Prolific producer Sthamzen collabs with Brinsley Motsepa with smooth, vocal house hit 'Munye'

Prolific producer Sthamzen collabs with Brinsley Motsepa with smooth, vocal house hit ‘Munye’

Words: Mike Mode

May 9, 2023

Coming from the icons of South Africa’s Deep House scene Sthamzen and Brinsley Motsepa is the fresh Vocal House single ‘Munye,’ – a deep, smooth, suave track with an incessant groove & tangible danceability. Flaunting layers of sub drenched kick & scintillating bass paired with crisp claps/snare alongside nuanced percussion throughout, ‘Munye,’ is a delight on the listener’s ears and truly boasts Sthamzen remarkable production skills. ‘Munye,’ pairs this perfect instrumental with the vocals of talented vocalist & songwriter Brinsley Motsepa – his voice ideally suited the track and the rest is history.

With a lyrical focus of love and unity conveyed in the most idyllic manner, ‘Munye,’ is a unique Deep House love track which distinctly stands out amongst its competitors in the dense Electronic genre. Brinsley came up with the song’s love – filled lyrics and arranged them to suit Sthamzen’s remarkable beat before coming up with the ideal title; ‘Munye,’ is the Zulu word for ‘one’ which is the perfect title for this song of pure unity & love and the track had a strikingly straightforward writing and recording process taking place at Dobby 4040 studio; ‘Munye,’ is certainly not one to miss out.

Hailing from the pride of South Africa in Danville, Sthamzen is one of the hottest talents coming out of South Africa – this creative force is a production guru who has a degree in internal auditing to his name. Alongside this notable achievement, Thamsanqa (Sthamzen’s real name) has been producing for almost a decade, starting out back in 2014 with the help & guidance of close friend King Rockz who taught him the intricacies & art of sound engineering. Sthamzen was not only inspired by famed musicians Da capo, Culoe de song etc.but also, on a more personal level, his parents & siblings. His show experience and gig discography is expansive & the blossoming star has performed at prestigious venues like Capello, Point 1, Zebediela in Limpopo, Mamelodi and O-Bar in Pretoria; it was these magnificent shows and his partaking in Red Square DJ competitions & online competitions that grew Sthamzen’s audience exponentially.

Over his career he has released 3 EPs to his name, such as ‘Bathong Thami EP’ 2018, ‘Good vs Bad EP’ 2019 and ’21 Questions EP’ 2020. His lists of collaborations and artist partnerships are endless and flaunt impressive names including: Jay B McCauley who owns Vagrant Soundz, Nasiphi Booi on the hit singles, ‘uNalanto,’ ‘Afrika,’ ‘Ithini into yam,’ and ‘Emsamo,’ Tshego Judah on the 2022 release ‘New Day,’ and a joint EP with WhiteChild in 2017 entitled “Libra EP.” Brinsley Motsepa has had his share of collaborations with Sthamzen including the single ‘Emini,’ and newest release ‘Munye,’ which will both feature on the upcoming EP, ‘Hi, Meet Me.’ Despite already achieving a remarkable level of success in the industry, Sthamzen still has plenty to offer us and his audience eagerly anticipate what this future House superstar has in store.

The latest release from South African Deep house duo Sthamzen & Brinsley Motsepa is Munye (Main Mix) a smooth, elegant Deep House/Vocal House song. Munye meaning ‘One’ in isiZulu is a deep house song about two people forming a union and pure unity & love. The song was produced by Sthamzen with flaunting layers of sub drenched kick & scintillating bass paired with crisp claps and snare alongside nuanced percussions and drums throughout and the talented vocalist and songwriter Brinsley Motsepa who came up with the song’s love-filled lyrics and arranged them suited for Sthamzen’s remarkable production skills.

Sthamzen & Brinsley Motsepa ‘Munye,’ Released April 7th 2023

Listen / Stream / Download Link

https://ditto.fm/munye

GETTING TO KNOW Sthamzen

Introduce yourself and your project

THAMSANQA NKOSANA TEBOHO MEHLOMAKULU Known in the entertainment business as Sthamzen is a house music Dj (all subgenres of house music & hip-hop) and Produces (deep house, soulful house, afro tech/afro deep/afro house and various other sub-genres of house music). He is from Pretoria west, Danville and has a degree in Internal Auditing. He started producing in 2014 as he had love for music and was taught production by his friend King Rockz whom he met in 2014, and has been working with till today. Sthamzen specializes mostly in production, and his production consists of African sounds. He got his inspiration from his mother Alina Mehlomakulu, siblings and also his late father who had so much impact in his music journey. He is also inspired by the work, production skills and the talent of Da capo, Culoe de song, Enoo Napa, Saint Evo, the late Dukesoul, Chymamusique, Soul Candi just to name a few.

Munye (Main Mix) a smooth, elegant Deep House/Vocal House song. Munye meaning ‘One’ in isiZulu is a deep house song about two people forming a union and pure unity & love. The song was produced by Sthamzen with flaunting layers of sub drenched kick & scintillating bass paired with crisp claps and snare alongside nuanced percussions and drums throughout and the talented vocalist and songwriter Brinsley Motsepa who came up with the song’s love-filled lyrics and arranged them suited for Sthamzen’s remarkable production skills. Munye is one of the songs to be released alongside the released single with Brinsley Motsepa on the upcoming Joint EP with Brinsley Motsepa called ‘Hi, Meet Me EP’.

Explain what musical genre fits you best

House Music with subgenres like Deep house, Soulful house, Afro house, Afro tech, Tribal house, Ancestral house and Organic afro house

Were you connected with music from a young age and did anyone inspire you?

Yes, I have been connected to music since I was a toddler, from the age of three as far as I can remember, listening to Kwaito Music and House Music and I was inspired by Kwaito artist Mdu Masilela, my mom and my uncle John who used to play music a lot of times.

What kickstarted your music career?

I used to be a music lover and I started collecting music from a young age and grew in music until I started feeling that I want to make and play music for people, that’s when I started teaching myself how to Dj in 2011 and was taught music production by my friend King Rockz in 2014.

Tell us more about your sound and how it’s evolved over time

Sthamzen’s sound specializes mostly in production, and his production consists of African sounds like percussions, keys, strings, synths, drums, flutes and other afro and soulful sounds. It has evolved very well throughout the 9 years of production from production with a lot of melodies and elements in one track to smooth harmonic sounds with balance and sense, that’s how it has evolved Lol!

Any words you want to share to encourage other artists or producers?

Always believe in your talent, look after your brand, take yourself serious so that you can be taken serious and always don’t underestimate your craft, push yourself to your greatest limits and go beyond your limits to create beautiful unique art of music.

How do you nurture your industry relationships?

I look after my brand and craft and also respect other people’s brands and crafts. I’m always cool, calm and collected when it comes to music relationships.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank that’s been crucial to your journey?

I would like to thanks these people, My mother, My late father, my siblings (Older sister and younger brother), my cousins, Brinsley Motsepa, King Rockz, Faith, Calvin King, Nasiphi, Nhlonipho Jali, WhiteChild, Pat Da MC, Da Fab, Dobby 4040 have been very crucial and behind me throughout my journey.

Name 3 songs you love and what they mean to you + Youtube links

Mdu Masilela – Mazolo, This kwaito song means a lot to me, I can say this is the first song I heard in my life at the age of 3 in 1998 when my uncle John played it in his room and I locked myself while listening to the song and it has been my all time favourite.

Dukesoul feat. Prudence – Goodbye (DukeSoul’s Late Night Mix), A beautiful soulful house song by one of my favourite deep house soulful house producer the late Dukesoul, the song gives me goosebumps and makes me cool, calm, chilled and collected and puts me me in comfortable zone.

IV62 Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra – Too much Information – Laolu Remix (Edit), My friend Nhlonipho Jali introduced this song to me when it got out and I was thrown away by the beautiful art and I love the song till this day, every time I listen to it, I just don’t know what to do with myself, it’s just an incredible song.

What’s your favourite piece of studio equipment or software?

Favourite studio equipment is a Keyboard and favourite software is Fruity Loops Studio

Name your favourite club or festival and how it makes you feel

I have two favourite festivals or club and I would really like to see myself play there one day, they make me feel like I’m home far away from home and the club is Hi Ibiza and the festival is Tomorrowland . In South African I really love Transmicsoul Sessions, my favourites festival/Club in South Africa.

Name an outlandish rider request?

Wanting too much alcohol, eish no man.

Favourite clubbing memory and who or what did it involve?

My favourite would be at Trancemicsoul Sessions at African Beer Emperium in Pretoria and I was with My younger brother Simphiwe and it was deep house on the day, it was wonderful because my kind of music was played and I was with my favourite person.

What famous quote represents you best?

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.

If you could play at any venue, where would it be and why?

I would like to play at Hi Ibiza, I’ve always admired the likes of Black Coffee playing there and I always imagine and see myself playing there to be honest.

Music is….. (explain more)

Music is life, Music is the world and music is the answer.

One song you really couldn’t live without and why?

Black Coffee feat. Zano – Someday, the song always uplifts me and gives me hope that someday I will indeed rise.

Namedrop your favourite 5 artists or DJs (past or present)

Culuo de song
Da Capo
Black Coffee
Zonke Dikana
Dukesoul

What was your first music memory and how did it fuel your fire?

My first music memory was when I was still learning how to produce and I made my first full song titled ‘Deeper Thoughts’ and it gave me real fire that I can be able to put together a couple of instruments to make something good, I was on top of the world.

Tell us more about your plans for the future

My plans for the future are Sthamzen being one of the top inspirational and influential Music producer and Dj in Africa and internationally having a fully functioning solid team that I will travel with around the world especially getting to be a regular in Ibiza, Tomorrowland, Chicago, UK and other house music places around the world.

Any worldly advice you’d like to share?

Be yourself, never underestimate yourself and what you are capable of, nothing is impossible always do your best.