Inside the making of 'Touch Is a Move: Good Morning' - Samthing Soweto unpacks the creative journey
Image: Supplied
Samthing Soweto (real name Samkelo Mdolomba) opens up about the creation of his latest body of work, 'Touch Is a Move: Good Morning', his fans, and working with Sicelo on 'Ndandatho'.
Mdolomba's sophomore album, 'Touch Is a Move: Good Morning', is a seventeen-track masterful blend of storytelling and music that takes listeners to the vibrant streets of Soweto in the 1990s through young Mdolomba's point of view.
The storytelling begins with the album art, featuring the 'Deda' singer on the floor of his childhood home, where his family gathered for a prayer to wrap up the night.
The album kicks off like a typical day in Soweto, narrated by a young Mdolomba and his brother Bhut'Lungisa.
The pair play a crucial role in capturing the energetic morning vibes, slowly transitioning into the reflective moments of the evening through the interludes included in the album.
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'The day in Soweto is experienced by a young Samkelo, and listeners get to experience what it was like to live in my family's home in the 90s. It starts in the morning when he wakes up, and it ends at night when the family prays,' Mdolomba explains the theme of the album.
Through the series of interludes and songs, the narrative is woven together, taking listeners on a journey that they can vividly paint in their imagination.
The interludes, which feature characters like uMama (mother), uGogo (grandmother), and sis' Amina, provide a glimpse into Mdolomba's childhood home, where the voice of young Mdolomba guides listeners through how different generations came together to share stories and wisdom.
No, here are my older sisters and sis'Thembi. My mom. https://t.co/dqqToUGvo6 pic.twitter.com/nHO4P5mDtg — Samthing Soweto (@samthingsoweto) July 18, 2025
The album's love songs are equally gripping, with each one exploring a different dimension of love. From the traditional vows of 'Ndandatho' to the playful exchanges of 'Swi', the artist showcases his versatility as a songwriter and a producer.
The album's creation was not without its challenges, with Mdolomba working tirelessly to bring the project to life.
'It nearly killed me,' he jokes, but the end result was well worth the effort. The fans, too, played a significant role in motivating him to complete the album, with their enthusiasm and anticipation serving as a constant source of inspiration for him.
'I don't want to lie: I gave up so many times. At some point, I felt like it would never come and that I would never finish, but I eventually completed working on it in late 2024, and from that point on, things became a bit easier,' he shared.
What also makes 'Touch Is a Move: Good Morning' truly special, however, is how 'Ndandatho' came to life. The love song features Sicelo, the original composer of the track. Mdolomba tracked him down after a video of him singing the song went viral on TikTok in 2021.
Sicelo was living on the streets of Maritzburg at the time but the 'Amagents' hitmaker went out of his way to find him after taking interest in the video to talk to him about working together on the song and give him credit.
'Sicelo is the actual original composer of 'Indandatho'. I heard his version from a TikTok video, fell in love with it, and then made the recording that we have in the album.
'After I made it, I had to go find him to play it for him and you know, to include him in the credits as well as for us to talk about what the song meant to both of us,' he said.
Another fun fact about his sophomore album is that the interludes were recorded for a radio drama, produced by Mdolomba and Mpumelelo Ngidi, a former producer of Ukhozi FM.
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