Amandawe (South Africa) based artist Desire Marea released his second solo album On the Romance of Being, in 2023. The album is immersed in the communal, ceremonial and healing qualities of music, and produced after a recent calling to train as Songoma – a traditional Nguni spiritual healer. The album was followed by his EP, The Baddies of Isandlwana.

The 2020 debut album, Desire, was one of Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year and BBC 6Music’s Albums of the Day, and Desire has drawn in fans from across the globe, including Grace Jones, who went on to invite Desire to perform at her Meltdown Festival at London’s Southbank Centre.

Before his solo career, Desire formed beloved Joburg collective Faka with creative partner Fela Gucci. They toured the world extensively, scored the Telfar show for NYFW, partnered with Versace to soundtrack their S/S 2019 menswear show and were featured in the Vogue World 100 and Dazed 100 lists.