Bonganisoul will unveil his first-ever EP titled ‘The Nakedness in Me’ next Saturday.
In this extended play (EP), the artist, real name William Bongani //Garoeb, said he is opening up about himself and is baring his soul as he comes of age.
“I now have a defined understanding of who I am, my purpose, and how this thing called music plays an integral part in the composition of Bonganisoul,” he told VIBEZ!
The six-track project touches various aspects of life; be it love, social ills, relationships, emancipation, beliefs and so much more, which was then harmonised and infused in music, explained
the 35-year-old vocalist.
On this EP, he collaborated with Ponti Dikuua, who produced the album, and had Sam Batola on lead guitar. It is also graced by radio personality and lyricist Dazzle, who wrote two of the songs on the project.
The active choir leader and former member of the Namibia National Children’s Choir last year released one of the tracks from the EP called ‘Supu Tama’, a Khoekhoegowab expression translating to ‘It is not easy’.
“In life, we find people who see that your way of living is heading in a positive light, but would want to discourage you by deterring you from the vision you have for yourself. This song says they might say ‘Supu Tama’, but you just need to push on as you only have this one life to live,” shared Bonganisoul.
The artist further said growing up in Katutura’s Damara location, he wants to show the people of this specific street called Mathias Hoeseb that they should make the best of the challenges of life, and eventually become the heroes of their own destiny.
The Afro-soul singer released ‘Mother’s prayer’ in 2008, ‘uYesu Uyakorobha’ in 2012, and ‘Ti //Orena’ in 2014.
Looking back at his 14-year musical journey, singing in church and having that foundation of gospel, Bonganisoul said he has seen tremendous growth from the stage to his vocal versatility.
“Nowadays, vocalists are rare, and for me to maintain that ability and not conform to the status quo humbles me. I have had the privilege of performing quite frequently this year; from major stage set-ups to just small intimate crowds, and it always is humbling to connect with your audience and have them relate with you,” he narrated.
Bonganisoul, who made it to the top five of ‘The Search Namibia’ singing competition last year, feels artists have had to adapt fast to the way of doing business as the Covid pandemic continues to impact livelihoods.
“The adaptation that I had taken from the pandemic was that the digital age has taken over. We, as the artistic industry, had to soldier on into grasping the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution way faster than usual in terms of virtual events and content creation. Business was dampened; that is the honest truth, as we have had to settle for intimate shows with capacity restrictions, and not being called up for gigs at all. But it gave me time to reflect on which direction I wanted my music to go into,” he revealed.
What makes this EP launch special is that it coincides with his birthday, which will be celebrated at Vinyl’s Music Café at Zoo Park from 19h00.
Tickets are N$100.
– slunyangwe@nepc.com.na