A new jazz album is bringing together musical traditions, personal histories and contemporary influences from opposite sides of the African continent as one South African artist and one Ghanaian pianist came together to create "African Breyani".
South African vocalist, composer and educator Natalie Rungan and acclaimed Ghanaian pianist and composer Victor Dey Jr. recorded the album between Durban and Ghana as they created their unique blend.
The album's South African melodic language meets Ghanaian rhythmic influence, with jazz, gospel, neo soul, African music and the musicians’ individual journeys woven into the mix.
For Rungan, the album’s title track provides the perfect metaphor for the project.
She wrote “African Breyani” in 2023 after watching an Indian film and reflecting on the complicated relationship between heritage and home.
"My heritage identifies me to the world as Indian, but Africa is my home. As I sat with those thoughts, I began thinking about breyani. Breyani is made from many different spices. Individually, some of those spices are bitter, but together they create something rich, beautiful, and mouth-wateringly delicious. It is a dish loved by many South Africans, regardless of their background.
"The more I reflected on this album, the more I realised that it had been created in exactly the same way. Different musicians, different countries, different musical traditions, different histories, and different personalities came together to form something none of us could have created alone," she said.
Rungan travelled to Ghana three times during the making of the project, recording sessions taking place alongside work completed in Durban. Rather than creating a divide, the distance became part of the creative process.
"I found musical similarities between our countries, but there is something very particular about the rhythmic language and musical sensibility in Ghana, and I think people will hear that alongside the South African influences in the album.
"What I loved most was that we didn’t try to make the music sound 'South African' or 'Ghanaian'. We allowed the two worlds to meet naturally," said Rungan.
Dey describes the result simply as “mix-mix”, a little bit of everything, with each element retaining its character.
"At its heart, though, it is about conversation. The music isn’t trying to prove where it comes from. It is listening, responding and allowing the different influences to speak to one another," said Rungan.
Rungan and Dey first connected through the National Youth Jazz Festival, where Dey’s vibrant and soulful piano playing made an immediate impression on Rungan.
That musical connection continued to develop over the years before becoming the foundation for "African Breyani". In 2024, Dey performed with the Ghana Jazz Collective at the festival, helping reignite the idea of turning their musical relationship into a full-scale recording project.
"African Breyani" is Rungan's eighth album, following her debut, "Love Is", released in 2008.
"I felt like I needed someone to bring out of me something different and something that would challenge me. I had been exposed to Victor’s music and his approach to jazz, and I felt there was something very interesting that could happen between his musical language and mine. The collaboration grew organically from there.
"Creatively, I think what made it work was that there was mutual respect. Neither of us was trying to dominate the other. We were listening to each other, and that is really what collaboration should be," she said.
Dey takes a similarly musician-centred view of the project.
"Every musician is their own entity. Each brings something different that I counted on to make the music come to life. The nationality is not as important as the musicians in question," he said.
Dey said each composition carries a distinct mood and identity.
"All songs carry a different mood. No two songs are in the same sphere. They have their own life and tell their own stories which is captivating.
"So many things went into this album. In a song like African Breyani for the piano solo, I deliberately chose a direction for the solo to go more into jazz. For example, I used ideas from Old Highlife ‘Cats’. Fiddle bass (double bass) guitar guys would play bebop lines. I wanted to use this as a template to inject jazz into the African background of the song," he said.
Rungan wrote the lyrics for the album, drawing heavily on personal experience.
Her writing often begins from an intimate place, but collaborating with Dey and composer Godwin Louis required her to inhabit the perspectives of other composers and musicians.
"One of the things that has become increasingly important in my writing is the idea of who we are as Africans and how we understand ourselves in relation to one another and in the context of the world," she said.
The songs also draw inspiration from relationships, people, conversations and everyday observations.
"A lot of the inspiration came from the experience of being African and from the conversations Victor and I were having around music, culture and our respective countries.
"There is also a lot of personal experience in the album. I draw inspiration from people, from relationships, from things I observe and from conversations that stay with me. And then, of course, there is the music itself. Sometimes a melody or a rhythm takes you somewhere before you even know what the story is," said Rungan.
The first song she wrote for the project was “Just Like Christmas”, which also became the first single and introduced the album to audiences.
Each track, she said, represents a different part of the journey while contributing to the same larger story.
The release of "African Breyani" comes at a time when questions around migration, nationality and the treatment of foreign nationals remain deeply contested in South Africa.
For Rungan, the album was not conceived as a direct response to xenophobia or those tensions. Yet its existence carries a particular resonance in that environment.
"Borders are political. Music is human. Victor and I come from two different countries, but when we sit down to play, there are things we understand instinctively. Rhythm, spirituality, storytelling, family, community, love; these things travel across borders.
"I don’t think 'African Breyani' was created as a response to xenophobia or the tensions around foreign nationals, but its existence becomes meaningful within that context. We are saying, through the music, that there is far more that connects us than separates us," said Rungan.
Dey, likewise, sees the album’s power in its synergy and diversity.
For Rungan, the album also represents a significant point in her own artistic evolution.
Since releasing "Love Is", she said she has become increasingly confident in her voice and less concerned with fitting neatly into established genres.
"Earlier in my career I was perhaps more concerned with where I fitted within particular genres. Today I am much more interested in telling a story and allowing the music to be what it needs to be.
"My work has also become more intentional about African identity and the different musical influences that have shaped me. Jazz remains at the centre, but I don’t see jazz as a limitation. It gives me a language through which I can explore all these different sounds and experiences," she said.
And what does she hope listeners ultimately take from "African Breyani"?
"Hope. I want people to hear that, feel it, and believe it. Music should make us feel something, but it can also remind us that we belong to something bigger than ourselves.
"I hope they hear the joy this album creates by bringing different cultures together, but also recognise that this is not something unusual. We are connected as Africans. Ultimately, I would like people to enjoy the music. Before anything else, it is an album made by two musicians who genuinely enjoyed making music together," said Rungan.
* The album is available across the major digital streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and other digital platforms, as well as through Bandcamp.
taschica.pillay@nationalmg.co.za