Vusa Mkhaya on solo career

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter 

Despite branching out on his own and pursuing solo projects, veteran imbube artiste and Insingizi member Vusa Mkhaya says he does not see himself as a band leader, as he believes in collaboration and collective decision making have a key role to play in his music and live act. 

The Austria-based Mkhaya, who has been in the country recently, last week staged an intimate solo show at the Indaba Book Café, serenading fans with his polished vocals and act. 

Speaking to Sunday Life before the show, Mkhaya said a lifetime spent as team player in an imbube group had taught him to never bill himself as the big bull in the kraal whenever he performed with his charges. 

“I don’t see myself as a band leader. I see myself as part of the collective even though I am the one writing the songs and singing them as well. Like today I was saying to the guys, they were asking me the setlist, they should compile a list of the songs each of them want to sing and then we see which songs from that list we can leave out,” he said.

The Nama award nominated musician said his stance usually confused his band members who expected him to bark instructions instead of being cordial and inclusive. 

“One guy asked me why I was doing that and I said I’m doing so because we are all performing together and I want us all to be comfortable. As a performer or a songwriter, I know that no matter even if I write 50 songs, they are those two or three that I cannot leave off my set. The same also goes for the session musicians. There are songs that when they play are the songs that will allow each of them to shine. We’re a collective,” he said.

Mkhaya said although fans knew him first and foremost as an imbube artiste, his solo music existed in an entirely different world. 

 “My solo is not imbube, but most of my music is based on traditional Ndebele music or imbube. The only difference is that I have added instruments. In this case it was an acoustic trio . . . The arrangements are different, the writing style is different, it’s not like imbube style of writing,” he said.