Dreams prompt old-school soul melodies for sprightly Zonke

Following a five-year hiatus, singer Zonke Dikana is back and this time she uses her music to open up and heal about losing people she held dear.  

Zonke has mesmerised and captivated her fans for 16 years with hits like Jik'izinto, Viva the Legend, and Feelings. Now she is back next month with her sixth album, Embo. 

In it, Zonke goes back to her roots, a journey that inspired her previous work that made her a household name.

On Wednesday night, Zonke hosted a listening session in Sandton.

It was a beautiful and laid back evening filled with great music. As music lovers soaked up her soulful sounds, it became apparent that she was paying tribute to her late sister, Lulu, who passed on in 2014, and to their mom who died when the singer was 19.

As she responded to questions posed by Lupi Ngcayisa, a moderator at the session, Zonke explained that the album Embo meant going back to origins.

“You know how I always come up with these exotic names like Ina Ethe, Embo is a Xhosa word which means a place of origin. I always release every four years and I wanted to go back to the melodies that I love. For me, this is where music comes, from a place of origin.”

The album opens with a powerful song, Yahweh, the name for the God of the Israelites. Those who have been following Zonke’s music know that each and every album has that song that acknowledges the greatness of God. She said the song is about appreciating God and acknowledging his presence in her life. She said God had guided her through the losses she had suffered and that she just wanted to praise him.

The second track is Little Things You Do. It features her late sister, Lulu, who was considered to be one of the great vocalists and composers SA had ever produced. But her career was cut short in 2014 when she died after a short illness. Since her passing, there was a general expectation that Zonke would do a cover of her songs as a tribute.

“Like every person, it is hard to lose parents and siblings. For others it takes longer to get over a family member passing. I struggled a lot and I still can’t listen to her music. I can’t even sing the song I wrote for her called Meet Me In My Dreams. I just become a cry baby on stage and I hate crying on stage. It took a lot for me to do Little Things You Do. We had to take the song and extract her voice and redo the music. Basically,  I put myself next to her.

“It took a lot of surgery to put that song together. It was an emotional moment, but it needed to be done because my sister was an artist.

“As much as it was hard for me, I wanted to do that for her to say we remember her and I think she was an incredible singer. Lulu always wished that she had grown-up in the 70s and begun her career during that era because it was the best time in terms of music. That is why she and I always went back to Embo to find inspiration.”

Of the song Bizan’umama, Zonke said: “I feel a mother’s role is important in any child’s life. I am not saying fathers are not important. This song is about a hen protecting its own eggs. When it is not there, the eggs are exposed to all sorts of dangers. A  lot of things happen because the protector is not there. Because of things that happen sometimes I feel like saying khanibize umama (please call my mother).”

When asked how she viewed the music scene today, the Gqeberha-born, Eastern Cape, star said she embraced the new artists and new sounds but they did not influence her musical direction.

“I can release an album after four years and I love it because it shows that I have carved out my own path and people are always waiting for me and my sound. And they are all waiting for me to do that old-school soul the way I have been doing it.”

Zonke said most of her melodies come to her in the form of a dream.

“When it comes to my head I go to the studio and do pre-production. Using my keyboard, I lay out drums, bass and percussion. By the time the session artists come in they know what to do. I pay attention to detail.”

Zonke is starting a national tour on April 29 at the Grand Arena in Cape Town. She will perform also at the Boardwalk in Gqeberha on May 13, and later at Big Top Arena in Carnival City in Brakpan, Gauteng.

Fact File

Best TV shows: Documentaries

Favourite movie: Troy

Favourite musicians: Sade & Anita Baker

Favourite songs: No Ordinary Life, Dear Mama

Favourite holiday destination: Switzerland

Favourite food: uMngqusho (samp & beans)