South African singer-songwriter Lindiwe Suttle has released her debut Kamikaze Art on 4 April 2014, and has received quite a bit of German press around her new relationship with German rock/pop star Marius Mueller-Westernhagen. Do you need a celebrity at your side to make it big? It probably helps, but Kamikaze Art nonetheless contains songs that manifest Lindiwe Suttle’s undoubted talent as a singer and songwriter.
Image: fanelelove.blogspot.com
Raised in the US but hailing from SA, Lindiwe Suttle is living up to her mother’s fame with her own skills and ambitions. She has an MBA in Entrepreneurship/Marketing, has styled Beyonce and Ciara, and – on top of that – is blessed with a beautiful singing voice. She is also a hard worker with a zest for social justice, and shines a different light on South Africa as opposed to, for example, zef shockers Die Antwoord. Her music career started with performances in small clubs in Cape Town but today she is a celebrity who has just internationally released her debut album. And, recently – to the resentment of some – news leaked that she is the new girlfriend of German music legend Marius Mueller-Westernhagen. Knowing the hurt that this might have caused to Romney Williams, the singer’s wife of 25 years, he told German tabloid Bild am Sonntag that sometimes you can’t help it when ‘the lightning bolt of love’ strikes.
Image: badische-zeitung.de
Image: lindiwesuttle.com
But gossip aside and focus to the music, Kamikaze Art is a world-class album that was recorded and produced by Ivan Georgiev in Berlin but features themes that, although universal, appear closer to home. According to Lindiwe’s website, the album deals with political corruption, the internal struggle between good and bad, temptations of the music industry, bullying, and social justice. ‘I called the album Kamikaze Art because I feel I have given all of myself. I truly believe in the music, each song is deeply personal, open and honest,’ says Lindiwe. Whereas ‘Kamikaze Art’, the first single off the album, is a colourful tune with a hint of reggae and shows off South Africa in its music video, the second single ‘1000 Miles’ is a more soulful song about love. What’s more, some songs off the album have already got the attention of the right people in the industry. ‘Twilight’, for example, won the Grand Prize in Session 1 of the John Lennon songwriting competition and was a semi-finalist in the UK songwriting contest.
So, whatever the hearsay, Lindiwe Suttle is bringing her South African roots and musical knack to foreign shores and, even if some disapprove, has partnered with a German music legend, not only in her private life but also musically. Lindiwe will support her boyfriend on his upcoming album Alphatier and will tour Germany with him as a ‘guest singer’.
Click here to order Kamikaze Art.
Words: Christine Hogg
1 comment
Iris Terry says:
Apr 27, 2014
I hope she handles her career better than she did with her friendship with the wife of Marius. I hope he’s good to Romney, she was a true partner.