Idris Elba has found inspiration from his recent role as Nelson Mandela in Long Walk To Freedom, going on to curate, write and produce 'mi Mandela' - his first album and a collection of songs which uncover undiscovered world music talents hailing from South Africa.
Talking about the record, Idris explains: "South Africa has numerous different tribes and each one has a musical expression, and each one has a very unique, different sound style. At the time I had my studio at the apartment I was staying in while I was making Mandela - a little keyboard, a laptop - and as an experiment to myself, I vowed to keep making music."
Taken from that album is Idris' debut single 'You Give Me Love', featuring Maverick Sabre in a song co-written by the two stars alongside producer Mr Hudson who also plays all of the track's instruments except brass which comes from Future History Brass Section, and Hammond Organ by Rory O'Donoghue.
Backing vocals on the track also come from Tori Allen-Martin.
'mi Mandela' is the first in a new series of character-driven projects, where Idris is hoping to continue exploring his acting roles through the world of music.
The album is released in full on November 24, with this single officially made available from Monday, November 10.
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