Msaki hints at releasing new music during her hiatus

Ahead of her planned music hiatus, award-winning musician Msaki has hinted at releasing new music during her break.

The songstress announced earlier this year she would be taking a break from music and social media until further notice. Msaki will perform her obligatory performances until April and then in June, which will mark her last performance until 2024.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE at the Corona Sunsets Festival World Tour in Cape Town, Msaki did not confirm when she would release new music during her hiatus but said “it will depend”.

“I've got things already in the pipeline. In the last year or two, I've been making a lot of music. It's mostly collaboration projects that I will be supporting, nothing from me personally,” she said. 

Msaki and Tubatsi Mpho Moloi of Urban Village recently released their highly anticipated joint debut album Synthetic Hearts with French cellist Clément Petit.

“I think I've shared a lot,” Msaki added. “There will be lots of music to keep people company while I think of something to do next.”

She described her planned hiatus as a “dual feeling of relief and waiting for it to be all over”. 

"[It's all about] savouring each gig, performance, concert and interaction with the crowd, and knowing what a special thing I had. I am letting it hit me how much of a special thing it is to be able to connect with people over music, over them trusting me in that hour to sing with them and over them. I am going to miss it for sure,” she said. 

Msaki said she feels she is at the beginning of her career and her hiatus is about “resetting”. 

“I feel like we are not really groomed in the industry to have the tools to take back from what looks like a successful run, and for me, I had to weigh it up with general fullness of life, general sense of wellbeing, and how I am making sense to my community and my family. 

“Because I love this (making music) and I take it seriously so much, it's also important to be a healthy vessel of it” she said. 

Msaki and Sun-El Musician re-made their smash hit Ubomi Abumanga, featuring sounds of Llandudno Beach in Cape Town as the voice of nature.

“Whenever I come to the sea, I always feel like when the sun sets, [it's] a song waiting for me. This was a very special moment for me to be able to have done this version of the song at this time in my life,” she said.

The original version of Ubomi Abumanga was the second single off Sun-El’s 2020 album To The World And Beyond. 

“It intrigued me — the idea of what nature would sound like in a song — and when Corona suggested we find out, I couldn’t resist. So, we took natural sounds that moved us when we were on the beach and used them to help define an entirely new mood and production style on Ubomi Abumanga. It’s a totally reimagined song,” said Sun-El Musician.