Amy Tjasink Celebrates Heritage and Home with Her New Single ‘Feels Like Mzansi’

OK Mzansi is proud to feature Amy Tjasink as she enters an exciting new artistic chapter with her reimagined single Feels Like Mzansi, inspired by Mango Groove’s iconic classic Special Star. The press release highlights a powerful moment for Amy — blending heritage with contemporary sound, championing storytelling, and stepping into a bold new era of her music career.

Her single Feels Like Mzansi, set to release on 5 December, is a vibrant reimagining released as part of Gallo Record Company’s special heritage-meets-modern project. The track blends nostalgic African rhythms with fresh contemporary pop production, celebrating the warmth, spirit, and energy that make South Africa feel like home. It arrives perfectly timed for the festive season and truly captures the magic of Mzansi.

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In an exclusive interview with OK Mzansi Magazine, Amy opens up about the creative process, her emotional inspiration, and what fans can expect from her going forward.

1. Feels Like Mzansi is inspired by Mango Groove’s ‘Special Star’. What drew you to this particular classic, and why did you feel it was the right song to reimagine for a new generation?

This song has always been a South African classic, blending feel good pop elements, with feel good stories and nostalgic African Sounds. I had also performed this song while I was on The Voice South Africa, and it has always held a special place in my heart. I also loved how my voice fits this genre and style and I have always loved singing the original. It just felt like it was destiny for me to work on this project – and in particular this song, and hopefully build a new audience for the song letting its legacy live on for even longer.

2. You wrote the concept during a moment of homesickness while abroad. Can you take us deeper into that moment and how it shaped the emotional core of the song?

As South Africans, there is always this general feeling that to make it in this industry, we need to make it abroad. So I often find myself travelling overseas to grow as an artist, write with international writers and producers, and travel to get inspiration and broaden my network, however, the yearning for home has become a constant theme in my work. The best part about leaving is coming home, and there is a particular experience that happens every single time I come home. I arrive in South Africa, step off the plane, and head through customs. The first sentence I am always met with is ‘Hello Nana! How was your trip’, by one of the customs officers. I am always met with kindness, by a complete stranger, with a smile, with warmth, with genuine love, and that is the nature of our people and our country, and THAT is what makes me miss home the most. While sitting in a foreign airport, you are engulfed in different cultures, people who dont greet, who dont smile, and it just made me so excited to come home, because I know that no matter what, we South Africans will always smile, hug and be kind to each other. There is truly no other place like South Africa – and that is what inspired me to come up with the lyric ‘been gone too long, my roots keep calling me back to where I belong’.

3. The track blends nostalgic African elements with contemporary pop production. How did you balance honouring the original essence of Special Star while giving it a fresh, modern identity?

Our first look at the song was inspired by the simple guitar line that you hear in the beginning. We kept it simple with the pop progression and melodies, in most cases, less is more. We then had a look at some modern beats and built up the chorus using the modern beats, and simplistic guitar. From there we knew exactly how to feature parts of the original song. The Choir and Whistle fitted so perfectly over the drop. From there, the entire song flowed out of us in a matter of 4 hours. Incredible. True magic.

4. Pretty Loud, the creative studio you co-founded, played a key role in developing this track. What was the collaborative process like with Jono Greyling and Erin Elliot?

It was probably one of the best studio days I have ever had. I called Erin & Jono and told them I had a very special project to work on. We were actually all really tired from an event the night before, but we all agreed to push through and work and try to create something special. Both Jono and Erin had NO IDEA what I was about to pitch to them, they thought we were going to be working on a country song for my album. I took out our pink guitar from the studio, and played the chords and sang the line ‘been gone too long, my roots keep calling me back’. From there Erin and I started coming up with the lyrics to the story line of missing home, and how we could tie it to Special Star. Then the idea came to us to use the Ooh Ahhs as the prechorus, and allude to the feeling of hearing that melody is what it feels like to be South Africa. Jono started ‘Cooking’ the production and nailed it. It was just the most amazing, exciting and inspiring session ever. We laughed, we danced, and we wrote a love song to South Africa.

5. Feels Like Mzansi is a celebration of belonging, unity, and home. What does “Mzansi” personally represent for you?

Mzansi personally represents the people to me. The pride that we all come from this magical place, but it is the PEOPLE that make it magical. We have the friendliest, most loving community in the world. I have travelled to a lot of countries for work, and not ONE of them compare to our Country, Our People, Our Compassion.

6. This release forms part of a special Gallo Record Company project aimed at bridging heritage with modern sound. How does it feel to contribute to such a culturally significant initiative?

I feel incredibly honoured, and blessed. I am actually in shock that I have been given this opportunity. I am so happy, and so excited.

7. You’ve achieved success both as Amy Tjasink and as your alter ego Rebel Bunny. How do these two identities influence or inspire one another?

Music has always been a creative outlet for me to record my experience in life. I enjoy releasing music under these two names, because under Amy Tjasink, I write happy, uplifting songs, or songs about life and family. Rebel Bunny enables me to express myself in a different way, where I can say the things that I am usually too afraid to say, or sing about things I would be too shy to sing about under Amy Tjasink. I get to climb into my alter ego and discover parts of myself I would usually hide away. I love having two themes where I can tell stories from different sides of my personality.

8. As co-owner of Pretty Loud, you’re known for championing women in music and leading powerful advocacy work, including GBV awareness. How do these values shape your approach to music?

I stand firmly with women, as well as speaking out for women and the way we experience the world. These values have enabled me to be incredibly honest in my music, which women can find relatable and hopefully help them in the tougher moments of life knowing that they are not alone. I also want to show women that we can do it all, we can be Mothers & Wives, but still have a strong unique identity in following our dreams.

9. You’re celebrated for your energetic live performances. How do you imagine bringing Feels Like Mzansi to life on stage?

My dream is to perform this LIVE with Mango Groove. It would be so incredibly special. We used a lot of authentic instrumentation in the production of this track, which will make it amazing to perform with a full 7 piece live band, a choir doing the amazing backings, and a flute/whistle player playing the iconic solo over the chorus. I would also love to have dancers creating that extra vibe. The song is so nostalgic, that raw performances with just myself and guitar will also go down really well. I have tried it at a few of my gigs and the audience feedback has been amazing , I can’t wait to perform it at all of my shows!

10. This single signals a new chapter in your musical journey. What can fans expect from this next era of Amy Tjasink?

As I step into this next Era, fans can expect a lot more consistency. More releases, More Shows, More Social Media Content… and A FULL ALBUM in 2026 🙂 We will be blending unique South African Sounds and making our very own version of South African Country Music. I CANT WAIT.