The year Kujenga broke through

Our interview with Zwide Ndwandwe of Kujenga is a beautifully chaotic encounter.

At play are unreliable wi-fi connections, airport security that’ll harass you at the slightest opportunity, and about a million and one things that can go wrong when you’re at London’s Heathrow airport.

This day, a Tuesday, is the day the band heads back to SA. They had gone to London to play a series of shows, and to forge connections that shall hopefully bear fruit in the future. 

How they got to London owes to a series of serendipitous moments. According to Ndwandwe, they were contacted by Stephen Bass from PRAH Recordings in London, who had heard the band’s music on BBC’s Radio 6 Music, and had seen their name as part of Search festival’s line-up. In February, Bass came to Cape Town, saw the band playing, asked for a meeting, and made them an offer. 

“He asked ‘have you guys ever thought of coming to London’? And I said yeah, of course, obviously right now it’s the epicentre of this Black Improvised Music scene,” said Ndwandwe.

Bass then gave them money that would get them to London, and suggested that they plan their trip around the time of the London Jazz Festival. Accommodation was taken care of. 

“It was interesting because I’m thinking OK, what’s the catch? He’s interested in us having a collaboration with him, but he’s more interested in seeing this band move forward,” Ndwandwe said.

At some point during our conversation, Ndwandwe saw footballing legend Solomon Kale, who used to play for Arsenal, politely put our conversation on hold and promptly approached him for a selfie. 

“I’m a Gunner, so being in London and seeing them — it’s mostly for my mom, because she used to love African players who were doing well,” resumed Ndwandwe. 

“The year has been milestone after milestone. Sometimes it feels a little bit surreal. I can’t explain it to you. It’s all aligned, that’s the beauty of it. Everything has fallen so well. It’s not like we had a strategist.”

It’s not a stretch to say that 2024 was Kujenga’s year. Anyone who saw them at the many places they performed — including showcases at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Joy of Jazz Festival — left convinced of their brilliance.

Their most recent tour to Joburg at the end of August had special guests from Jozi and the Mother City. Internet Athi had everyone in a daze when he performed his single, Wena, and Blee.t got the vibes going with her intricate bass tones and alluring voice. 

“I can’t explain to you how, we’re still not even sure how this is happening. We’re still applying the same kind of principles that have got us here. We can’t believe that it’s taking us further and further, but more so, taking us to places that we ultimately knew in our hearts that we could get to,” said Ndwandwe. 

The principles he speaks of are an unwavering dedication to communal planning and communal doing, rejecting the corporate machine that controls the music industry, and believing that they are as good as anyone out there.

This tour, for example, was made possible by several people, including the artists who performed at their tour fundraiser recently.

Kujenga started out as four kids who just wanted to play music in 2017. They have played at just about every venue in Cape Town that accommodates music.

Their name is Swahili for “to build” or “to create”. In 2019, Kujenga released their debut, Nationality. It was during the lockdown that a horn section was added, which tightened the sound and gave a melodic flair to the music. They have a Mzantsi Jazz Award for their sophomore album, In The Wake, which has also been nominated for a Sama. 

“The beautiful thing has been how we’ve been getting closer and closer to artists and musicians we’ve looked up to for years. The fact that there’s been such a warm embrace from musicians such as uBaba Andile Yenana, usis’ Thandiswa Mazwai, Balimayo Project here in the UK, whom I’ve been obsessed with for the entire year. They just came to our last show in London. Kokoroko as well.

“We felt that we needed to work really hard to get to that level, and to rub shoulders with people who you thought of as your idols, but now they’re gonna become your peers? It’s a crazy thing.”

Catch Kujenga at the uManyano Lwe Jazz Festival happening at Villa Simonne Boutique Hotel, Johannesburg on December 7 and 8.