Ditsem

Pre-Save the album here. Release 05 May 2023.
linktr.ee/neil...
“Ditsem” ft Qadasi & Maqhinga
I’ll never forget the morning I collected Louis Mhlanga, the Zimbabwean guitarist, in Cape Town to come and play on this tune. He was in Cape Town per chance and the gods favored us to be able to fit in a session for a single hour at Bellville Studios. Louis did not want to listen to the tune beforehand. He just wanted to play. Theo Crous and myself witnessed something holy that morning. It was a single take.
I wanted this tune to be a “flourishing”. Like a flower opening up. It had to start with the singularity of a human voice humming a frequency and then “finding” the melody, or “itself” if you will, and grow from there. I wished for this to be an all inclusive song. Representative of the individual and the ensemble, of man and woman, of Africa and the universe.
I’m so thrilled with isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans co-existing in this way. David Jenkins & Stanley Radebe (Qadasi & Maqhinga) worked remotely from KwaZulu Natal and imbued the brief with brilliance.
"Livestock can't be bought while sleeping. It's a new day and I need to rise.”
“When the sun rises, you too shall rise”
The Afrikaans words I borrowed from CJ Langenhoven’s second verse of “Die Stem”. I reconsidered some of the words and chose to call the song “Ditsem”. As in “that’s it!” I believe the existence of this tune to be a reconciliatory manifestation from me; my expression of possibility. Hope, even.
Lelethu, Sibongiseni, Theo & myself improvised the Xhosa in studio. I wanted female voices to co-exist alongside male voices. Afrikaans, Xhosa & Zulu to do the same. Harmony.
The video came after the fact. I drove to my dear friend, Mari Nieuwoudt ,who lives by her lonesome somewhere in the Northern Cape. Its a 6 hour drive. I wanted to go tell her something silly. I drove back the next morning. I was, as always, struck by the savage beauty of this place I call home: Southern Africa. Maybe one day I’ll be fortunate enough to not think about it as Paradise Lost.
This tune, is a beginning, maybe.
It is such a privilege to have made this song featuring the talents of:
Drums: Kevin Gibson
Bass: Schalk Joubert
Guitars: Mauritz Lotz, Louis Mhlanga
Zulu Concertina: David Luke Jenkins
Percussion: Ronan Skillen
Marimba: Magda de Vries
Vocals: Neil Sandilands
Zulu Vocals: David Luke Jenkins, Maqhinga Stanley Radebe
Xhosa Vocals: Lelethu Zulu, Sibongiseni Wani

[@MH-db3ee]

Dit praat met die Siel..........

[@justinvisagie9140]

Die liefde wat jy het vir afrikaans en ons moeder land Zuid Afrika inspereer ons jong mense

[@surika88ful]

Diepgaande

[@tiaandupreez]

Ditsem is lekker. Afrika klanke🎵👌

[@adelainestrauss8373]

Verfrissend nuut!

[@VanZylJoh]

Love it!!!! Put it on streaming platforms so I listen to it on the road!

[@HeidiMollentze]

Ek lief hierdie! What a vibe! ❤❤❤