Lately, There Is Zetina

Lately, I am in awe of female talent brewing on the margins of our cosmopolitan soundscapes. I had a conversion of sorts with Zetina Mosia, one having to do with her single ‘Lately’. 

Harmonies of delinquencies; hymns of an age of disillusionment and deterred ambition have become the gum stuck on the wheel of transience, and once in a while a piece falls along the way side. Zetina Mosia is for me that proverbial stone cast aside when it was of essence in the robust masonry of the tower of South African expression. But a formidable presence they are carving on the Jozi scene, with performances at a variety of hotspot for creative minds. I struggled to box and label their new style of music more because it resonates of a cluttered symbiosis akin my own mental temperament. So if perhaps my dismembered emotions can be encapsulated in a band’s dynamo, propelling my soul through most intricate passages – this sound would come damningly close.

Zetina not only stamps a distinctive signature to the overall cacophony of near improvised sensuality, but the hiccup induced by acutely dramatic instrumentation leaves tears welling up my throat. Guess I am too sentimental and prosaic, but what the hell. Their sound is an absolutely, insanely incredible beauty.

The ludicrously grand production design of ‘sampletologist’ Kanif Sebright, in its ambition, gives new production clarity and more musical depth to the “indie scene”. Equally balanced by flawless musical arrangements from long time musical collaborator Tshepo Tsotetsi (clarinet) and guitarist whose fluid chords and notes tickle other dimensions of musical experience; we have an offering that will sure make airwaves act ionised this year.

The album doesn’t defy much of the logic that undergirds the public idea of love, relationships and social ills, but goes beyond that revolutionary- inflected idiom of chocolate love. With lyrics that are ironic and troubling; inhabiting increasingly complicated spaces of romantic relationships (taking for instance Tainted Love) the selection brings a personalised and visceral sense of universality, exploring emotions any human can feel without racialised romantic dysfunction. This music makes one believe in the power of human intimacy and affection.

Zetina can be considered a metaphor for the intertwining of social, cultural and technological tools of contemporary expression. Working in an industry in which fans and trendsetters alike routinely confuse the spectacle with the spectacular, she is proving that she is here to stay.

Laced on a wave of alternating instrumental and electronic dub mixed compositions, (and the iconic sample from The Clash’s Tainted Love) you have to understand that these musicians mean business when it comes to expanding the repertoire.

The character of their compositions is overwhelming contemplative and evanescent: impressive at the moment itself, but never lost afterwards.

Take for an example Sneaky; it bloody sneaks up on you. And given the song's possible intent of execution, it seems designed to illustrate the utter futility of the actual action of infidelity. Vocalizing in a husky voice influenced by jazz, hip hop and classic soul, she demonstrates a range reminiscent of such genre-busting innovators as Meshell NdegeOcello, Simphiwe Dana or Meklit Hadero.

And on such a foundation of potential greatness, I foresee this musical venture moving beyond the common political complacency expressed by most artists of the day.

(Fotos from the artist)