Afro-soul singer and composer Francis Muleso says collaborating with his idol PJ “Thandeka” Powers, is a dream come true.
Muleso, who is originally from Malawi and has been following the seasoned pop singer’s career closely, featured her in the single Thando Magic. The song, which also features local star Asanda Bam and Magisto from Lesotho, was dropped on Monday on all digital platforms and is already getting huge airplay across all radio stations. The single comes after his previous one, Send a Little Bit of Love, featuring Bernard Gibson and Earl “M. Love” Lamont, made it to US charts last year.
Through Thando Magic, a fusion of Afro-soul with funky beats, Muleso is preaching the language of love just ahead of the month of love.
Having moved to SA 14 years ago, the 39-year-old has been acquainting himself with local sounds and has learnt to compose songs and play guitar and drums, thanks to his producer Mawande Stuurman.
In a quick one-to-one with Sowetan, Muleso explains that working on the song was a delightful experience that opened him up to being more vulnerable.
What is Thando Magic about?
It's a song about love. Love is magic and love is free. It is about lovebirds expressing how they feel about each other. It's such a digestible song, one that feels very open and honest.
What inspired the title of the single?
We called it Thando Magic because the song is done in four languages, which is English, Xhosa, Chichewa, a Malawian language, and Sotho. So, we decided that the title should mix two languages, which is English and Xhosa. Love does not see a language barrier and we wanted to reach all people across the African continent. The plan was to create a song with a global appeal. We plan to release the single in Lesotho, Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
How did your collaboration with PJ Powers come about?
I met PJ Powers through my producer Mawande Stuurman because they have been working together for six years creating music. When I was looking for someone to feature in the song he reached out to her. When she heard the idea of the song she was interested to work with me. I was honoured to work with someone I admire and respect so much. I grew up listening to her and working with her was a dream coming true. I also chose Asanda to be part of this because I have known her for a while and I met her through a friend of mine. When I sent her the song she liked the music and agreed to be featured. She is one of the highly talented musicians.
What was it like to work with PJ Powers?
It was magical and a delightful affair. PJ is good at what she does and very experienced and she does not impose her experience on us. I learnt a lot from her and I know she learnt something from me because she said it was a challenging experience. She is very easy to work with and she loved the sound.
What do you think of SA music?
I like the passion that SA artists have. They know what they want. If they want something they go get it. I have seen them hard at work recording and the seriousness and energy they have is encouraging. I admire them.
When did your music journey begin?
My artistic inception manifested itself almost instantly when I joined a church choir at a very young age. I remember I was six years old when I started playing a handmade drum kit. From then the passion for music grew. That is why I moved to SA to acquire skills.
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