27 Sep NOMINA RELEASES STUNNING SINGLE ‘AMADLOZI’ FEATURING SLAM & MENDEL
Nomina is living proof that the power of words and music cannot be compartmentalised. This power is not limited by genre or style. The German singer-songwriter from Botswana with the unmistakeable voice gives us new, international, fresh, and vibrant music with African rhythms.
With her first singles “Mamaland” (2016) and “Don’t Cry Africa” (2017), she already gained millions of fans,particularly in her homeland Botswana, where she can be heard on the radio and seen in her music videos on TV.
Now she’s releasing her debut album “I FOUND MYSELF”,which takes us on a journey through passion, fun, misery,pain, hope and love. On the album she shares her soul with the world, and it’s contagious, even addictive. In her inspiring songs we hear a new, unique timbre – the voice of a woman who has been through more than a few difficult times.
The name says it all: Nomina means “I’ve found myself.” Since she was a child – when she lost both her parents – she’s been aware of her mission: to motivate disadvantaged people to improve their living conditions.
She follows in the steps of her mother, who, from the South African High Commission in Gabarone, supported Nelson Mandela during the first democratic elections in his country.
Nomina is a Motswana. Born in Plumtree, Zimbabwe, and raised with four brothers and sisters in Botswana’s capital, she now lives in Germany, where she began her music career after finishing her degree. She started singing in well-known local hip-hop and gospel groups and in hip-hop and R&B studio productions. Later she attracted attention as a soloist in musical theatre, working with famous names from “We Will Rock You”, “The Lion King”, “Mamma Mia” and “Dance of the Vampires”. Live on stage during the African Weeks, at the Peace Festival in Augsburg, the international Reggae Festival in Wulf, and at charity galas in Munich and London, she has delighted her fans.
Nomina is a phenomenal singer and a masterful storyteller ready for an international breakthrough.
You can listen to her single here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0PKC1abKpsM9caoHFdVcwS?si=HmhphjiMQ6W3Aua6N2KCgA
We had an interview with Nomina;
Thanks for coming through Nomina. First things first, how would you describe your sound?
Well I would say, it`s a unique sound, something new and quite different. It is a sound that doesn’t have a specific genre although I would describe it as future Afro Pop with tribal house-electro elements at times. I fuse modern music like Pop/ RnB with traditional African elements: It could be in form of instrumentals and/or just using my African languages like Setswana, Ndebele or Kalanga, as well as English.
And of course you have a new project ‘AMADLOZI’ . Tell us about that and the process involved in creating it?
Yes, Amadlozi is my heartfelt family project, It`s a new single from my upcoming Album ‘ I Found Myself’. The song was officially released in June 2019. ‘Amadlozi’ is a song that embraces my core culture and roots, by celebrating my African spiritual ancestors, who can be summoned for guidance and assistance. To sum it up, I would say the song is about remembering and celebrating our late beloved ones.
The beat and instrumentals of this song were inspired direct from Botswana, my homeplace. I particularly looked for this new kind of a sound. It was very important for me to work with someone who understands my culture. That way, it was easier for me to create melodies and the lyrics of the song. The funny part of it, was that anytime I played the beat I’d automatically start dancing. I felt the beat deserved my best creativity. The next step was to record the song idea on garage band, and send it to my producer. We went on to modify the beat with my producer in Germany and then later invited my brothers ‘Slam and Mendel’ who are also artists, to come over from Botswana to Germany for recording. I was convinced, a feature would do the song justice and make it more versatile. The song was recorded, produced in Germany, mixed in Botswana and mastered in America. I must say we were all crazy about the song and its character.
What are some of the themes and concepts you included on this project?
The Amadlozi music video shoot in South Africa, Johannesburg, which was shot by one of the most popular South African music video companies.
The fact that this was a ‘family project’: My team was mainly made up of family members, including fashion designers, stylists, catering, organizers, assistants etc…
I had to fly the team over from Botswana to Johannesburg to start video shoots preparations. These preparations were the most challenging part of this project. We had to organize all the assets needed by ourselves, then ran around buying some video materials, working on the script, holding meetings with the video company to work on the scenes and time schedules etc…
Song Promotion was also necessary so I had to travel to Botswana to promote ‘Amadlozi’. That involved TV shows, radio interviews & print media which all worked out well.
The song has since garnered quite a good reception on .What has the reception to ‘AMADLOZI’ been like on your end?
Right from the start, when I introduced the song to anyone, they’d listen really attentively, and the reaction was always very positive but quite different from previous songs. From the Feedback I’ve received up to now, the conclusion is that ‘Amadlozi’ is abstract, fresh, filled with glorious melodies, spiritually rich, addictive, unique etc.… Some would ask me questions like ‘what kind of a song is this?’
I feel blessed to have received such amazing feedback, and most of all, I`m highly motivated to continue doing my very best and trusting myself to create new unique music that inspires listeners. I mean, although I really love the song, the fact is I didn’t know how listeners around the globe would react to this new kind of music. That`s why I am very touched and impressed with the reception of ‘Amadlozi’. I read some reviews of the song on some music blogs and I must say It is really impressive how they described the song. Listening to something I have crafted myself, on the radio or watching the video on MTV made me feel excited about creating more special music. I remember when we heard the first mixed Version of the song, we were driving to a Greek restaurant with my friends and my brothers, We all couldn’t hold ourselves back from extreme excitement. The driver found himself driving out of control. In this car, there were different nationalities, German, Russian, Batswana. That got me thinking, this song has a great potential.
Any particular bands or artists you took inspiration from?
I believe that my inspiration comes from many different bands and artists. I listen to a lot of music, so here am just mentioning some of my favorites, like
Sia, Black Coffee, Yvonne Chakachaka, DJ avicii, Black Motion, Beyoncé, Mariah Carrey, Miriam Makeba, Amy winehouse, Rihanna, John Legend, Sean Paul, Green Day, Alicia Keys and many more.
I love artists who tell their own stories, and strive to inspire.
What are your hopes for the new single ‘AMADLOZI’ ?
The sky is the limit. ‘Amadlozi’ has made it to the USA top 40 radio charts entering at number 39 and rising all the way to number 1 on hitsyoulove. Of course, I hope many radio stations in the UK and around the globe will now play the song too. Like every artist, more streams and downloads would be great. My secret biggest wish is to be able to perform this song to audiences all over the world. Being on stage live is a great honor for me as an artist.
What can you tell us about your plans for the rest of 2019?
2019 is a great year for me. It began well. I’ll be releasing my next single titled ‘Fetish daddy’ soon. You have to be ready for this one.
It will also involve travelling to different countries for video shoots or interviews. I will also be preparing myself for the next big thing… That is live performances. Then finally my Album release will follow.
What message do you have for your fans out there?..
I am grateful for your support, please. keep on showing love.
If you wish to uplift your spirit and breathe life into your soul then you`d better listen to Amadlozi and await the next great single asap, followed by the Debut Album ‘ I Found Myself’.
Without you, there’s no growth of Nomina and I am proud of each and every one of you.
Thank you so much for taking your time to listen to my music, I really appreciate it.
You can watch the full Amadlozi video on my IGTV https://www.instagram.com/nomina_music/
And on Vevo or stream, download the song here: https://lnk.to/Nomina
