South African luminary Bongeziwe Mabandla has unveiled a stunning live performance video for his track ‘Isiphelo’.
The video for ‘Isiphelo’ sees Bongeziwe and Tiaga Correia-Paulo, who produced Mabandla’s last two albums, perform a touching, moonlit rendition of the track – a performance that perfectly captures its understated beauty. The release of the live video coincides with Bongeziwe’s 16-date sold out tour of South Africa, commencing today in Johannesburg. The lauded folk artist will also be performing throughout Europe in June and July, with shows in France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and the UK.
‘Isiphelo’ first featured on Mabandla’s third studio album iimini, released to critical acclaim last year. The LP has accrued over 8 million streams, and quickly reached #1 on iTunes South Africa. Gqom pioneer DJ Lag also recently remixed ‘Ndiyakuthanda’, another track from iimini.
Releasing his debut album Umlilo in 2012, Bongeziwe Mabandla has steadily built a career that now sees him take his place as the enigmatic spirit of African Soul. He has toured throughout Europe and Africa, including performances at Lake of Stars in Malawi, Netherlands’ Afrovibes Festival, Womex in Finland, and the Oslo World Festival. More recently he has drawn support from the likes of Sam Smith, Florence Pugh and Mumford & Sons’ Winston Marshall. Most recently he performed virtually at the esteemed SXSW festival.
The stunning, stripped-back performance of ‘Isiphelo’ ideally complements the majestic energy of the track itself.