Johannesburg, Friday, 8 May 2026 – South African singer-songwriter, Tsholofelo steps into her most defined and introspective chapter yet with the release of her sophomore album, Burning Bush. The project marks a clear shift from collaborative formation into individual clarity, positioning her as an artist grounded in intention, restraint, and emotional precision.

Arriving after a three-year creative process, Burning Bush is less a follow-up and more a recalibration. Where her debut Becoming carried a strong, band-driven jazz influence, this album strips the process back to its essentials. Built primarily around voice and acoustic guitar, and shaped in close collaboration with producer Thando Kunene (Th&o), the project leans into intimacy rather than scale.

“Burning Bush is a sonic experience that draws from many different genres,” she explains. “It’s alternative soul and acoustic warmth, layered with ethereal pop synths. At the centre of every song is the guitar and the voice.”

The album explores refinement through discomfort, positioning growth as a process that requires both surrender and endurance. This direction is grounded in lived experience, with much of the writing emerging from a period of personal reflection following her 2022 single “Past Two Years,” which captured the emotional weight of the pandemic era.

“Making the music was the beginning of my healing and my rediscovery,” she says. “I was processing a lot about myself and my life, and this body of work came from that space.”

The recording process mirrors that introspection. Developed between her home setup and Kunene’s studio in Johannesburg, the album was built gradually through consistent, unhurried collaboration. Weekly sessions extended over several years, allowing the work to unfold naturally without pressure.

This approach carries into the songwriting. Each track begins in isolation, typically with Tsholofelo and her guitar, before evolving through studio collaboration.

“The songs usually began with just me and my guitar in my bedroom,” she explains. “Then we’d spend hours in studio, completely locked in. It became a space where nothing else mattered except the music.”

That level of immersion translates into the emotional weight of the project.

“Some songs were harder to sit with than others,” she admits. “There were times I couldn’t even perform ‘Burning Bush’ without breaking down. Those songs were holding and healing me in real time.”

A key moment on the album, “The Art of Deception,” reflects a different kind of alignment. The collaboration came together across continents under unlikely circumstances, reinforcing the sense of timing and purpose surrounding the project.

“It all came together in the most serendipitous and, honestly, divine way,” she says. “It felt like confirmation that we were exactly where we were meant to be.”

Beyond its sonic identity, Burning Bush signals a broader shift in Tsholofelo’s positioning. This is not an artist experimenting with direction, but one refining it.

“This album finally sounds like me,” she states. “It’s more vulnerable, more exposed, but also more honest.”

With Burning Bush, Tsholofelo delivers a cohesive, internally driven project that prioritizes clarity and intention over excess, holding its weight through honesty and precision. An album tour set for August 2026 will extend this into a live experience, reinforcing her position as a distinct and fully realized voice.

Connect with Tsholofelo:
Instagram: @theonlytsholo
Twitter/X: @theonlytsholo
Facebook: @officialtsholo