Lorraine Klaasen, the daughter of legendary South African Jazz singer Thandie Klaasen, is one of the few South African artists who have preserved the classic sound of Township Musc, which continues to be the most distinctive sound to come out of South Africa. Born and raised in Soweto, Klaasen has electrified audiences worldwide with her dynamic stage presence and showmanship.
In 2008, Klaasen released the highly charged album Africa Calling, produced by South African record producer Mongezi Chris Ntaka, and featuring bassist Bakhiti Khumalo (who performed on Paul Simon’s Graceland). Her follow up CD A Tribute To Miriam Makeba won the 2013 JUNO Award for “World Music Album of the Year,” it is a tribute to the legendary songstress, who remains the most important female vocalist to emerge out of South Africa.
Klaasen’s new and most ambitious CD is entitled Nouvelle Journée is also co-produced by Mongezi; it showcases some of the musical styles that she has not yet recorded in her long musical career. On this album she sings in the Tsonga, Sotho, isiZulu and Xhosa languages of South Africa as well as English and French. The repertoire is thought provoking – the importance of family, empathy, love and hope make up ‘Nouvelle Journée.’ It’s an optimistic, danceable record but also a lucid, sincere and engaging work.