It is without a doubt that the release of Donald’s Something More visual album on 18 May 2017 has ushered Mzansi in an era where we can also comfortably talk about “watching” an album with neighbouring continents.

Artists have tinkered with the form of visual albums, or music film, since the dawn of pop music. But has South Africa ever had one? And how does Donald fit in?

Well, besides the fact that his newly-released project is a follow-up to his previous successful albums, Train of Love, Red Mic Xperience (Live In Carnival City), Black & White, Black And White 2.0 (DJ’s Edition), a visual album is a first for South Africa and Donald takes credit for it.

‘Something More’ includes 10 songs and 10 videos, which includes features from Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage, actor Abdul Khoza, radio personality Masechaba Ndlovu, TV presenter Bontle Modiselle and more.

During a telephonic interview with the singer, we managed to source out a few details about his new masterpiece and how it was all formed. Read the interview below:

How has the reaction from this latest visual album been?

‘’The  reaction has been very warming since its actual release hey, and it’s been amazing, I’ve been having prolific names showering me with compliments , them seeing a fresh idea within the industry has really impressed them especially because of the genre.’’

From the horse’s mouth, how long did it take you to finally master this masterpiece, recording-wise?

‘’The whole project really took a long time, I had to have the music ready and then create the perfect story for the visuals etc, so the whole project took like 10-11 months, so that’s like almost a year to put the whole project together.’’

How was the experience of working with the featured artists like Tiwa Savage, actor Abdul Khoza, radio personality Masechaba Ndlovu, TV presenter Bontle, new artist Floda, did you encounter difficulties, or was it a memorable experience?

‘’It was actually a GREAT experience working with these professionals, Floda is much more younger, fresh and still growing, yet her input into this project was of a legend. So it was really, really a great experience since these are all the people who really love what they do so they made this dream much easier to achieve!’’

What kind of sound, production wise, did you have at the back of your mind, prior to entering the studio?

‘’I don’t really have those moments as an artist, I just go into the studio and just go with the moment and the flow. I can say that it comes naturally to me, and somehow that makes me unique.’’

 

The public has responded very well to the songs in the album, but it would be nice to know which are your favourite songs within the album?

‘’ I love every bit and piece of this album generally, but I would say my personal favourite would have to be Rain Drops featuring Tiwa Savage. Landela is also one of my personal favourite songs, Standing Ovation and Credo (What Is Love) are also my favourites.’’

Since this is a visual album, did you have any overall theme of mood that you were trying to capture or give out when you started working on this masterpiece?

‘’I just wanted to tell stories about love, reignite the spark in people’s relationships, I want people to listen and watch the album then give love a second chance. I believe that my purpose in the music industry is to talk about love you know, different dynamics of love. I’m not saying I know everything about love, but I know for a fact that one of things I excel in, is love story-telling.’’

You managed to keep this beautiful visual album a secret to your fans, industry etc, would you mind telling how was it like to keep such an exciting project from your close friends and fans?

‘’It was very difficult to keep a project of this magnitude a secret, but thanks to my team and everyone who contributed towards the making of this project, we managed to persevere until we completed it.’’

 Why the secrecy, especially since this is a history-making project?

‘’The original idea was not to give it any form of marketing; it was all about keeping it as a surprise for people. Besides that, I don’t always believe in marketing things ahead of time so that my projects can have that impact you know.’’

Are there any crazy behind the scenes anecdotes from the making of this album that you can share with us?

‘’Nothing in specific yet, but I am definitely going to release a short documentary in a few weeks’ time and that’s when we are going to drop those behind the scenes moments etc.’’

Fans on social media are arguing that you sourced out motivation for a visual album from Beyoncé’s Lemonade, is it true?

‘’I cannot agree to that because I am inspired by a lot of artists you know,  I draw inspiration from anything around me, so I would compile a lot of ideas from anywhere and come up with my own unique thing.’’

So Donald, from here, what’s next? What more can we expect from you?

‘’People will be seeing more of me from now on, we are going to be doing shows, and a whole lot of surprises like this one as well.’’

Seeing that you are now a man of history making, what advice can you give to other artist within or out of the industry about music and passion?

‘’My advice will always be; just do whatever it takes to get you there, and stay away from anything negative, that’s what I always tell people.’’

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T.Nkabinde