Moving In Tune With Nakhane’s Jargon

It has been said that music is a universal language. Fiery strums, banging bass lines and webs of poignant lyrics meet you in the throat as you are welcomed to learn Nakhane’s new(est) language. The South African artist, now based in the United Kingdom, has stepped back to the world with an offering much unlike their previous musical recordings. Through the album, Bastard Jargon , Nakhane not only sidesteps what might have been expected of them by fans but also gently reminds listeners that life is for the living. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="1" ] Prior to the March 31 st release of the full body of work, Nakhane had teased the world with the direction that Bastard Jargon – their third album – could take. The first single, Tell Me Your Politik , is a complex mix of frankness and urgency, tenderness and agitation, all riding in, and through, a sonic portal that invites the listener to get lost to the point of joining the chorus of provocateurs. It is in engineering such landscapes for the songs on the album that Nakhane moves it to achieve what they term its “existential sex” status. The 10-track offering leaves few places to hide, for both the artist and their audience. As a storyteller, Nakhane has a way of world building that often feels like excitedly undoing an elastic band ball. The tense tango between hearing and mishearing, immediately grasping the concept and having to sit with a song and its impact before declaring a liking for it are what make this return after five years a moment to be celebrated. The break took the artist by surprise, but they reveal that in having the tables turned, the process helped them “understand that there are things that happen in the background that we (listeners and fans) know nothing about”. This also has something to do with the departure from the almost surgical and personal operation that was their second album, You Will Not Die , released in 2018. Having been “singing these sad songs to people who just want to dance”, in crafting Bastard Jargon Nakhane honoured “a pact I made with myself that with every album I would make in the future, there would be some stylistic shift.” While the title might seem provocative, it is in fact a take-away from the artist’s studies in literature and African Languages at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) in Johannesburg. In the process of standardisation of languages, “Before a language is deemed a Pidgin or even a Creole, they’re called Bastard Jargons,” they share. It is this process that took Nakhane 18 months to unfurl between Ghent, Hastings, Lisbon, London, and Oxfordshire, alongside collaborating producers and writers. A moment of surrealist euphoria for the artist came when Nile Rodgers, legendary member of band, Chic, agreed to join the production team for the album – ultimately resulting in him co-producing half of the songs. Rodgers, who contributed to Beyoncé’s Grammy award-winning and viral sensation, CUFF IT , also joins Nakhane on Tell Me Your Politik alongside another of Beyoncé’s previous collaborators, Moonchild Sanelly. Beyond the musical power behind the album – which also includes Raphael Saadiq, Leo Abrahams, BLK JKS and John Congleton – it is equally worth noting how timely the new language it proposes is. When the world was shutting itself away to stay safe, many longed for some kind of connection. The sexuality and sensuality addressed across the album are elevated by the assuredness and unapologetic openness that one encounters along the way. There is a political presence laced in metaphors and explicitly showcased in some songs, such as My Ma Was Good . The near-confessional song is culturally specific and swells in meaning to anyone with knowledge of the plight of Black people in South Africa as it talks back to the nuances of discipline and subjugation that exist within their familial universe, and provokes one to introspect. Nakhane’s falsetto wafts over the guitar and grungy warps on Hold Me Down , they abscond singing in favour of the spoken word on Hear Me Moan, and beckon you to “stay in the light so I can see your face” in the sensual Do You Well – which features American singer-songwriter, Perfume Genius. The latter promises to ascend to Queer anthem levels through its unveiled want and sing-along composition. What Nakhane has given the world in this third foray into producing a body of work has the potential to stand the test of time without being dated. All the way from the catchy guitar and claps of the opening track, The Caring , to the final note on If You Were to Complain , the language of this era of Nakhane is robust – credit, perhaps, to all that took place in the background. Abating any concerns about what the future holds beyond returning to touring – such as they recently did in Australia – Nakhane teased fans on social media, saying: “I hope it won’t take five years next time.” For now, however, there is something to become well versed in while movi [/ihc-hide-content]ng with abandon.

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Moving In Tune With Nakhane’s Jargon

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