Shishani means ‘crown’ in one of Namibia's native languages. She is an exceptional talent whose music transcends genres and cultures. Shishani is a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter loved for her soothing and powerful voice.
During her career, Shishani has received multiple awards and nominations and has toured internationally. Her roots are Namibian and Belgian, but she grew up mainly in the Netherlands. Through her work, these worlds come together. Her vocal sound has both a mystical lightness and the power to pierce the soul with the spirit of an activist that runs though her lyrics.
She has performed internationally at Glastonbury Festival (UK), Afrika Festival Wurzburg (Germany), Amsterdam Roots Festival, Lake of Stars (Malawi) and various countries including France, Czech Republic, Poland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, India, Morocco, Moldova, Latvia, South Korea, China, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, and her home countries, Netherlands, Belgium and Namibia.
Shishani is founder, producer, lead vocalist and songwriter of Miss Catharsis (2019), a unique all-female group centralizing women of colour. She is co-founder, lead vocalist and composer of Namibian Tales (2015) an acoustic quartet delving into the musical heritage of Namibia. With Namibian Tales, Shishani led a unique international project with UNESCO and the Museums Association of Namibia on safeguarding cultural heritage through archiving and producing new music in collaboration with San communities in Namibia. This project toured internationally.
Shishani is also co-founder, lead singer and songwriter Shakuar, a group combining live electronica with traditional instruments and enchanting voices, exploring artistic and spiritual expressions. She regularly works with the Bodek Janke jazz trio in the project ‘SONG’ as lead vocalist.
Collaborations:
Besides her own projects she has done many interdisciplinary projects with dancers, poets, film-makers and multi-media artists, ranging from (theme) songs to experimental soundscapes, such as her work for the 2020 IDFA Doclab with artist Dries de Poorter which was termed a “sacred sound composition that added a whole new dimension to Dries' grainy internet images.”
Achievements:
2012 - Song “Minority” nominated for 2 awards at Namibian Annual Music Awards
2012 - Winner “Last Band Standing”, Namibia
2013 - Winner Singer-Songwriter Competition “Mooie Noten” Amsterdam
2014 – Finalist Radio France International Awards
2016 – Winner Best Album in World Music Production, Netherlands
2017 – Winner Best Album in World Music Production, Netherlands
2020 - Nominee Amsterdam Prijs voor de Kunst
Academia
Besides her music career, she holds her Bachelor in Anthropology and Masters in Musicology. In her academic work she has specialised in Namibian music. She has written on this topic for the Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Contemporary Music of the World, being the first to write on contemporary Namibian music for this renown encyclopaedia. She has written articles for Music in Africa, and written a chapter for the book The Changing Faces of Aawambo Music Arts.
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“Shishani is a singer that gives hope. Her songs have a positive message though she doesn’t shy away from touching on sore points through her statements and lyrics. Musically, Shishani is a delight. Such emotion and such beautiful accompaniment with her guitar.”
