Dumama - Towards An Expanse

Shimmering xhosa traditions and deep electronic futures vibrate as south african sonic poet and composer dumama unveils her groundbreaking debut solo album, towards an expanse.

Sometimes gospel, sometimes electro-psychedelic space travel, Towards An Expanse unfurls from a languid lament into an ever-expanding sonic universe. Dumama defies conventional genre boundaries while excavating deep personal and cultural histories in this concise but boundaryless collection, recorded between New York, Johannesburg and Berlin

Dumama first gained international attention with her acclaimed 2020 collaborative album, Buffering Juju, created with fellow South African musician and artist Kechou, and lauded as Global Album of the Month by The Guardian. Her new solo work draws on a rich lineage of South African voices.

Gugulethu Duma (aka Dumama) is a musician / composer / sonic poet / creative producer from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and one of the few uhadi players in the world. Her use of the traditional Xhosa bowed instrument guides her profound story-telling, blending ancestral roots into an urgent electro-acoustic palette.

The album was born out of sessions with acclaimed musician and producer Shahzad Ismaily in New York and South African powerhouse Nandi Ndlovu in Johannesburg.