First Listen: Take a Mysterious Cape Town Journey In Bongeziwe Mabandla’s “Ndokulandela” Video

South African folk singer Bongeziwe Mabandla, just released the video for his single “Ndokulandela.”

SOUTH AFRICA —Fresh off releasing his second album, Mangaliso, South African folk singer Bongeziwe Mabandla is sharing the video for the album’s first single “Ndokulandela.”

The visuals are aesthetically aligned to the song itself. Mabandla’s hypnotic vocals play a perfect soundtrack to rituals and hazy performances, with spirituality as an overarching theme.

The music video was directed by Cape Town-based director Ian Henderson, and was filmed in Macassar, Cape Town. It features art direction and costumes by Boys of South Africa (B.O.S.A).

"For me the narrative of the film was an allegorical representation of the underlying spiritual themes present in the lyric,” says Henderson. “[The main character] Likho Velemane’s character was also intended to suggest a younger Bongeziwe, and at the same time, provide a counterpoint to the older self. The two narratives represented the outer world, and the inner spiritual journey.”

The mysterious video has a subtle storyline—we follow the protagonist on a spiritual journey that is open-ended. It also features performance scenes that are shot in a monochrome color scheme.

Watch the video above and buy or stream Mangaliso on iTunes and Deezer.

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