Raised between Johannesburg and Berlin, singer-songwriter Uwineza channels her diverse heritage into a deeply introspective second album written across the Greek islands.
She has a rich heritage, frequently navigating the intersection of her parents’ backgrounds and cultures as she skillfully crafts a unique blend that embodies her identity.
African-born, Berlin-based singer-songwriter Uwineza is using her experiences to create timeless music.
Born in Johannesburg to a South African mother and a German father, the rising star’s life has been shaped by movement, duality, and quiet observation.
She has always been confused about her identity due to her rich and diverse heritage.
As an artist, she’s been able to translate her feelings into music.
In 2024, she introduced her debut album ‘You’re Gonna Hate It’ to listeners.
The project is a deeply personal body of work that blends romantic rock, soul, and jazz.
Uwineza told Drum that the album was born from a place of helplessness, first heartbreaks, and the growing pains of early adulthood.
“I made ‘You’re Gonna Hate It’ from a place of first heartaches and entering the adult world. Now I find myself in similar positions at times, but with more experiences to draw from,” she said.
These experiences form the backbone of her upcoming second studio album, scheduled for release in April 2026.
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While still trying to navigate adulthood, the new project shifts its focus inward toward the quieter, often overlooked insecurities that linger beneath everyday life.
Much of the album was written in Greece, where Uwineza spent part of 2025 on an Erasmus exchange semester, moving across the Greek islands and embracing a slower rhythm of life where she welcomed boredom.
“We don’t get enough time being bored anymore. Sometimes you’re not in a creative rut — you just need to sit still, in silence, for a while. Then it’s like the wind whispers things to you,” she said.
Together with her producer, Uwineza established a single rule during her time in Greece: to write the entire album there.
The environment shaped not only the writing but also the album’s sonic direction.
Influenced by traditional Greek music, the project leans into acoustic minimalism, favouring raw instrumentation, guitars, bouzoukis, and layered vocals.
“At the time, these experiences felt intense and painful. I needed time to pass to see how the search for clarity actually brought me peace — and that peace became the album,” Uwineza said.
True to her genre-crossing nature, Uwineza resists boxing her sound into labels.
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The emotional core of the album reflects a liminal phase of isolation and freedom, the exhilarating yet overwhelming reality of studying abroad, making choices, and living with their consequences.
Themes of restlessness, insecurity, and growing older run throughout the record.
Despite living in Berlin, Uwineza remains deeply connected to her roots.
Regular contact with her family in South Africa and Germany keeps her grounded.
As she prepares to release her second album into the world, Uwineza is guided by a simple emotional compass.
“If it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I’m ready to release it,” she explained.
Uwineza hopes listeners will hear pieces of themselves reflected in the lyrics and throughout the record.
“This album is an ode to stillness, boredom, silence, and trusting the rhythms within. No one knows your truth better than you do,” she said.
