Publications
Partners
ALBUM REVIEW Ayanda Jiya sings about love in the way musicians used to before the death of chivalry. Phumlani S Langa explores her new album.
Ayanda Jiya – Ayandastand
Available on all streaming platforms
. . . --
Ayanda Jiya has dropped her debut album Ayandastand, which starts off with a standard jazz intro. Then a few of her industry compadres and collaborators leave voice notes wishing her well.
Keys are stroked softly in the background as a sad sounding violin guides a horn through the layered production. Musician Sjava’s voice emerges, claiming to love Ayanda’s sound, along with praises from singer Thabsie, comedian Skhumba Hlophe and rappers ProVerb and Ginger Trill.
This is quite the flex to have at the head of your debut and what follows better be befitting of such an illustrious intro.
Her voice is delicate on the intro, her raspy falsetto claims: “It’s been a long time coming and now I Ayandastand.”
A very R&B beginning to this project. Night Away kicks in, a funky duet with Ziyon, the other half of the very slept on and greatly missed Liquideep. The production on this is large and dominates the space so much that I felt the vocalists were overpowered by it. The lyrics almost seem secondary at first listen.
The bridge brings the pair a sliver of refuge from the swelling synth, allowing their capabilities to soar though the loudness.
Falling For You is the lead single and has an accompanying video featuring the highly celebrated A-Reece. He brings, to what is otherwise a sweet serenade, a touch of raunchiness. We can’t discuss love without talking about the stuff that happens after being compared to a summer’s day.
Trade sees the album really take off. Her producers get that Sunday mood down perfectly even though the composition involves wavy 808 drums and hissing high hats. Ayanda’s voice is given a window to fly through, carrying the weighty sentiments of wanting to be with someone so badly, it consumes all her thoughts.
I was quarter-to calling my ex after this but fortunately I’m confronted with a pertinent question on the next track, would it be Worth It? Ayanda sings adamantly that she is. This track mirrors hip-hop in that it uses a break beat or minimal trap, if you will. Pop music and now it would seem R&B do mimic the dominant sounds of the time. I’m not averse to it when it’s executed proficiently.
Lover 4 Life uses the luxurious lexicon provided by the one and only Stogie T. Ayanda started out with her delivery being fragile and tender but by the time you reach this, her vocal chords are firmly in top gear. Each track almost progressively takes us towards her final form which I feel she achieves, especially at the end of this song and Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
This record has so many talking points and I couldn’t be happier that we may now have a solid contender to the likes of Shekhinah. Ayanda seems to point her voice wherever she desires. She reaches all the notes whether down and earthy or stretching towards the heavens.
The Sun is another standout on what is an accomplished debut and it uses, quite interestingly, Nick Holder’s deep House classic Summer Daze. This is how a debut should sound, in my opinion. I think, with a bit more intensity in the lyricism, in future we may be in for some splendid work from this sister.
