10 years in, there’s still Something about J

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A few minutes before the media dinner celebrating his upcoming Indoor Tour, J Something walks to all the media and sponsor tables at the stylish Sandton restaurant Zioux, introduces himself and thanks us all for coming. It’s a warm and refreshingly affable touch by the Mi Casa frontman, in an industry that’s too often characterised by bluster and showmanship. 

A few minutes later, he stands at the front and says, “I have a mic here, but I don’t wanna disturb the other guests so I’m just gonna say a few words.” The 31-year-old muso, born Joao da Fonseca, said the idea for the music on tour came about after he read a headline in a newspaper during the early months of the pandemic that said music was a non-essential item. 

He came up with the idea of putting together a mixtape with some of his industry friends. Having completed the almost two-year-long project earlier this year, J decided he wanted to showcase the project live to an indoor audience.

When I catch up with him a few days later, he explains that initially it was a coping mechanism for him.

“It’s something that was never intended to become a project, if I can say that. I started creating these covers, or rather interpretations of these songs, as a coping mechanism during this time. One of the things that I respect is that we all have our own stories and our own journeys. If I was a writer like you are, I maybe would’ve written a book about this time, but what I do is make music. And within that music lies a story, and with Indoor the heart of it is really the story of an artist during lockdown. And when you go a little bit deeper it’s not just any artist, it’s me.” 

This personal element is what led to taking his tour into an indoor setting to allow him to put on an intimate show through which he could tell this story. “That’s why the music isn’t available on your traditional platforms yet,” he says. “I’m still even thinking about whether I will ever put it up on traditional platforms. I’m playing with the idea of, if you come to the show I wanna give you the music and make it a little bit more personal because it is a story.”

Indoor is produced and directed by J alongside the talented Sergio Botelho and the Jazzworx team. The tour will also feature him playing alongside his three-piece band. 

“It’s a platform for me to be able to share my story, my experience, this music and share why (I chose) these songs. It’s not just a bunch of popular songs that I went and covered so that I could get some hype on social media. These songs have a lot of meaning for me.”

During the dinner, J played a few of the songs from the project. One of the standout cuts that immediately caught my attention was his cover of Zwakala by Stimela. I asked him how that particular song came about. 

“All these songs, I approached them so innocently without a big plan. I got into the studio and, I was like, which song has touched me. I obviously have so many songs but then I was trying to find those songs that actually carry a lot more of the deeper meaning. One of the opportunities that I was gifted in this life was to spend time with bhut’ Ray Phiri and to perform with him. We played Zwakala with him and he’s the one artist till this day that I’ve found the most of me in. He was such a free spirit, he was filled with love, he was a guy that loved music and entertaining. I relate a lot to that. He was uncomplicated and just straight-up like.”

After that experience, J says he had Stimela engraved in his heart, before adding that they were ahead of their time. “The amount of soul and funk and the incredible songwriting that those guys had for me was, just like, wow. So since then I’ve been spending a bit more time with their music and this was me trying to almost pay tribute to a moment in my career but also more importantly an icon that I got to share a stage with. Man how I wish I could’ve played him this song. I’m still trying to connect with Nonku Phiri to play it for her and see what she thinks.”

INDOOR is produced and directed by J’Something alongside the talented Sergio Botelho and the Jazzworx team. Photo: Supplied

Last year, J’s band Mi Casa released Chucks alongside Berlin dance music duo YouNotUs. In the year since its release, Chucks has already become the most streamed song of the group’s career. 

“I feel so humbled and so grateful,” he says of the band’s success. “It’s an emotional ride, man. In music there’s a lot of vulnerability and uncertainty that goes with being an artist. You put out pieces of music and you hope that it connects with people. It’s so much more than the number and the hits and all that stuff. For me it’s like, man we created something that connected. When you start to see music and art as the spiritual thing that it is, moments like Chucks become so much more meaningful.” 

It was a song that was written way before the pandemic, he says, adding that the group’s latest album, We Made It, has never been more relatable than it is now. He recalls how their approach with Chucks was for it to be a song that gave people hope.

“Releasing that song and seeing it connect with so many people was the exact purpose of it. I think a lot of music tries to do that but it becomes cheesy, and it sounds almost unattainable. But here it’s like, ‘I’m gonna go until my time is up. All I know is I’m not giving up, I’m gonna go until my time is up’. Now imagine being the artist that created that line and that melody and seeing everybody connect with that. It’s the greatest blessing that you can receive as an artist.” 

A few days ago, J shared on Instagram how the Indoor promo run has seen him frequently being asked what this tour means for Mi Casa. In his caption, he insisted it didn’t change anything.  “Matter of fact, the biggest anxiety I’m getting due to this project is the thought of not being on stage with Mo and Duda. Nonetheless it’s also such a thrill exploring new parts of me. This show is going to be a personal discovery and a moment I will cherish forever.”

After over a decade together, Mi Casa is still going strong, he tells me. 

“Mi Casa for me has been a phenomenon, like if you go back to 2010 with These Streets and you just track the history — and I don’t mean this in an arrogant way, I mean from a bird’s-eye view, taking myself out of it  — the band hasn’t stopped producing songs that connect with people on a mass basis. And I can’t attribute that to our talent alone. It’s something bigger.”

He adds that the music that they’ve got coming is about to take things to a different level.

“You know what’s crazy is that for me what we’re hearing now is all about the fruits of pushing through hardships because I was done with the band and I wanted to move and kind of do my own thing, but something kept telling me to just keep holding on.” 

Now, after working in studios across Germany, Portugal and other parts of Europe over the past few months, they’re almost ready to introduce something new and special. 

“I’ve never heard anything like it and it’s a lot more global. There’s a lot of happiness in the music. This is something I get goosebumps listening to. The most excited I have ever been about a body of work for Mi Casa, and that came 11 years later. Man, I have no words. Sometimes you have to push through the hard times.”

FOR INFORMATION ON THE INDOOR  TOUR:

Venue:          The Bond Shed, Durban 

Date:              Friday, 21st October – Saturday, 22nd October 2022 

Time:              Fri 6pm – 11pm (BOOK HERE)

                      Sat 6pm – 11pm (BOOK HERE)

Tickets:          Limited tickets available now via Computicket at R350 (BOOK HERE)

Venue:       Vodaworld, Johannesburg 

Date:               Friday, 02nd December – Saturday, 03rd December 2022 

Time:         Fri 6pm -11pm (BOOK HERE)

                       Sat 6pm – 11pm (BOOK HERE)

Tickets:           Limited tickets available now via Computicket at R350 (BOOK HERE

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