Music can be a spiritual experience.
Whether it is people falling in love with the likes of Taylor Swift, travelling thousands of miles to listen to Beyonce or getting into a trance when DJ Black Coffee gets behind the deck.
Therein lies the true beauty of music and so when an artist is bold enough to blend sounds that would otherwise not be an exact match, it sets people talking.
Cairo CPT has been hard at work on a new anthology in which he merges the sonics of gqom music from Durban and traditional elements of gospel, in Cape Town.
Cairo CPT, who is known in his home of Khayelitsha Cape Town, has been making music since 2019.
His latest album, World of Sgubhu is his third studio album and despite his notoriety not being through the roof, fusing gqom and gospel is an idea that could very well see his stardom gain traction.
“It is a 12-track album that infuses gqom, sgubhu, and gospel. There is a song for everyone who is an avid music lover,” Cairo explains.
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In this climate of standalone singles, this young artist took his time in ensuring he delivered a full-blown piece of work.
“I included the gospel element sound that has always worked in my previous projects. For the first time, I included a cross-over collaboration featuring Sino Msolo who is popularly known as an amapiano artist.
"The album is different because it shows more growth in terms of sound.”
He has a Christian background, and his mother has always been an active member of church and she would always make sure that everyone in her home attends church regularly.
“That early connection with the Gospel at church and home developed my love for Gospel music. I am also a big fan of gospel melodies when it comes to the production process and the gospel elements infused songs always get a good response,” he elaborates.
His passion and his spirituality have met at the intersection of creativity and collided harmoniously, and Cairo is extremely proud of this album.
“It has been great. The current leading song in terms of streams and social media hype is Darly featuring Minnolar.
"I honestly knew that song was going to be a hit the moment we finished recording it. Some songs surprisingly got immediate love like Oomama Bomthandazo. The team thought it would be one of those that would blow up later as it does not have vocals.”
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He says his creative process is driven by emotion and what he is feeling at the time.
“I get into the studio and play with beats until I get a sound I get an instant connection with. In this project, I encouraged the people I collaborated with to go with how they were feeling. We even left Sino Msolo in the studio to record Ngawe in the studio alone so that he could just connect with the song or beat without any distractions.”
This approach has seen his music evolve over the years. “I have connected more with emotion-driven music over the years, not just the happy dance beats. I have produced love songs, heartbreak songs, and cross-over songs. I have worked hard on determining how I want music lovers to feel after listening to every song,” he says.
"I think about my overall love and appreciation of music. From being a rapper to a gqom producer who listens to all kinds of music genres. My music can be enjoyed by all generations. I receive love from young children to people over the age of 60 because my music speaks to everyone."
The future could very well be bright for this driven soul but for the time being he is focusing on promoting this album which is why he will be going on a national album tour from October, the details for which are still being finalized.
“In terms of collaboration, there are people I would love to work with, but I think I will focus on that next year when I have put enough work into my current project.”
He cites acts like Davido, Burna Boy, Samthing Soweto, Sun-El Musician and Igcokama Elisha as being on his vision board of future collaborative link ups.
He is enjoying being part of the winds of change sweeping the continent and the globe as it pertains to African art and the demand for this.
“I see a whole lot more global exposure of our music and artists. The eyes are on Africa as we have seen with the domination of Afro beats and amapiano. More South African artists are going on World tours which is an indication that South African music is going to take over the world shortly.”
As for what he hopes you are able to glean from experiencing his third album, the sentiments are simple and wholesome, “Since my music is about love and gospel, I want people to learn to love one another and pray more often, also to enjoy it while driving to work in the morning.”
