Award-winning South African guitarist Vuma Levin is embarking on a global tour to launch his long-awaited album, “The Past is Unpredictable: Only the Future is Certain”.
“The Past is Unpredictable: Only the Future is Certain” promises an engaging musical journey that reflects on the creative vision and unique perspective on Africa’s rich traditions.
“I wanted the album to deal with what it means to be black and African in an age of globalisation, capitalism, pandemics and crisis,” said Levin.
“I wanted to explore how existential questions of dreams, love, loss, hope and fear, intersect with our status as political actors. Invoking temporality and its inherent mediation by society and the individual seemed the perfect metaphor for capturing all these themes.”
Known for his captivating and dynamic sound of jazz, African rhythms, and diverse cultural influences, fans can look forward to witnessing his electrifying performances and experiencing the magic of Levin’s new album live in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The new body of work officially released on May 19.
“The Past is Unpredictable: Only the Future is Certain” was recorded across three cities, Johannesburg, Basel and Amsterdam.
The album features local and international contemporary jazz artists including Ben van Gelder (Netherlands), Xavi Torres Vicente (Spain), Bokani Dyer (South Africa), Shane Cooper (South Africa), Sisonke Xonti (South Africa), Benjamin Jephta (South Africa) and Matthias Spillmann (Switzerland).
In a conversation with IOL Entertainment, Levin also highlighted the power of collaboration, which is evident throughout the new album.
“I lived in the Netherlands for almost a decade. I also lived in Basel (Switzerland) for a year,” offered Levin.
“And so, a lot of musicians there and a lot of the works that come out of the album came through collaborations I had with those musicians and a lot of contacts and networks I built over the years.”
Levin says this album, the project that has been in the making for the past four years, is a celebration of his musical journey.
“Conceptually and aesthetically, the project utilises South African traditional indigenous musical practices and instrumentation as its basis.
“These are reread through the lens of contemporary South African jazz, popular music, innovations emerging out of the nascent new music, improvised and jazz scenes in Switzerland and the Netherlands and the orchestral dimensions of Western Art music.
“This album is a great summary of everything that I’ve been trying to do musically for the past decade, while also pointing to the possibilities of what I can do in the future.
“It begins with the kind of improvised spoken word introduction with a lot of percussions and there’s a lot of internal stuff in there as well, from contemporary classical music to South African jazz.
“To me, it’s the clearest articulation of my own musical voice in the present and potential future articulation of that musical voice as well.
“And it has been an absolute dream come true to record this album across the three cities and two continents I have called home. Hearing my compositions rendered in this way is beyond anything I could hope for and I am deeply humbled and grateful to everyone who was involved.”
Below are some of the renowned venues that Levin will be playing at as part of his album launch.
• 01/06 Korzo (Den Haag)
• 03/06 Lantaren Venster (Rotterdam)
• 26/10 Jazz In Sarnen (Sarnen)
• 27/10 Jazz ’n Roche (Basel)
• 28/10 Bird’s Eye Jazz Club (Basel)
For more information on the tour, follow Vuma Levin’s social media platforms.