Synthetic Hearts Part II

Last year I gave Synthetic Hearts by Asanda Lusaseni Mvana (aka Msaki) and Tubatsi Mpho Moloi, four stars – and now comes a second volume of nine songs recorded during the same sessions. Both singers boast an impressive pedigree, Tubatsi with the Soweto quartet Urban Village and Msaki as a solo star who won Female Artist of the Year at the South African Music Awards in 2022. The edgy, AutoTuned electronics of opener ‘Imini Yesithembiso’ (The Day of Promise) are followed swiftly by the classical-sounding ballad ‘Green to Gold’ with Clément Petit’s cello to the fore, and the soulful throb of ‘Leithio Laboraro’, making it clear once again that this is not a collaboration that can be easily pigeonholed. The diversity of moods and styles continues, one minute lush and the next minimalist as Msaki and Tubatsi’s voices combine, complement and contrast in thrilling fashion.