Nakhane on creating while sharing life with a dog

Multimedia artist Nakhane recently released their interpretation of the Seal/Adamski dance classic Killer.

The release comes as Nakhane’s directorial debut B(L)IND THE SACRIFICE is being shown on the festival circuit, with premieres at Locarno Film Festival, Stockholm Film Festival and 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film was praised for its exploration of religious tension and ancestral beliefs.

The new track marks their return to recording after the acclaimed 2023 album Bastard Jargon, which featured collaborations with Nile Rodgers, Perfume Genius, Shabaka Hutchings and Moonchild Sanelly.

In November 2024, they performed at Theatre Royal Drury Lane as Siddhartha in Rachel Fuller and Pete Townsend’s The Seeker, a musical adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s novel featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Nakhane lives in London with their beloved dog Rufus.

What inspired you to reinterpret Seal and Adamski’s Killer? 

Six years ago we added the song to our touring set as part of the encore. People enjoyed my rendition and kept asking me to record and release it. This is me listening to my audience and giving the people what they want.

How did you make the track your own while respecting the original?

I did something I’ve never done before: I had Charlotte Hatherley, who used to be my touring music director, record and play the bulk of the parts. I took those parts and refashioned them. You could say she provided the marble and I chiseled it to find the figure in there. 

Your interpretation of Killer is personal and symbolic. What does the song mean to you?

A lot of people don’t listen to lyrics when a song is up-tempo. Even I didn’t quite know what the song was about until I started to perform my version of it. On some level the position between dance music and more serious, sad lyrics influenced my last album. When I started to record this version, I was excited to push the meaning a little, to leave it a little more open-ended.

You’ve mentioned Killer represents a moment of transformation for you. How does the song reflect your growth as an artist?

That transformation is about me captaining the production element of the song. Previously I’d worked on the production of all of my music, but this time I wanted to be the leader, to find out if I’d be able to translate the sounds I was hearing in my head to what I’d hear from the speakers, and be able to stand by it. It was a lot of hard work. There was no one to turn to when I felt stuck or insecure.

What themes do you hope listeners take away from the song?

When I make music or anything, I don’t think about the message. I’m not a priest, I’m not a politician. I’m an artist. What I’m interested in are questions, figuring something out and making art is my way of working through the information I’ve received over the past years since my last output. I don’t think about how things fit into my artistic vision. All I think about is what I’m working on, to keep the ecstasy of creating alive.

Your music blends elements of electronic, rock, and African folk traditions. How do you balance different influences in your work?

I'm so bad at understanding genre. I see similarities in music that are so far apart in terms of the way genre has been standardised. I’m not interested in demarcation, in pigeonholing. I’m interested in chasing and meeting my muse.

Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound and artistic vision?

Ever since I heard Busi Mhlongo she’s been my number one influence. Suddenly here was a South African artist who towered over everyone I had admired, and she came from my own country, my own background, my own culture. Going back to her albums, I hear something new to learn, something that can be used to help me grow as a musician.

How do you see your music evolving in the future?

The sounds around me have been so inspiring. I’m talking about birds. I’m talking about me walking my dog and hearing the crunch under my feet. My voice has been specially inspiring. In the last album I wanted to move away from being known as only a singer and as more of a instrumentalist, sound-designer. But I see there was an unnecessary provocation on my part. I’m a singer first and foremost, and I’m interested in discovering all the contours of my voice, using them to create other sounds, distorting them to create sounds that are completely new.

Your directorial debut B(L)IND THE SACRIFICE received critical acclaim for its bold exploration of religious tension and ancestral beliefs. What was your approach to storytelling, and how you balance your work in music and film?

Much of my storytelling is about fragmentation. That’s because a lot of work deals with memory, and memory is fragmented, memory is difficult to rely on because it can play tricks on you. Even if the memory is shared between two people, the relaying of it is always subjective. I’m interested in finding the feeling through storytelling. I’ve always said that I’m less interested in meaning than I am in atmosphere and mood, and that curiosity translates to music and to my literary work.

How do you see your multimedia work influencing your music, and vice versa?

All the work I do is in conversation with each other. whether I know it or not at this present moment.

Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you’re excited to share with your audience?

I’ll be releasing more singles this year. I hope to release a single every six weeks or so, but I work really slowly.

You’ve spoken about the importance of honouring your ancestors and exploring themes of identity and transformation in your work. Can you reflect on how your personal experiences and growth have informed your art?

My art comes through me, even when I am not writing about myself it’s passing through the lens that is me. 

What advice would you give to others who are pursuing multiple creative passions?

This has taken me years to realise: do one thing at a time.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on two albums and two feature films. I’m also working on my next novel. Who knows what else I’m going to be interested in exploring?

Your 2023 album Bastard Jargon featured collaborations with Nile Rodgers, Perfume Genius and Moonchild Sanelly, among others. Can you discuss your approach to collaboration, and what you learned from working with these artists?

I want the thing that person has that I don’t have. I don’t want them to do what I’d do. What’s the point of that? I want them to broaden the scope of what we’re creating. That way I can learn from the decisions other artists I respect have made.

How do you see Bastard Jargon fitting into your broader discography, and what themes or messages did you aim to convey through the album?

I wanted the album to be a left turn in terms of the sound. I was truly exhausted singing sad ballads, so I wanted to explore a toolbox of up-tempo music. Now that I’ve done it I don’t feel the pull to do it again, so I’m following my muse, I’m going back to my heart.

Are there any upcoming collaborations?

I can’t say names, but there is a British iconic band I’m collaborating with. Keep your eyes glued to the screen of my social media and you’ll soon learn who that is.

I’ve heard about the joy and companionship your dog brings to your life. How does having your dog by your side influence your creativity and day-to-day life?

My day is curated around him. Technically I curate the day, but he latched on to that curation and it would be difficult to get him out of it. 9am, 1pm and 6pm come and he stares me down. He takes me out of myself. When we’re zoned in on our playing we’re in it, to the point that I’ve even injured myself. I love it because it forces me to be in the present, to commit to play and to not take life so seriously all the time.

Can you share a particular moment when your dog’s presence made a tough day or creative block easier to handle?

This happens daily. He’ll be running back from fetching his ball, and his ecstatic face and bouncing ears will make me beam, or he’ll do the cutest downward dog.

How do you think having a pet, especially a dog, impacts mental health and your sense of well-being?

Having responsibility over a being other than yourself grounds you. It teaches you patience and draws you back to the present. Rufus is constantly in the moment, he’s always curious. I learn from him all the time.

What’s the most heart-warming thing your dog has done?

My dog saves my life almost every day. To watch his breathing as he sleeps fills me with so much love and happiness.

Do you find that your dog’s energy influences your life?

When he came into my life I first noticed his curiosity. He wanted to explore everything: every smell, every sound, every crevice. He was always looking down, his nose was in the earth. I noticed then that my perspective was also changing. Suddenly I was paying attention to things I’d never have noticed. I was seeing gradations of colour in the smallest of flowers, I was marvelling at an army of ants displacing soil around their hole, I was finding beauty in fallen feathers and how each one was never like the other. These are probably things I’d have been interested in as a small child, but had lost with growing up. This is transferred to my art-making. Detail has never been more important to me.

Are there any songs you’ve created where you can trace the inspiration to moments spent with your dog?

We were coming back from a walk and I was washing his paws. He’d been such a good boy that I started to sing him a song. I’m always doing this. I thought the melody was beautiful so I went to my keyboard and laptop and recorded it. This was an exercise for me but months later I was composing music for a film and I remembered that melody and chord progression. It ended up being the bedrock of the entire film.

How does the bond with a pet compare to the connection you have with your music?

They both want one thing: to beloved and taken care of. They don’t care if I feel ugly that day, or if I feel like a failure. They want me as I am. Could there be anything more beautiful? Also, no one will humble you like your dog. When I’m dancing for him he’ll look at me with the most most impassive expression I’ve ever seen. When I go back on tour and crowds are difficult I will have trained that muscle. 

Do you ever find yourself writing music or lyrics while spending time with your dog?

I write little songs for Rufus all the time. I have a folder called “Rufus Songs”. They’re my exercises, for words and for music and harmony. I’ve written in keys and chord progressions I wouldn’t normally write in because “Hey, this isn’t serious, I’m creating a little ditty for my dog”.