Joburg flautist, composer and producer Wouter Kellerman hopes to make history with a win at the 65th annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, next week. The 61-year-old musician is the first SA individual (non-group) artist to be nominated four times for the prestigious music industry accolade.
Kellerman won a Best New Age Album Grammy in 2015 for Winds of Samsara, a collaboration with Indian composer Ricky Kej. His album Love Language was nominated in the category of Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2015. Last year, he was nominated in the Best New Age Album category for Pangaea, a collaboration with American composer David Arkenstone.
His track Bayethe is a collaboration with award-winning SA artists Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode — and is nominated in the category of Best Global Music Performance. “I reached out to Nomcebo, because I absolutely loved her incredible voice that I first heard on Jerusalema,” said Kellerman to TimesLIVE Premium.
“She used to sing with Zahara, and through our mutual friends, Nomcebo and I connected, and she was my perfect voice for the song. I’ve known Zakes for many years, and I really wanted Bayethe — a prayer and call to action to lighten our loads, to heal and bring peace — to showcase the incredible talent and depth of culture we have in SA, to the world.”
The production was a global effort. “I had two or three ideas prepared which I sent over to Nomcebo and Zakes,” continued Kellerman. “Zakes then sent me some chords and the melody, and Nomcebo used that to write lyrics and record her voice. JB Arthur helped with the production, I added flute, and we added Maskandi guitar, concertina, backing vocals — and we also had Daniel Berkman add in West African kora from his studio in San Francisco. All of this in between load-shedding.”
Nomcebo used to sing with Zahara, and through our mutual friends, Nomcebo and I connected, and she was my perfect voice for the song.
— Wouter Kellerman
Zikode explained they were in different parts of the world while creating the song. “It was such an honour working with internationally acclaimed musician Wouter Kellerman and my brother Zakes Bantwini,” said the 37 year-old singer from Hammarsdale, KZN.
“I was actually in Nice [France] preparing for a show at the Opéra de Nice, when I was informed of our Grammy nomination. I was shocked and excited, as I didn’t expect the news to come out so soon,” she added. “I hope to have some recording sessions with artists in LA while I’m there for the Grammys, as I continue to work on my upcoming album.”
Zakes Bantwini (born Zakhele Madida) agreed that the biggest challenge was being able to record the song together, given each of their hectic tour schedules. “We were all crazy busy — I was travelling, Nomcebo was performing, Wouter was touring — so it was a beautiful thing when we could all come together to record, and technology really assisted,” he explained.
“Working with Wouter and Nomcebo has been an amazing experience — and being nominated for a Grammy has been my best highlight at the moment, and I think we’re going home with the Grammy,” continued the 42-year-old kwaito artist and music producer from KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal.
Bantwini, attending the Grammys with business partner and manager Sibo Mhlungu, also hints at what’s on the post-Grammy horizon. “I’m working on my final masterpiece of an album, Abantu. After my Universal and Sony Music Publishing agreements conclude, I will be a free agent. I’ve worked hard over the past two decades, and I’m looking forward to spending time with my wife and kids, diversifying my business, performing, and may even consider finishing my studies at Harvard.”
Johannesburg-born Trevor Noah will also be making history as the first South African to host the Grammys for three consecutive ceremonies. In the past three decades, other than Noah, only American rapper LL Cool J has been a three-time host.
The former Daily Show host and 2020 Grammy nominee, who has been working in television in SA and the US for 18 years — is busy with his Off the Record world tour, which makes its way to SA in September 2023. “It has been interesting because of the journey,” he told Billboard. “The first one [Grammys] was [during] Covid-19, and it was a completely different way to make the show. Then the next one was in Las Vegas because of the restrictions [in Los Angeles], and that was a different type of show. Now it’s exciting [because] it'll be the first one for me back in LA — that’s hopefully not just normal but different for the right reasons.”
Half South African Doja Cat (born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini) is up for five Grammys, including Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video for Woman; Best Rap Performance for Vegas; as well as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for I Like You (A Happier Song) with Post Malone. Last year, she won her first Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with SZA for their Kiss Me More collaboration.
The 65th Grammy Awards will air at 3am on Monday, February 6, on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in LA. Beyoncé leads the nominations with nine, followed by Kendrick Lamar with eight then Adele and Brandi Carlile with seven apiece.
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