Inganekwane

In both senses of the term, Johannesburg’s Zoë Modiga is a new world star. Her ancient-to-future energy swirls from a bedrock of Afro-centric storytelling, nurtured by a township upbringing and embraced by a musical aesthetic involving jazz, soul, electronica and rhythms from West and South Africa. Live, Modiga’s cross-art form presentations – bold visuals, fluid dance moves, a thing for blowing up balloons onstage – have made her a critic’s darling. The acclaim that greeted her 2017 debut, the double album Yellow: The Novel, which was an uplifting slice of self-reflection delivered in English and IsiZulu, made that tricky second album all the trickier. But Inganekwane (Fairytale in IsiZulu) is a head-turning follow-up, a 16-track work that examines notions of black identity, love and heartbreak through a bilingual lense in a voice that might just be flawless. The spirit of Busi Mhlongo weaves through tracks laden with ringing guitars and on ‘Lengoma’, featuring the booming tenor of Tubatsi Mpho Moloi from band Urban Village and galloping percussion.

Messages abound: ‘Umdali’ tells of the great being that created the ancestors. ‘Ilanga Lishonile’ praises the sacred significance of the cow in African village life, a trope that dominates the album’s artwork to slightly clunky result. But no matter. Huge things await.