In a poetic turn of events, iconic South African afrosoul singer-songwriter Zamajobe Sithole celebrated the 20th anniversary since the release of the legendary “Ndawo Yami”, which was also honoured with a platinum plaque by RiSA. With a handful of albums and a discography that lives on the hearts and dreamscapes of her followers countrywide and beyond borders, the “Magic” singer has broken her hiatus and sated the appetites of those who have been salivating to hear her new album titled Umi, gracing the industry with her one-of-a-kind vocals and signature organic production.
With ten tracks sewn together to form tightly woven narratives of love and loss as well as rejoicing and rejection, Umi is an afrosoul cut with jazz undertones which remain faithful to Zamajobe’s core, offering sparse yet complete instrument arrangement. Led by a symphonic orchestra of acoustic guitars, well-tuned drums, and uplifiting trumpets which don’t merely serve as a backing soundtrack for Sithole to strut her stuff, the creative sonic embellishments are one with the songstress, creating a topsy-turvy order of things in which the beats seem to be moving to sound of the vocalist’s voice rather than it being the other way around.
Umi album art | SUPPLIED
Umi is a nigh transparent body of work which pigeonholes Zamajobe as an old-school warbler who leans mostly on the capability of her seasoned pipes. The skeleton-like production, for the most part, leaves her exposed, and with hardly any shadows of the producers to hide behind, she camouflages her vocals to blend in with the sound of the album through mnemonic harmonies, ambient melodies, and inflections that climax and relax depending on the intensity the sound.
The acclaimed songstress unfurls her iridescent vocal range in a span of 46 minutes as she lilts about the joy that comes with being alive (“Siyajabula” and “Nabangani Bakho”), the butterflies birthed by fervent romance (“Loyabhuti”, “Akekho Omunye”, and “Akusemnandi”), the storms of love and heartbreak (“Lah Lah” and “Inhliziyo Yami”), and finding comfort in the presence of God (“Ekhaya”).
Zamajobe | SUPPLIED
Consistent in her sequencing and smooth thematic transitions, Sithole’s Umi is connected with the cohesion of a body with an identifiable beginning and ending. There’s a clear pipeline of character development between the infatuated, high school-like Zamajobe enamored by her nameless love interest on “Loyabhuti”, whom she rhapsodizes with onomatopoeic playfulness, to the miffed girlfriend on “Inhliziyo Yami” whose depleted patience manifests in acerbic singing and by-the-way writing which sees her command him to serve her better treatment. Is she talking about luxuriating in the comfort of good food and drink? Or is she yearning for comfort in the arms of the divine? Whatever the case is, the crooner dissects it all with the linearity of a storyteller, capturing the genesis, rising action, and the resolution of each chapter with deft economy.
Umi is a collection that aims to entertain but never to pander, to provoke thought but not to exhaust the mind, and to detail experiences without providing burdensome exposition and lard. Soulful and candid, the album is a fitting celebratory lap to spotlight the singer’s illustrious longevity in the game. Indeed, Zamajobe’s talent hasn’t aged a day since breaking necks in the early 2000s.
Listen to Umi:
