Msaki and Jesse Clegg are inviting listeners into a deeply personal space with their collaborative EP 'Entropy'.
Image: Supplied
Singer-songwriter Msaki and musician Jesse Clegg released a collaborative six-track EP, titled “Entropy”, on February 27.
The project is accompanied by cinematic visuals that premiered during a launch event in Johannesburg. More than just a collection of songs, “Entropy” explores themes of grief, love and emotional transformation.
The visual component of “Entropy” premiered at the launch, offering audiences what the artists describe as a deeply personal film that expands on the themes in the music.
In an interview with “Independent Media Lifestyle”, the two artists spoke about the honesty that shaped the project and why their friendship became the foundation for everything that followed.
For Msaki and Clegg, the collaboration was never part of a calculated plan. It grew from a moment of shared vulnerability in their personal lives.
“This collaboration began as a friendship. We met at a very specific moment in our lives, both moving through deep personal loss,” they explained.
Because of that, the connection that formed between them was rooted in openness from the beginning. The conversations they were having outside the studio slowly found their way into song.
Msaki and Jesse Clegg say their collaborative EP 'Entropy' grew out of friendship and shared moments of personal loss.
Image: Supplied
The pair shared that there was never a strategic plan to record music together, as the songs came naturally out of the conversations they were having as friends.
“There was never an initial plan to make a record together. We were simply two friends in conversation, and because we are musicians and songwriters, music naturally emerged from those exchanges.”
The artists said that starting from friendship, rather than ambition, shaped the honesty of the project. The songs were not strategic, but an organic response to what they were living through. They believe that beginning from friendship, rather than intention or ambition, is what allowed the music to feel so raw and truthful.
While the EP stands strongly on its own, the visuals add another dimension to the storytelling. The cinematic series follows a couple whose love story unfolds across moments of intimacy, connection and eventual fracture.
“The album explores love and loss in all their complexity, and we are aware that many people may not have expected us to create something like this together,” they said.
“That is partly why we felt it was important to contextualise it carefully, to frame how it arrived and what it represents.” The visual narrative was designed to mirror the progression of emotions within the music.
“We wanted the visual component to tell a fuller story, one that mirrors the emotional arc of a relationship. Across the videos, a love story unfolds, one that is deeply connected yet ultimately destined to fall apart. It captures joy and intimacy, but also fracture and inevitability,” they shared.
Interestingly, both artists chose not to centre themselves as the main characters in the story. They chose actors to carry the narrative, while Msaki and Clegg appear more subtly within the film.
“We were very aware that we are not trained actors, and we did not want performance to overshadow the emotional core of the project,” they explained.
“We exist both inside and outside the story. In some moments, we feel like participants in the protagonists’ journey. In others, we feel more like observers or guardians, watching over their experience.”
Looking back at the process, the artists say the project only strengthened the creative bond they had already built.
“We never felt the need to protect our friendship from the project. If anything, the project is an extension of that friendship,” they said.
“Looking back, the process feels joyful and sincere. We were fortunate to discover how naturally we collaborate, how much trust and ease exists between us. That foundation is woven into the record. You can hear the safety and respect in the music itself.”
The story behind “Entropy” goes back several years. In a previous interview, Clegg explained that their connection started more than three years ago when they first worked together on another project.
“I was such a fan of her writing, her voice, and her artistic presence in the industry,” he said at the time.
“From the first day we worked together, there was an immediate connection both creatively and personally. We were both going through big transitions in our lives and related to each other in deep ways,” Clegg said.
Over time, the songs that would become “Entropy” were written across several cities, including Cape Town, Los Angeles, Johannesburg and New York. The process, he said, reflected both their travels and the different emotional moments they were experiencing.