Bongeziwe Mabandla was already certain to attract the attention of the South African songwriter scene with his debut album, “Umilo” (2012). But that’s not all: Through Radio France, his spiritually infused genre melange also received a special level of attention in Europe right from the start of his career. And that’s hardly surprising: Rarely has South African folk music been so skilfully harmonised with the melodic elegance of art pop, the compositional adventurousness of Afro-jazz, and the emotional grace of sprawling neo-soul numbers. Mabandla managed to do this virtually off the cuff and went on to create a signature sound with albums such as “Mangaliso” (2017) and the recently released “amaXesha” (2023). It’s a sound that is unrivalled on the African or European continent. He has already won numerous awards, gone on sold-out tours, and moved festival crowds to tears. And soon, the artist will finally be back on stage with us in Hamburg.