Bio

Fundile Mdingi South African ,singer,songwriter,producer At a tender age Fundile Mdingi found a great interest on his Grandparents record player listening to The Crusaders, Stevie Wonder, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Caiphus Semenya, Abdulla Ibrahim and everything that played on the radio from Elton John, Ozila, Freddie Mercury,Mahlathini and The Hotela queens, Nkunzemdaka and Ace of Base. He was born on the 3rd of September 1980 in Durban at King Edward Hospital but grew up in Bizana. His family lodge Happy Hen ,in Bizana, hosted bands that toured the Eastern Cape (Transkie) and as a young boy Lucky Dube, Brenda Fassie, Soul Brothers and other traveling bands who lodged most summer weekends there were of great fascination to him. He spent most of his childhood in Bizana where he also attended his lower primary. In 1996 went to attend boarding school in Mount Frere. A year later his mother moved him to Durban where he joined a boy group, and that same year his grandfather bought him his first studio. At seventeen he was learning music production with Qunta Mbhele and had started performances with his boy group. Met with Mbongeni Ngema playwright and songwriter, of the mbhaqanga musical Sarafina, (which found great success on Broadway in 1988) ,immediately took him under his wing thus introducing him to the works of Tchaikovsky and the theater at large .This resulted and developed a great love for Chopin, Mozart and Vivaldi in his late teens. He took up his music studies with Natal Technicon and the University of Kwazulu Natal in 2001 to 2004. A period where he practiced every night, this then gave him an opportunity to study piano with Bheki Mseleku who practiced nights at his campus while in South Africa. This super afro-jazz offspring as pianist has worked with Simpiwe Dana, Sbongile Khumalo, Bianca Le Grange and Ghana's Becca, has shared stages with Letta Mbuli, Lira and as producer has collaborated with Hugh Masekela and Alcapoem with a catalogue of south african jazz, pop and dance singles. Borrowed Gift as his first release received a nomination on the South African Music Awards for Best Contemporary Jazz album (2010).