U of A student Fatsani releases debut album

A second-year University of Alberta student with a single already under their belt, Fatsani Nsaliwa has taken the next step in their musical career with a debut album titled This Made Me Think of You, a journey long in the making.

“I’ve been writing and creating music since I was eight, and then I started producing or started to create music seriously … around three years ago. [I] partnered with the Melisiszwe Brothers and the Gold Mind Program and was able to release a song, then this EP,” says Fatsani. 

“[Music is] everything that I am. It’s everything that I embody,” Fatsani says 

They are also very vocal about the place and importance music holds in their life, adding that “it’s everything that I am. It’s everything that I embody. It’s an outlet for me. It’s an art form … I like to take all the crazy situations that I find myself in, and then they get [turned] into music.”

Their single “Peter,” although not part of the EP, was released on August 5, 2023. After releasing “Peter,” Fatsani, under the guidance of the Goldmine Program, got to work on This Made Me Think of You, an EP they expressed focused on “the different stages of infatuation.”

“I find that I’ve never been in love, not yet, but I’ve come pretty darn close,” Fatsani commented. “So when it comes to going through the motions of liking someone and wanting them, needing them, feeling dependent on them, then regretting them and moving on from them.” 

Most of the songs in the EP were also their own personal projects growing up: “All [these] songs, I wrote years ago. I think the youngest I was when I wrote some of the songs [was], like, 12.” 

“There’s so many different genres and songs that are kind of embedded into my brain that I subconsciously add into my music.”

“I think my favourite parts are always writing — writing has always come incredibly easy to me,” Fatsani said.

To them, This Made Me Think of You was not only “an intro to my sound and a start to what I want my music to sound like,” but also the chance to express their love for the music that influenced them. They cited the R&B genre as inspiration, as well as bands such as Destiny’s Child and TLC.

They mostly credit their love for music to their family, especially their father. “My dad has played music since I was a kid, and he’s a part-time DJ, so I always grew up with music all around the house,” they said. “There’s so many different genres and songs that are kind of embedded into my brain that I subconsciously add into my music.”

Going forward, Fatsani conveyed their wishes to “release more songs” and to continue working alongside people. “I’ve always wanted to write for other people, produce for other people as well. Being in the music industry, whether I’m the face of it or somebody else’s, I’m happy with both.”

They also expressed their excitement in trying out different things with their music. “We will definitely be doing so many bigger things. So many more different things as well. A lot of my songs, honestly, are more about mental health, that type of struggle, but they’re usually portrayed as love songs to make them more marketable.” 

To all the listeners and fans out there, Fatsani said, “there’s been so many times where, like, I’ve just needed to cry and listen to a song, and there’s been songs that have been able to do that for me and I want to be that for other people … I want my listeners to enjoy the music, then to also connect with it in a way that they see fit so that it’s tailored to them. I want them to take my art and tailor it to them so that they can have the optimal listening experience. That’s really important for me.”