10 TO WATCH
BANTU CONTINUA UHURU CONSCIOUSNESS (BCUC)
Their songs are as long as their name. Getting together in 2003, the band of seven from Soweto has slowly crept into the mainstream. They sing in all 11 official languages of South Africa, self-described as Afro-psychedelic in sound, infused with shebeen and church songs, mbaqanga; all with a rock and roll undertone.
BCUC has performed in Australia, France, Denmark and Zanzibar. They have a tour in Europe in 2022, headlining at MUSICPORT in the UK, and are releasing their fourth album this year - their best, according to lead vocalist Nkosi Zithulele.
“In South Africa, we are so diverse. And our music is so diverse. I would love for us to just stick to the expression, because you know, it’s art, it’s a craft. We are designing feelings, and I wish for us to export the feelings from home,” says Zithulele.
BCUC is in the business of exporting hope. Not rainbow nation or political hope, but hope in the spirit of South Africa. The lead vocalist says everyone is talking about Ubuntu, and that “Ubuntu doesn’t have to do with the color of a T-shirt, your skin, it has nothing to do with the color of money. It’s just a feeling and a willingness to share.”
And they want to export that.
“That way we will maintain this beauty that we had. Because no matter how much the powers that be mess things up, it seems they cannot erode the spirit of South Africa. And I’m a dreamer man, we’re a bunch of dreamers. We dream even on stage. Let’s dream our dreams into reality.”
NDIVHUWO ELAINE MUKHELI (ELAINE)
A 23-year-old R&B artist from Pretoria, South Africa, Mukheli began singing at six years old, later in school choirs and talent shows. In high school, she began writing her own music. University saw her recording in her co-producer’s garage, and her other co-producer’s dorm room.
“We had no formal set-up or guidance, it was just three really passionate people who came together to make music.”
