THULUBUKE – Inhlabathi Ephalishini

The words mean soil in a plastic bag, or sand in a sack. It is a vivid image, soil which belongs on the ground now packed and carried, something natural placed in something manufactured. It suggests a person or thing taken out of its place and moved into a new container.

That image can stand for many things. A village person living in the city, a traditional value carried into a modern world, or someone who keeps their roots even when everything around them has changed. Nigerians know this feeling, because so many people bring a bit of home with them when they travel for work.

Naming the album after it tells you the idea sits at the centre of the project. I will not pretend to describe production details I cannot confirm, but a title track with a picture this clear suggests a record about identity, origins and the things we keep when we move.

There is a quiet poetry in it. Soil in plastic can still grow something if you give it water. By the time a friend asks what Inhlabathi Ephalishini means, you might answer by describing someone you know who left home and never lost it.

Anyone who has moved far from home and still carries it with them will see themselves here. It suits long journeys, homesick evenings and the days you cook the food your grandmother made.

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