In a candlelit room in Johannesburg, the artist transformed a six-track EP preview into a lesson on patience, honesty, and human connection.
There are listening sessions, and then there are listening experiences. Yandani’s About You belonged firmly to the latter.
The room was bathed in warm, cinematic light, punctuated by the soft glow of candles that transformed an otherwise simple venue into an intimate sanctuary. Every detail felt intentional. Before a single note was played, the atmosphere had already done what great music asks of its audience: quiet the noise, sharpen the senses, and invite everyone into the emotional world of the EP. It was the kind of setting that encouraged people not just to hear the music, but to sit with it.
Born into a family with a rich musical heritage, Yandani’s relationship with music feels less like a career choice and more like a calling.
“There has never been a Plan B,” he shared during the evening. “Music has always been the destination.”
That conviction runs throughout About You. Released today, Friday, 10 July 2026, the six-track EP was anything but an overnight success.
“This project has been in the making for almost three years,” Yandani explained. “Every song carries the weight of patience, intention, and relentless hard work.”
The result is a project that feels youthful yet remarkably mature. While Yandani represents a new generation of artists, About You isn’t confined to a single age group. Its themes of love, vulnerability, uncertainty, heartbreak, and hope are universal, allowing listeners from different walks of life to find pieces of themselves within the music.
The Emotional Arc of About You
The listening experience opened with Honeydew, a smooth fusion of R&B and pop that Yandani affectionately refers to as his “firstborn.”
“It’s an introduction not only to the project but also to me,” he said. “Warm, honest, and refreshingly effortless — that’s how I want people to feel when they meet my music.”
As the evening unfolded, Room 212 revealed another emotional layer. Sonically mature and emotionally rich, the track explores the idea of escaping with someone and existing in a world untouched by outside distractions.
“It’s about finding comfort in another person,” Yandani explained, “while allowing the production enough space to breathe.”
That emotional honesty is the thread that ties About You together. Rather than telling one linear story, the EP explores the different seasons every relationship inevitably experiences — moments of excitement and vulnerability, certainty and doubt, love and loss.
“Relationships rarely exist in one emotional state,” he reflected. “Neither does life.”
Perhaps the evening’s most relatable moment arrived with Forget. Written on a rainy day in December, the song was inspired by the end of a friendship.
“A lot of my songwriting draws from my own life,” Yandani said. “But I also find inspiration in the stories of people around me. I want the music to be personal, but also universal.”
One lyric, in particular, stayed with him:
“Always been the one, nothing new.”
Then came Undecided, arguably the audience’s favourite of the evening. Driven by infectious energy and polished pop-R&B production, the song explores the emotional uncertainty of wanting someone who isn’t quite sure about choosing you.
“It’s upbeat,” he explained, “but I didn’t want it to lose its emotional depth. That balance is something I tried to maintain throughout the project.”
One of the defining qualities of About You is Yandani’s ability as a songwriter. His lyrics never feel manufactured or overly polished for commercial appeal. Instead, they are conversational, vulnerable, and rooted in genuine lived experiences. That authenticity allows each song to feel intimate while remaining accessible, proving that some of the strongest artists are those who can write stories people recognise as their own.
What elevated the evening beyond a traditional listening session was Yandani’s decision to perform several songs live. It wasn’t simply an opportunity to showcase his vocal ability; it was an invitation for the audience to step even further into his world. The live performances dissolved the distance between artist and listener, replacing passive listening with genuine connection.
When speaking about his career, Yandani reiterated that music has always been the destination. That certainty is reflected throughout About You, a project that confidently blends pop and R&B while remaining grounded in honest storytelling.
Asked what he hopes listeners take away from his music, his answer was simple yet meaningful: he wants people to leave feeling more confident than they did before they pressed play.
Beyond music, Yandani hinted at another creative avenue he may soon explore. Having often been encouraged to pursue modelling, he admitted it’s something he’s genuinely open to exploring in the near future. While music remains his primary focus, it’s clear his creativity isn’t limited to one medium, making him an artist worth watching both on and off the stage.
As the candles continued to flicker and conversations lingered long after the final note had faded, one message remained above everything else:
Keep going.
It wasn’t merely the closing sentiment of the evening. It felt like the heartbeat of About You itself.
If this listening experience was any indication of what’s to come, Yandani is only getting started. With a thoughtful pen, a clear artistic identity, and an unwavering commitment to honest storytelling, he is steadily positioning himself as one of South Africa’s most promising young voices. About You doesn’t just introduce an artist — it introduces someone with the potential to leave a lasting mark on the country’s contemporary R&B and pop landscape.
