Johannesburg 07 (South Africa) - Hyde Park 08 (UK)
"In all my success and accomplishments in my career over the years, this is without a doubt the greatest honour that I could receive. To be a part of such a prestigious event along side the worlds most inspirational man, Nelson Mandela, pushes the boundaries of personal accomplishment and is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life!"
On his third solo album, Loyiso Bala spreads his musical hand, without losing sight of the style of music that has turned him into one of the country’s best-loved artists.
Titled ‘Blow Your Mind’, the album comes with R&B still firmly emblazoned on its 13 tracks but this time around, Loyiso is matching his prowess in this genre with an ease in urban pop that will take the recording into the hearts of a multiplicity of music fans.
Achieving the latter was, in many ways, the guiding principle of ‘Blow Your Mind’. Says the 27-year-old, “With my earlier material, I was able to gain airplay on a diversity of radio stations and so I wanted to give that more emphasis with this album. I like having a broad base of fans and feel confident in many different music styles.”
That Loyiso has such easy traction in so many varying genres is testament to his eclectic music taste and his early background in performing - the latter beginning with homespun shows with his family in Uitenhage, before moving through his school career at the Drankensberg Boys Choir and St. Stithians College, and all the way up to being the youngest conductor of the National Youth Choir in 2000. There can’t be many R&B artists, for instance, whose favourite track growing up was Radiohead’s “Karma Police”.
“I loved that song, man. When I was at school I would perform it on the piano, just stripping it down to its soulful essence,” he reveals.
Now, more than a decade later, Loyiso has included his version of the song on ‘Blow Your Mind’ and he’s given the song a terrific twist; resting on little more than a simple groove, the song’s soulful centre surges to the surface, recasting ‘Karma Police’ as a heartstring-tugging, string-drenched ballad.
The inclusion of ‘Karma Police’ on ‘Blow Your Mind’ is evidence of Loyiso’s adventurous spirit – something that defines his new recording which overflows with perfectly realised sonic ideas, including a fabulously cheesy 80s keyboard on the album’s title track, a Rock underpinning on ‘Maybe”, and the sexiness that infuses ‘Rosy Red’.
Loyiso confesses that moving into a more confident musical footing wasn’t something that he anticipated when he first pushed out his solo boat.
“On my first album I really thought this is it – that I had it and was at the top of my game. But looking back I can see that it was just the first step and that I had a journey to take – one that would force me to focus on songwriting, production, and finding my own style.”
Ask him what’s change in the intervening years and Loyiso is crystal clear. “I’ve been exploring as many other creative avenues as possible – it can be dangerous to stay in a comfort zone so I’ve tried to extend myself. For my first two albums, I was in my early 20s and there was a lot of searching involved. Now that I am over 25, I have really found out who I am and I am ready to reflect that in my music. For instance, I am no longer speaking about what I thought love was about – but I am able to talk about what I have experienced. I have been through a lot in the past few years and this has provided material for me to write about.”
Indeed, as is seen by his compositions on ‘Blow Your Mind’, Loyiso has been focusing on his songwriting work – he wrote the music for ‘Cha Cha’ for which he received a South African Film and Television Award and also composed scores for ‘Sesame Street’. In addition, Loyiso has been kept busy with his Bala Brothers work and his collaborations with many other artists.
With all of this brewing in his head, how easy was it for Loyiso to stick to the musical vision he wanted on ‘Blow Your Mind’? “It came quite easily to me – I was driven by a desire to make mainstream urban pop which I have done. The album is fairly diverse in executing that but to me, the fact that my voice is so prominent is what connects everything on the album.”
There’s no denying Loyiso’s most affecting instrument – his voice – is the centrepiece of the album, and songs like ‘Step To The Throne’ underscore just how easily he’s able to vocally compete with the best R&B singers in the world.
But with maturity has come a realisation that he doesn’t need to always be reaching for the spotlight alone and Loyiso is hoping that first single, “I Want You” will shine a light on an individual that he feels is wholly underrated – hip hop artist, Obita.
“Obita is amazing and I’m surprised that he hasn’t received more attention already,” Loyiso reveals. “After seeing him at the Miss South Africa pageant last year, I was just blown away. I’m always looking for the best people to work with and when it came to the rap part in ‘I Want You’ he was the obvious choice.”
Describing Tasha Baxter as a “rough diamond who is blowing up big time”, Loyiso is especially pleased with his work with her on ‘Blow Your Mind’ (which, incidentally, also appears as a remix by Craig Massiv and Ryan Dent). He’s also full of praise for 5FM DJ Elana Afrika’s speaking turn on “Rosy Red’. “She was a natural for the part,” Loyiso says.
In preparing for the recording of ‘Blow Your Mind’ with Crighton Goodwill, Loyiso worked with Thema Chaka Chaka and Bongani Fassie to create the foundation of most of the songs that appear on the album. “I did a lot of pre-production with them, before going into the studio with Crighton. Just when you think R&B is going nowhere, they come up with something fantastic. I reckon in the next few years they are going to be the leading R&B and hip-hop producers in South Africa and I want to be on that train.” And working with Goodwill, Loyiso says, “was just amazing”. “We’ve been friends for a while and are on the same plane when it comes to the way I wanted to the songs to turn out.”
And for those fans looking for a link between Loyiso’s early solo work and that on his most recent recording should stop at “Dali Wami” (“my love”). “It’s a love song of course, and for me is a continuation of a journey that began with the song ‘Musukukhala’,” Loyiso explains.
A trio of songs on ‘Blow Your Mind’ come in as unadorned as possible – “Closer Than Close”, “Walk With Me” and “Sound Love” are impeccable showcases for Loyiso’s ability to convey emotions, without veering into the histrionic. “I do this live – I have moments where I break it down and just sit in front of the piano to go into a piece of music that is without any frills. In fact, so many of the songs that I have written are created on the piano where I am able to get that melody down and so I feel very connected to this kind of material.”
Although Loyiso did play on several tracks, he left most of the instrumentation to Goodwill and a host of players. “I like to get producers to producer and players to play and that leaves me to focus on singing. In that way everything comes off professionally and I don’t overdo things. It’s a way of working that really suits me.” With the likes of Randall Scheepers on keyboard, Tlale Makhene on percussion, Bez Roberts on Trombone and Adam Howard on trumpet (as well as handling the string and brass arrangements) the musicality on ‘Blow Your Mind’ is high.
With the recording done, all that’s left for Loyiso is to take his new material to his fans. “My November and December are booked solid and I am also keen to take the album into territories in Africa as well as the UAE,” he says. “Live is where I am able to bring everything I love about music together on one great platform.”
