Two years after the release of her last album, Bamako, Simphiwe Dana is back with a three-night concert that is in partnership with dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma and the Vuyani Dance Theatre.
The concert, born during the most painful period of her life when she lost her mother in July last year, was inspired by the concept of loss and life and also about going back to the source to replenish.
The passing of her mother landed her in a very difficult place in her life and led her to question the purpose of existence. It was then that she found herself digging deeper within her spirit for answers — hence the title of the concert MOYA, meaning spirit.
“It is all the work of the spirit and going back to God. That is all I have been busy with and that has translated into music,” she said.
“The concert is more than just music. It is a spiritual time. I am presenting a platform where people can come offload, heal with me and also come out with a sense of calm because so many of us need it. I want to remind people that God is with us and that we are His people.”
On the night, Dana will be presenting new music she has been working on while also presenting stripped down versions of her old songs.
The first of these new songs is a tribute song for her deceased mother titled ‘hubo, a tribute she wrote for the day of the funeral.
But even after the burial she found herself drawn into the studio to record some more and all she could do was to surrender to that process of healing through music. It is there that she started toying with the concept of life and death and that led her to connecting with her source of life — God.
“After that one song I just couldn’t stop writing. Finding myself being so drawn into the studio is a rare thing for me because I am not one of those artists who are always recording.
“I always go in for a specific time, for a specific reason because there is a lot of mental preparation that goes with being there for so long. So this particular era of loss drew me to write,” she said.
“Everyone is going through a tough time. There is a lot of helplessness, hopelessness, crying out to the universe, screaming. But I guess when everything is falling apart, you remember your own divinity, right?”
And that is the choice she made, going back to her source of life.
The inclusion of Maqoma in the concert was for him to translate the music into movement, “to give that heightened experience of the music, of healing”, she says.
She shared how dealing with grief has been a rollercoaster.
“It’s been difficult and that is the thing about grief. There was a time when I would completely forget that I had to eat and I would have to be reminded. My diet has really changed. I have gone back to the size I was 16 years ago because of grief,” adding that music has been her saving grace.
This dark period of her life is also the reason she has been so quiet even on social media — contrary to her heavily opinionated self.
“I am focusing on myself, so the reluctance to engage with people as much as I did before comes from the energies that are very heavy and evil. Time to find constructive engagements is going to be tough, so I’d rather save myself. I think we are going through a very weird and evil time right now,” adding that she is doing a lot of inner work.
“A very spiritual, silent work and that is my focus right now. I don’t know how long it will last but I am just being guided and I am just following,” she said.
MOYA will be live at the Joburg Theatre in April.
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