a beautiful song.
“Love is beautiful. If you allow yourself to receive it and thank God for allowing you the experience, you can be very happy. I hope to revive love, give people hope because of the topics that I touch on. I hope to help people feel calm, that reassures them that everything is going to be okay. I hope the other songs on the album bringing the realisation that love comes in different shapes and forms. It could be the love for your mother or father, a friend or even yourself. It could be love for life and the appreciation of it.
“I hope Igagu becomes that go-to album for everyone to heal from. We all deserve encouragement, especially during these times. I hope my music does that. Embracing it and basking in love,” she said.
