Healing and never giving up are some of the attributes that have characterised the music of Zimbabwe-born folk singer-songwriter Brandon Aura since breaking into the scene. From retelling his truth in the shape of a song born from his struggles as a young boy on the run with his family to coming to his own as a musician, Aura’s music has been about more than moving ceaselessly—it has also been about changing the undesirable into something beautiful.
Living on the run for a better life, Aura’s introductory single, “Run Boy”, was inspired by his family’s search for greener pastures. Standing on the foundation of his mother’s aspirational encouragement, Brandon spoke about how the running started all the way back in 2007 till 2012 for the musician and his family.
Brandon Aura | SUPPLIED
“With ‘Run Boy,’ the first time I wrote this song was in 2014. It came as a dream, after I had seen a certain play in Johannesburg. The first few lines were a dream since everything came to me while I was fast asleep. When my parents moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa, we were constantly on the run from a lot of stuff. At first, we were homeless, and where we were staying was extremely hostile. My mother would always tell me: “Manya, Brandon,” which is run in Shona. These were the words I would hear constantly in the dream from her. She would tell me about the importance of staying on the move in life and not staying in one place. Her words stuck with me for the longest of time,” he said.
Much like the man himself, the song spent years on the move since it first got written and performed in the early to mid-2010s. The singer-songwriter spoke about the stretching life cycle of the song.
“Years later, I found myself performing this song in school and did a lot of shows in Johannesburg, trying to find a person to record the song with. Things eventually came together back in 2018 when I released the song independently. But the song didn’t get the traction I wanted it to have, yet I kept on performing it. This was until late last year when I got signed to EMPIRE, re-recorded the song with Thando, and here we are,” he said.
Brandon Aura | SUPPLIED
Brandon shared that the organic production incorporated healing musicianship and spirit-based healing.
“The structure and instrumentation of the song are intentional. There are mbiras and guitars, and we all know mbiras are indigenous to Zim, and they are normally used when the player wants to enter into a trance or for spiritual healing. So I’d like people to be in that feel when they listen to the song, the space of a healing trance. I made ‘Run Boy’ as a song that can be used as a mantra for not giving up. I want the words to inspire those who hear them to keep moving and not let go of what they believe in doing.” he said.
Aura reflected on some of his hopes for the song and for his future in music.
“On top of pushing ‘Run Boy,’ I’m hoping that song will hit 600,000 views, but I’ll also be releasing more music, and hopefully an EP to go with it. For now, though, I’m trying to make sure that this song is the perfect introduction of who I am to the world,” he said.
Brandon Aura | SUPPLIED
A story-driven writer at heart, Brandon critiqued the storytelling sector of music and the broader music industry.
“I feel like a lot of artists who make storytelling music are not being listened to as much as they should, or should I say they don’t have the platform. So I feel like the industry could shine a brighter light on them and that particular kind of music. I think that would change a lot of things because right now there is a lot of dance music without any sort of story in them,” he said.
Aura spoke about the artist he’d like to collaborate with as well as the sounds he’d like to dabble in some time in the future.
“I would love to work with Msaki and Jabulile Majola. I’d also like to see what I can do with 3-Step as well as Afrofusion. I feel like there is a lot of room for me to express myself as a creative in those fields,” he said.
