To be fair she never went away, but it's been three long years since the honey-voiced South African soul singer Zaki Ibrahim gave us her gem of a debut, Eclectica (Episodes In Purple). That album was an exemplary display of sensuous Hip-hop, R&B, soulful Jazz & Spoken word. Since then she's lent her vocals to a long list of other people's EP and singles, and each has served to highlight the versatility of that voice: she brings a floaty, soulful quality to House, Dubstep and Electronic tracks, in particular.
Listen to Heart Beat, for instance, a project with House music Producer/Label owner Nick Holder, or DJ Kent's Sunrise, or her collabos with LV, Richard the Third and Koyla, or the one with Spoek Mathambo.
But despite the many "side projects", including a contribution to the soundtrack of the Tyler Perry film For Colored Girls, fans had been getting a tad impatient for another full dose of Zaki.
They'll be pleased to hear, finally, that they only need wait another few weeks. Every Opposite, her new full-length solo album, is, we are told, the culmination of her free-ranging palettes and experiences. The album is also significant in being her first to be conceived and released out of South Africa (until recently Zaki had one foot in SA and one in Canada).
Produced by Alister Johnson (Yukimi of Little Dragon), Something In The Water is the album's lead single.
ZAKI IBRAHIM - SOMETHING IN THE WATER by motifrecords
Look out for Every Opposite when it drops in January 2012.
