Modern romance is exhausting. Between swiping, ghosting and the endless small talk of the dating world, it is little wonder so many people have quietly given up. South African DJ and producer Ezra Mlotshwa has made a song for all of them.

"Finding Love", released on 18 September, is a collaboration between Ezra and fellow producer Chronos, featuring the vocals of Azana and JustBheki. It is a warm, emotionally rich record about the space between heartbreak and the courage to open yourself up again.

The song was not born from a grand plan. Instead, its foundations emerged organically, with Ezra and Chronos allowing space, silence and melody to carry its emotion. That restraint quickly became its defining quality.

Rather than cluttering the production, the pair built a musical landscape that gives the vocalists room to tell the story. The sound drifts between soul, contemporary Afro-pop and cinematic balladry, growing gradually from intimate beginnings into a fuller, emotionally charged finish.

At the centre of it all are two voices. Azana, whose distinctive tone has become synonymous with some of South Africa's most emotive contemporary records, brings warmth and vulnerability. JustBheki, known for songs including "Emanoni", offers an emotional counterweight, and the two trade lines so naturally that the song feels less like a duet and more like a conversation between two people navigating the uncertainty of romance.

Their chemistry underlines the question at the heart of the song: after disappointment, heartbreak or the plain grind of modern dating, how willing are we to try again?

For Ezra, that question felt timely. He describes "Finding Love" as a feel-good song about the endless search for companionship, compatibility and meaningful relationships, noting that genuine love in its truest form is rare and that dating today can feel fickle. It felt fitting, he says, to make a song most people could relate to.

That sentiment is captured in a line from the song, "Uthando lonke ilizwe mf'wethu kodwa ayikho into enzima njengokuthola uThando", a reflection on how love belongs to the whole world, yet nothing is harder than actually finding it.

"Finding Love" is also the latest chapter in a steadily growing catalogue. Raised on South Africa's rich house music culture, Ezra first made his name alongside Oscar Mbo and DJ Luu in The Goldenboys before building his own body of work and collaborating with the likes of Kabza De Small and Nkosazana Daughter.

His 2024 debut album, Bayede, broadened that world further through collaborations with MaWhoo, Thakzin, Artwork Sounds, Njelic, Chronical Deep and Darque. With "Finding Love", he stretches into a broader sonic space without losing the soulful sensibility that has become his signature.

As spring settles in, the song offers a gentle, hopeful proposition: even after love has gone, there may still be enough courage left to go looking for it one more time.

"Finding Love" by Ezra and Chronos featuring Azana and JustBheki is available now on major streaming platforms.