music
Ternielle Nelson
It’s not often that an artist comes out of nowhere with a standout album that has all the makings of one of the year’s best records.
But so it is with Ternielle Nelson, a Durban-raised, Joburg-living singer and songwriter whose debut ‘Unearthed’ is so startlingly good, it’s hard to believe that she’s not been a fixture on the music scene for a significant period of time.
In fact, Nelson’s considerable talent was spotted early on by one of South Africa’s most astute music minds, Selaelo Selota, who first noticed the now 21-year-old during a year-end concert at the Central Johannesburg College and later urged her to enter the studio to record her debut.
“I think that the fact that I play guitar and write my own songs impressed Selaelo,” Nelson confides. “But I like the fact that he waited a bit for me to develop my craft after first seeing me in 2004, because it was only towards the end of my studies that he suggested I come into the studio.”
The result is ‘Unearthed', a 10-track offering that comes via Selota’s Live At The Shack joint venture with Sony and will now give Nelson’s music gift the wider audience it deserves, taking her beyond the small group who’ve fervently believed in her over the past few years.
It’s not easy to peg Nelson’s debut – at least not into the genres that so many young South African women artists find themselves slotted into.
Certainly, there are the jazz and neo-Soul ingredients that are so current at the moment but what Nelson’s set of songs also reveals is a breathtaking freshness of sound that’s as much pop as it is Afro-soul; as much folk as it is roots music.
The point is that, right out of the starting gate, Nelson has crafted a sound that’s uniquely hers, untainted by the need to be like anyone else in the South African or global market.
Much of this has to do with Nelson’s determination not to take the route into R&B that many expect of someone with who grew up in Newlands East in Durban and was “fed” an endless diet of the genre. “Singers who come from my cultural background are traditionally steered into the kind of sexy R&B sound that’s so much around at the moment but I made a conscious decision to take another route,” Nelson says.
Nelson’s wide-ranging music sensibility was also stimulated by her stint at the Central Johannesburg College which, as she puts it, “opened my eyes and ears to a lot of different cultural influences which was amazing”. Also playing a role are her ancestral music roots. “My father’s people were Makua from Zanzibar who landed up living in Chatsworth Extension 2. And even though my dad died when I was five, I remember going to my uncle’s houses and being enchanted by the drumming and almost trance-like music they would make in the yard. This a part of my heritage that I try to tap into through my music and hopefully, will explore even more in the years ahead.”
Nelson’s fiercely determined streak saw her create a sound that can be called tribal folk pop. Sortof. The truth is that in South Africa’s crowded music market what Nelson does to beautifully is offer up a set of songs that are melodic, lyrical, and carried forward on the back of captivating lyrics that belie her youth.
A fine example of this is ‘No Condition’, one of 'Unearthed's most elegant songs. Beautifully served by Malatji’s sensitive piano-playing and the most restrained of rhythm sections, the song spotlights the simplicity of what love really can be, if allowed. ‘No Condition’ is not the only love song on Nelson’s debut: Just as memorable is ‘Inspire Me’, which has a terrific hook that could easily land the song on radio, ready to capture the hearts of music fans across the land. It’s the same with ‘Core To My Soul’, a nakedly truthful song of adoration that’s as catchy as they come.
But Nelson can also deliver lines that hit home about the reality of being a young, single mum, starting a career in music. Still, even the lines “I hate your money” in ‘The Truth’ are given just the right emotional twist by Nelson’s unusual phrasing and unmissable vocal power.
What Nelson describes as her “tribal roots” comes through with potency on songs like ‘Da N Da De’ with its charged emotional lyrics that speak directly about Nelson’s move into motherhood with the birth of her daughter, Nubia and was inspired by the “babytalk” she first used to communicate with her child. In fact, a sense of being a woman “comfortable in her own skin” is one of the other lyrical threads in ‘Unearthed’. As Nelson puts it, ‘African Woman’, for example, was inspired by going home with my baby’s father and seeing a traditional ceremony in which the women were very sure of their role in society and where bringing up children is really valued.”
Much of ‘Unearthed’ is pivoted around the unfolding events of the last few years of Nelson’s life which have included the death of her beloved mother, the birth of her child, and moving into a space where she sees herself as a true artist.
The spirituality that has helped Nelson deal with the difficulties that have come her way – losing a mother to whom she was extremely close; becoming a young single mother – winds itself into the heart of most of the songs on ‘Unearthed’. Tracks like ‘Revolutionised Mind’ and ‘War’ both alight on the social issues that move this young South African woman and convey her spiritual take in a pleasingly unforced way.
Nelson’s also particularly proud of ‘Ngilinde’, a Zulu song she wrote several years ago with the help of her mother, who was a fluent Zulu-speaker. “In a way including this song on the album is a tribute to my mother who never wavered in her belief that I could be a musician,” Nelson says, with more than a trace of sadness.
Given the organic-feel of ‘Unearthed’ it’s no surprise to find that Nelson co-wrote every song on the album with Selota, except for ‘Zwi do luga’ and ‘Core To My Soul’ which were songs written by a college friend of Nelson’s, Tendani Makhuba. Also contributing was Robin Kohl who recorded, mixed, and mastered ‘Unearthed’, providing the perfect match for Selota’s production.
“I’ve loved being able to work on my songs with people like Selaelo and Robin and create something beautiful to sing and listen to from just the barest idea,” Nelson says of her songwriting experience on ‘Unearthed’. “Robin’s great at completing things that seem stuck and he really helped turn ‘Inspire Me’ into something special.”
Nelson pays credit to Selota for his “musical guidance”. “He helped shaped the songs, and his musical guidance was really important. Selaelo also really brought to life what I was trying to convey with the feeling of each song, one hundred percent”.
Also adding to the quality of the record are the players. Bolstering Nelson on guitar and lead vocals, and Selota on guitar, are Malatji on piano, Ameishi Ikechi on bass, Samuel Ibeh on drums and Basi Mahlasela on percussion.
For Nelson, it’s deeply satisfying to know she now has the chance to earn an audience with her album and upcoming live shows. “'Unearthed' has a very significant meaning for me, in terms of where I am in my life and my career. It’s a sign that I am set free and dug out and not succumbing to the norms in society and also the norms that are expected of me. I define myself not as a coloured woman but, as my song says, as an African Woman who is able to rise above the difficult cycles of my life. Unearthed is the word I choose to use as a sign of new things and possibilities as I journey through this daily.”