Bushfire festival calls on artists to be part of this year’s CollaboNation

A few months before the actual festival takes place in Eswatini, the MTN Bushfire has called on artists to be part of this year’s CollaboNation.

“CollaboNation will continue to connect and unite the continent through unique music collaborations that promote and support the cultural legacies of traditional African music within a modern music context,” said MTN Bushfire Festival director Jiggs Thorne at the launch of this year’s CollaboNation at the AMPD Studios in Johannesburg.

Established in 2022, CollaboNation is a collaboration music portal that connects and unites the continent through the creation of unique cross-border and cross-genre songs.

CollaboNation is designed to support artists, capacitate the regional music sector through training and mentorship, and inspire dynamic new African content creation.

The songs are debuted in a live performance at the Bushfire festival. The live performances are filmed for music videos that support the international audio track releases.

“Bringing together artists from different countries and different artistic backgrounds to make such compelling creative projects and performances has never been done in this format before,” said Music in Africa Foundation director Eddie Hatitye.

This year’s Bushfire festival will be held from 31 May – 2 June.

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Previous year’s winner

In 2023 Morena Leraba from Lesotho collaborated with Mokoomba from Zimbabwe to create Chisimo.

“CollaboNation opened whole new horizons – throughout the years, our career has been painted with several collaborations. However, CollaboNation was unique – we travelled to Harare to create magic with one of the most creative and inspiring bands in Southern Africa,” averred Leraba.

Mokoomba’s manager, Marcus Gora was pleased with the harmonious environment created by CollaboNation.  

“CollaboNation afforded us the incredible opportunity to connect and work with Morena Leraba from Lesotho, in an environment of mutual learning and respect. We are extremely proud of the song we recorded, Chisimo that speaks to both of our musical styles and our cultural traditions,” said Gora.

Established African artists, who are 21 years and older, are invited to apply for the opportunity to collaborate with artists from another African country to record original and inspirational songs, in line with the social and environmental values of the MTN Bushfire festival.

Applications open 7th February 2024 and close 7th March 2024.

Click here to apply

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