Solace

After a celebratory first instalment, *Asylum*, characterised its by up-tempo amapiano songs, the Eswatini-born breakout superstar Uncle Waffles slows things down a little on *Solace*, the second chapter of her *Asylum of Solace* project. Here, Uncle Waffles leans towards “private school amapiano”,  a version of the genre that is more soulful and heavily vocalised. Manana and Lusanda’s duet on the soothing R&B-flavoured “Echoes” kickstarts the journey, while the serene “Peace & Happiness” lives up to its name with lush production and a synergic relationship between vocals and instrumentation.  A vocal interpolation of bubblegum group Splash’s 1986 hit, “Peacock”, is drenched in reverb and underscored by a deep bassline and bacardi’s hard, sharp and dry snares on “Peacock Revisit”, while Murumba Pitch’s trademark low-register vocals swim in a pool of synths alongside a swirling saxophone solo. “Khula” is just as rich, and “Solace”, the scintillating instrumental title-track, closes the project on a jazzy note.