Thando Numb Interview

The First Collaboration

In her first collaboration and with one of the fastest-rising Hip Hop acts in Australia, Zimbabwean born Thando has released her brand new single Numb ft Remi to coincide with her upcoming National -Numb' tour Feb – April 2018.
 
Thando Explains "Numb is a song written about my experiences trying to confront feeling ostracized. Lyrically, I took the approach of having to be wasted to get along with people I have nothing in common with (and we've all been there). On a personal level however, I'm addressing being an African Youth who has grown up in Australia. Topics concerning belonging and race have been focused on by mainstream media, (especially as of late) and this had me reflecting on my place in this country and where I truly belong. The title references the struggle of realizing how displaced I feel when I'm being my truest self, instead of a watered down version that's easier to get along with… and in turn, numbing myself to how hard it actually is to do that.
 
My hope is that taking this track around the country will start a conversation amongst listeners and their peers about the difference between tolerance and acceptance, and how psychologically taxing it can be as a minority to have to assimilate."
 
The now Melbourne based artist has made waves not only in the Aus music scene but with an epic Australian theatre debut in 2015 taking on the role as Effie White in StageArt's Dreamgirls. Subsequently, Thando continued her run at theatre the following year with her role as Shug Avery in a sold out season of The Color Purple; alongside the release of her debut EP -Digital Love Letters' clocking up airplay around the country on Triple J, Double J and National Community Radio.
 
A seasoned performer, Thando has shared the stage with Australian acts such as Sampa The Great and Remi, opened for Maxwell at the Palais on his Black Summer Nights Tour with DJ MzRizk, performed a pleather of festival shows including Strawberry Fields in 2017 along with her annual hometown and historically sold out Melbourne performances at Chapel Off Chapel.

Watch Thando's -Numb' Clip ft Remi here
 
Catch Thando touring Numb throughout QLD, WA, NSW, ACT & VIC kicking off in Feb. Tickets From thando.com.au.

Interview with Thando

Question: What was the main inspiration behind Numb?

Thando: Initially wrote it because I woke up one morning with the worst hangover of my life and $0 in my bank account. Then I realised a pattern, I only get super trashed when I can't have conversations of substance with people I don't get along with. Instead of using alcohol as a social lubricant, it had become the basis of a whole life I lived and I realised that can't be healthy.


Question: How did working with Remi, come about?

Thando: We'd met a few times before, and I supported him and Sampa the Great for the Melbourne show of their Fire Sign tour, so I just sent him a message on Facebook and didn't really expect to get a response. But less than a day after I sent that message, we were in the studio laying down his verse. I still pinch myself when his verses come in, hey?


Question: How would you describe your music?

Thando: Genre-defying R&B. We can lay down a fat beat that brings a stank face, and simultaneously put you in the feels.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Thando: I love them all for different reasons, but definitely Running in Circles because the audience gets really into it and sings back to me. We've never recorded it, so it can remain in the sacred realm of live music only.


Question: What should we expect from the upcoming shows?

Thando: Sweat, fat bass and rhodes for days.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend your show, who would it be?

Thando: My late grandmother, she never got to see me sing.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Thando: Performing- easily. A lot of the material we release has been developed over years of doing improv gigs, so we go into the studio and refine. I've never been any good at singing in confined spaces.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Thando: It changes. When messed up stuff is happening in the world, my songs will reflect that. Same as when my partner does something really sweet... or the opposite.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Thando: Vera Blue! Lady Powers is my jam!
Also listening to Masego, Lanks and Kimbra's new stuff is pretty slick.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Thando: Singing and performing is the only thing I've ever been good at so it made sense to make a career out of it. Otherwise, I'd still be working in call centres and after 5 years, so I guess my disdain for a corporate job was my inspiration to pursue this seriously.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?
Thando: Jill Scott. No question.


Interview by Brooke Hunter