I am Colo Nyathi, an artist, a storyteller, and the founder of Phakama Records.
My work lives at the intersection of visual design, writing, and music—three disciplines that continue to shape how I express, question, and connect. I create with intention and restraint, favoring minimalist design that carries emotional depth. Much of my work is rooted in African heritage and personal experience, and it often explores themes of memory, identity, and transformation.
Whether I’m designing an album cover, building a visual series, or writing a memoir, I see every project as an opportunity to slow down and listen—first to myself, then to the world. My goal is to create spaces that invite reflection and hold complexity without overwhelming. I believe in the power of less—where the unseen is just as important as what’s visible.
As the founder of Phakama Records, I’ve woven my artistic vision into every aspect of the label—from sound to visual identity. What began as a passion for music has grown into a multidisciplinary platform where African storytelling meets experimental design. Through Phakama, I’ve been able to collaborate with boundary-pushing artists, curate album covers that echo lived experiences, and create a space where culture, memory, and innovation speak in rhythm.
It’s more than a label—it’s a creative home.
Visions of Self:
Projects Shaped by Heritage and Expression
With Paradise, a collaboration with musician Jack Parker, I explored contrast and duality through bold, vibrant imagery. Guided by Jack’s shifting soundscapes—ranging from euphoric to contemplative—the visuals unfold into a layered narrative where grounded birds perch among cosmic skies and saturated blooms glow against star-dappled shadows. The process was both intuitive and collaborative, shaped by trust and creative dialogue. This project reflects my ongoing interest in interpreting sound as space and emotion—translating the unseen into something visual, something felt.
Clouded Reveries invites a quieter kind of introspection, an exploration of the inner landscapes shaped by time, nature, and transformation. Dreamlike and symbolic, the series blends surreal elements—floral crowns, obscured gazes, drifting clouds—to evoke the dualities we carry: grounded and untethered, present and eternal. Imagination blooms here slowly and softly, asking the viewer to look beyond what is seen and toward what is felt. It’s a meditation on change and stillness, rooted in the belief that not everything meaningful needs to be clear.
In Africana, I turned my gaze inward. This profoundly personal piece blends ancestral symbolism with celestial wonder. At its center is the image of a stretched ear—a sacred cultural motif—reimagined as a cosmic portal. Within it, distant figures emerge, representing ancestry, spirit, and connection. Through textured earth tones and expansive skies, I explored the tension between rootedness and boundlessness, legacy and becoming. Africana is a meditation on where we come from and the infinite possibilities of who we might still become.
Words of Self:
Exploring the Boundaries of Memory and Identity
In my writing, I explore the intricate layers of self, memory, and identity, always focusing on the constant evolution of the human experience. Through Nyatho, I delve into a deeply personal narrative that acts as both an exploration and a reflection. Storytelling becomes my tool for navigating the complexities of who we are, where we come from, and how we transform over time. This journey is both intimate and universal, as I draw on my own experiences to examine the broader human condition.
My work is a mosaic of past struggles, lessons learned, and the ongoing process of self-discovery. It’s an effort to understand the delicate balance between the person we were, the person we are, and the person we are becoming. In doing so, I seek to capture not just the changes we undergo but also the quiet moments of realization, the thresholds of understanding that shape our identities. Each piece is a reflection of growth—an invitation to connect with the complex, ever-changing nature of our own lives.
Makhokhoba to Mbare is an evolving cultural project tracing the rhythms between two iconic Zimbabwean townships. More than a music release, it’s a bridge—an ongoing dialogue between Makhokhoba in Bulawayo and Mbare in Harare, where creativity pulses through every street corner.
It draws from the everyday: the cadence of local talk, the tempo of hustle, and the harmonies of shared resilience. Here, sound becomes story—music as memory, motion, and meaning, rooted in place but reaching outward.
Visually, the project rejects convention. Inspired by the idea of sonic graffiti, it imagines music not just as something heard but as something worn, felt, and carried. The design borrows from personal care aesthetics, turning sound into something tactile and intimate.
This design isn’t a wrapper around the music—it’s a physical echo of it. It reflects the township’s dualities: where legacy meets invention, where quiet strength fuels loud creation.
Released by Phakama Records, this project goes beyond design. It’s a cultural offering—honoring the roots of the sound and celebrating those continuously reshaping the meaning of visibility, voice, and legacy.
