Having released his second album ‘On The Romance Of Being’ back in April, Desire Marea is set to return with new EP ‘The Baddies Of Isandlwana’ next month.
Musically, the EP is inspired by the sounds of South Africa’s nightlife now, but lyrically it delves further back into the country’s history.
The title refers to the 1879 Battle Of Isandlwana, the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu war which ended with a decisive victory for the Zulus. Seeking to find himself in that history prompted Desire to contemplate the lives of the LGBT+ soldiers in the Zulu army.
He explains that the EP features “a trio of songs inspired by my time living in Amandawe, KZN. It’s an infusion of sounds that dominate nightlife in SA, such as gqom, amapiano and afrobeat. The EP is symbolic of a time when I was trying to find myself in the world I occupied, which extended to my ongoing quest to find myself in history, hence the title”.
Out now is the song ‘The Only Way’, of which he says: “I was really just feeling myself here, it’s one song where I fully express my bad bitch energy. It’s giving pheromones at a beach party on the African coast”.
You can catch Desire Marea live in London at Hoxton Hall tonight.
