Much loved ban 340ml has announced their return to stage in 2025. Picture: 340million /Instagram
340ml is probably your favourite musician’s favourite band and they’ve announced an official return to the stage in more than a decade, for 2025.
But bassist Rui Soeiro jokes that their fans should expect a bunch of old guys complaining about their lower backs in their performances.
“[It’s] hard to say what to expect, as we’re going into this super open for anything to come, and we’re going to react as things happen when they happen. That’s the same process we’re going to use when we sit in studio at rehearsal figuring out how to play our songs in 2025,” Soeiro told The Citizen.
ALSO READ: Rage festival organisers make U-turn on cruise to Mozambique after backlash
On Wednesday morning news broke out that music ensemble 340ml will reunite for an exclusive, one-time-only South African tour in March 2025.
The members; drummer Paulo Jorge Chibanga, guitarist Tiago Correia-Paulo, vocalist Pedro Pinto and Soeiro will perform together in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The Joburg leg will take place on Saturday, 15 March 2025, followed by Cape Town: on Sunday 16 March 2025.
The tour will take place at outdoor family-friendly venues yet to be announced.
According to Correia-Paulo, their last official performance was 12 years ago.
“But we did do one event together, early 2020, just before the first big COVID hit. But somehow it didn’t really feel like a reunion, it felt more like we were part of an event.”
The tour will happen around festival season in the Southern region of the continent and they didn’t want to confirm whether they’ll be performing at festivals such as the Bushfire Festival.
“Hard to say at this stage. We’re going to be totally focused on these first shows. They’re the reason why we’re doing this. No other agendas. But we might also be holding a few secrets… somewhere down the line,” shared Correia-Paulo.
For the tour itself, Soeiro said: “No big game plans… just flow. Well, that’s kind of how we always did everything back in the day. Just going with it. We’re going to focus on the songs and we’re going to try our hardest to bring them back to life, as honestly as we can.”
340ml’s revered body of work means the group wasn’t short of offers to perform in the time they’ve been away.
“We’ve all been individually cornered by people asking us why we’re not doing shows anymore,” said Chibanga.
Chibanga said one of the reasons for this was because people weren’t aware that they weren’t together anymore.
“We still have the odd ‘Hey, when is your next show?’ It gets even worse if the four of us are just hanging out, or just going out for lunch. People just assume that if we’re hanging out together we’re coming or going to rehearsals and preparing a show somewhere.”
Contrary to what one finds on music digital platforms, 340ml hasn’t officially released a body of work since 2008’s Sorry For the Delay.
“We did spend some time in Studio in 2010 and 2011 recording things with the intent of making a new album, but it never really panned out. Those songs are somewhere gathering digital dust. But in all fairness, I don’t think they were that good,” averred Pinto.
Music dated post-2008 is only a digital release of some of their old material.
ALSO READ: The Brother Moves On campaigning for funds for ‘Zulus of New York’ tour
The reunion show is a sign of answered prayers for ardent 340ml fans and 2025 just seems to be just the right time for the four members to share the stage.
“We wanted it to be something special and with a certain Production level, and put together by people who we can feel aligned with in terms of what to deliver and how to do it,” said the laid-back Chibanga.
“We’re also curious to find out how 340ml would sound like in 2025.”
Chibanga said even when they were together they always had a way of changing things; be it the sound, or the arrangements.
“Now we’re kind of curious to find out how much it will change this times and after all these years.”
ALSO READ: Samas change 2025 edition date as organisers try to secure additional sponsors
340ml is a tight group made strong by individuals who have independent lives and livelihoods outside of the hip jams they make together.
During their hiatus from the stage as a band, Correia-Paulo has been working closely with Bongeziwe Mabandla.
Correia-Paulo still works in the music industry as a Producer, and performer and has also built a career working in the film industry as a Composer and sometimes as an Editor and even Director.
Soeiro has been managing a couple of his family’s businesses, investing in his kids, and somehow creating a small vinyl revival in Maputo, amongst other things.
The hip and laid-back Chibanga is now involved in the industrial sector but his passion still lies in the music and cultural domain, through his enterprise khuzula focused on events, communications, book publishing and digital distribution.
13 years ago Chibanga founded the Azgo Music Festival and is also in charge of an incubator (X-Hub) that nurtures many arts and culture projects.
Pinto is the Director of the prestigious cultural centre and gallery in the heart of Maputo, Fundação Fernando Leite Couto.
Soeiro said they would like to reproduce some of that old 340ml stage energy when the 2025 tour kicks off.
“As much as our backs will allow us. We can see these old men jokes being a big part of this whole process. We’ve always been about the jokes and not taking ourselves too seriously. It’s kind of a Mozambican template, so probably expect a bit of that too.”
NOW READ: Travel agents warn against travelling to Mozambique
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
