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Receptionist by day, Afro-jazz queen by night

SOULFUL: Afro-jazz singer Vumile Mchunu is about to release her debut albumPHOTO: PETER MOGAKI
SOULFUL: Afro-jazz singer Vumile Mchunu is about to release her debut albumPHOTO: PETER MOGAKI

VUMILE Mchunu left Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal with only a dream, a skill set and a bunch of nerves.

The strikingly lanky lass settled in Johannesburg seven years ago and put in the hours of hard work, commitment and displayed a never-say-die attitude.

She got her foot in the industry door when she recorded the soundtrack of the movie Broken Promises with producer Magashan Reddy.

Soon she played in the corporate gig space as a singer.

She is a receptionist for a Sandton company by day and by night she polishes her dancing shoes and is transformed into a performer.

Mchunu is putting the finishing touches to her debut Afro-jazz album, comprising the songs she has been performing at the events plus some new compositions.

Between giving birth to daughter Samkelile and other real-life circumstances, her music career had a lengthy dry season, but now things are looking up for the ambitious woman.

Her initial sound swayed more towards R&B, but with time and age it matured to a more soulful African jazz feel.

"I am not really a fan of house or kwaito. Growing up, I loved jazz and the R&B phase was just fashion. Afro-jazz speaks to me and has always been my passion. It is all about the instruments behind the voice and emotion," she says.

The title track of her album, Buya, is inspired by her late sister Nomvuyo Lamola, who she says played a "motherly and fatherly role" in her life when she was young.

"We are seven kids at home and I am the last born. My father passed on when I was five, my brother when I was seven and my mother when I was eight. So I was raised by my sisters. Growing up I never felt I did not have parents because they played those roles and provided for us."

She says Lamola was close to her and they used to discuss what she planned to do with her future in terms of studies and music.

"The song Buya is basically me saying 'if only she did not go so soon'. God took her before I found success. I say return and share my dream and see what I am doing," she says.

She is also influenced by her six-year-old daughter and life in general.

"My music is based on experiences so you can pick up that I have grown up since then. Now that I am taking music seriously, I have an eight- piece band and we rehearse twice a week.

"Since it is the festive season, I plan to push and perform at as many corporate events as possible," she says.

The public relations management student at Unisa is also part of a study programme in business communications.

 

 

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