Kesivan and The Lights – We Dance at Home
We Dance at Home is the long-awaited third album from Kesivan and The Lights, the international ensemble led by South African drummer, composer, bandleader and orchestrator Kesivan Naidoo. It is Kesivan’s first album in twelve years, following Instigators of the Revolution (2010) and Brotherhood (2014).
Now based in Basel, Switzerland, Kesivan has spent more than three decades performing with many of the defining voices of South African jazz, including Miriam Makeba, Bheki Mseleku, Winston Mankunku and Feya Faku. His wider musical journey has also included study and collaboration with artists such as Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, William Parker and Maria Schneider.
At its heart, We Dance at Home is a celebration of African dance culture and groove, with a particular focus on Kesivan’s South African roots. Inspired by the lessons of his grandmother, Maude Naidoo, and dedicated to Maude, Bheki and Feya, the album reflects Kesivan’s belief that music is ultimately about bringing people together.
Performed by an international sextet, the album brings together Kesivan Naidoo on drums, Bokani Dyer on piano, Darren English on trumpet, Charley Rose on tenor saxophone, Fabio Gouvea on guitar and Joan Codina on double bass. Drawn from South Africa, France, Brazil and Spain, each musician brings a distinctive voice to the ensemble. With Kesivan, Bokani and Darren all past recipients of South Africa’s Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz, the group also reflects a powerful continuity in contemporary South African jazz.
The album reflects Kesivan’s approach to orchestration, placing the drums at the heart of the ensemble as a unifying musical voice—shaping texture, momentum and dialogue while allowing every musician the space to be heard. This approach grew out of Kesivan’s master’s studies at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, where mentors Brian Blade and Terri Lyne Carrington inspired him to think orchestrally from the drum set—using rhythm not simply to keep time, but to shape the sound, direction and emotional arc of the ensemble.
Alongside original compositions, the album features distinctive reimaginings of music by Bheki Mseleku, McCoy Tyner, Radiohead, Nirvana and Beyoncé. It also includes an extended suite built around themes by Hans Zimmer from the film Inception, as well as Kesivan’s interpretation of Joby Talbot’s “Mamma’s Secret” from the film Wonka. Each piece is transformed through Kesivan’s rhythmic language, orchestral imagination and deep understanding of South African groove.
Recorded across South Africa, Switzerland, Germany and the United States, We Dance at Home reflects a global artistic journey while remaining firmly grounded in the spirit of South African jazz.
As Kesivan reflects:
“This is the album I have been trying to make my entire life. Every place I have travelled, every musician who has shaped me, and every lesson my grandmother taught me has found its way into this music. In many ways, I feel like I have finally come home.”
The title speaks to the album’s central idea: home is not simply a place, but a feeling. It is where rhythm becomes memory, music becomes conversation, and every performance becomes a shared celebration.
