THE HOUSE OF SUN-EL: Sun-El Musician, Simmy, Mlindo The Vocalist, and other related artists

(don’t get me wrong, DJ Mdix is great: check “Ngiyazfunela” with Mpumi (2020) and Kaylow’s “Isgubhu” (2017) (both posted on this thread), or the brilliant “Umvulo” with Zanda Zakuza (2016))

Good sleuthing, thanks!

In just less than 24hrs the pre-order of my upcoming album #TTWB will drop with its 3rd single “Never Never ft @nobuhlemusic

16.10.2020#NeverNever #30songs #ttwb pic.twitter.com/q8kePIxbtz

— Sun-EL Musician (@sunelmusicianza) October 15, 2020

#30songs !!!

New Simmy album on the way as well

fuckin' a.

both on friday?

no, Friday it’s just the new Sun-El single. albums are open for pre-order, no release date given yet.

sorry for causing overexcitement

still a reason to stay on this cruel planet

“Never Never” is lovely, such a gorgeous slow build.

well, here’s your Taking Sides for this Friday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ao-_htTBpk
Sun-EL Musician ft. Nobuhle • Never Never

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqdvi8AO-04
Simmy ft. Da Capo & Sun-El Musician • Emakhaya

(I’m going with Simmy here, for now)

<3 that simmy tune

now listening to “Never Never” less cursorily, and yes, while not nearly as immediate as the Simmy track it’s gorgeous in its understatedness. the way everything swells up with the organ towards the 4-minute mark and then culminates in those horn blasts, wow!

(sure, take this out of context if you must)

both good but i especially like "emakhaya"

Emakhaya is amazing

they’re both amazing, is where I’m at right now

Simmy, Tugela Fairy (Made Of Stars), 16 tracks, out Nov 6

Sun-El Musician, To The World And Beyond, 31 (!) tracks, out Dec 4

Nobuhle live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Om1iPPfex4

(the first song hasn't been released yet)

i think i might prefer "never never" for now! but they're both essential and i can't wait for their albums

both gorgeous. this and the rolling afropop thread have opened me up to the best new stuff since I’ve been on ilx - thanks!

please don't yell at me for saying so, but the melody of some of the backing vocals in "emakhaya" reminds me of bob sinclar's "world, hold on"

don't think even Simmy is going to yell at you, she retweeted several tweets like this:

Simmy- Emakhaya (feat. Da Capo, Sun-El Musician)

That "World hold on" humming part😭😭. pic.twitter.com/28aBpTP0C9

— Thyophò (@aphumelele_m) October 16, 2020

Another one I posted on the Baby Are You Coming? thread, but I feel people here could do with some amapiano relaxation as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWo9vo9ZgvA
Kota Embassy ft. Cue • Sugar Mama

(this possibly outvibes even DJ Stokie’s “Senorita”)

oh thank goodness! xp

lovely video for "Emakhaya":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kkdRc4FCs0

fun fact: Simmy calls herself (or at least her albums) “Tugela Fairy” because she’s from Tugela Ferry in KwaZulu Natal province, a town named after the ferry across the Tugela River that operated here and has since been replaced by the steel bridge you see in the video.

Wow that's the heart of Zululand, it's not far off Isandlwana, and I checked, the area is King's land (Ingonyama). She's basically in the homelands stepping on the skulls of dead British soldiers :D

lol the Sun-el album is 159 mins long

he is probably the only person right now whose 159-minute-long album i would actually anticipate listening to

...and another one (found out through forks' October favourites list):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K09EbOCfoGU
Sun-EL Musician ft. Julia Church • Garden

in songs I like better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWKoDuyuzVs
Mthandazo Gatya ft. DJ Manzo SA & Comado • Senzeni

(reminder: the non-edited version is 6'24)

This folky one is very pretty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tu2Wsd3AjE
Sbahle • Emlanjeni

brand new video for a track from last year's S-Tone *EP* (as opposed to this year's S-Tone *album*):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYw9dfVd_oc
S-Tone ft. Simmy • Vuka Africa

Sha Sha’s voice is so soothing to me on this awful day

"senzeni" is really good

fully expecting the sun-el album to be too much, 31 tracks/2.5 hours is totally ridiculous

in case you don’t have no plans for tomorrow night:

@simmymusicsa launches her album tomorrow!!, 🌟💛 at Pmb.. Alongside @azanamusic and myself
!!
Tugela Fairy ( Made of Stars) has Arrived!! pic.twitter.com/4r1ATmOMXA

— NobuhleMusic (@NobuhleMusic) November 5, 2020

ooh it's out here now and sounding great

"konke"!

well that's my friday listening all day then

listened to this once this morning, now going for seconds. it’s sounding very good indeed. it really gets going from track 5 (“Imihla nezolo”). that whole middle section is fire - a warm, comforting fire.
highlight of the first go-round for me might have been “Ngiyahamba” with Mthunzi.

“Konke” is very good as well, it’s the only track produced by Claudio (of x Kenza fame)

xp to ufo

another track from the Sun-El album dropped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a90xU2bQEZ0
Sun-El Musician ft. Ami Faku • Mandinaye

geez

that album's gonna be so good isn't it, even if it's a long double album

Was curious initially that this and the Simmy albums were dropping in fall/winter and then I realized in South Africa it's spring/summer - the perfect time for these records.

Good god Emakhaya is so gorgeous. Sun-el really has that magic touch as a producer. I cannot wait for his to drop soon. Gonna be really really nice to have some of his warmth for this cold and dark winter.

"mandinaye" is fantastic, wow. i sure hope he's able to keep it up for the entire 2.5 hours lol

“December” is a really big thing in SA, it’s the festive season and the summer holidays rolled into one, so everyone is on a quest for the biggest December song.

xps

I'm just getting around to the Simmy album, and it is of course excellent. This year is honestly too much...

It took me awhile but Simmy's Tugela Fairy LP COMPLETELY got its hooks in me over the past two weeks, making it hard to listen to anything else. There are a few clunkers ('We Were Here' and 'Time After Time') but it's pretty unassailable as a complete album. Much the same as the first one though, it required regular repeat plays to fully sink in... songs like 'Wamuhle' and 'Mabhungu,' which now feel indispensable, were kinda blah on first listen.

That said, I would still say 'Emakhaya' is the best of the bunch. And I'm still loving 'Yaz Abantu'! I feel like both are legit worth pushing as best of the year songs.