Botswana’s Award winning contemporary folk band, Sereetsi & the Natives have just dropped their second album, Motoko.
Frontman Tomeletso Sereetsi has described the new offering – a 10-track album with songs including Maobenka, Mpopi, Mpopela and Kgatlha Thuu – as much bigger and richer in soundcompared to their debut album. This new album has also seen the band do more collaborations.
“This album is dedicated to the memory of my father who allowed a guitar into his house when many of my teen peers couldn’t imagine bringing the instrument into their homes for fear of getting a hiding or being beaten,” Tomoletso explained.
He said back in the day musicians were dismissed as good for nothing bums often caught up in alcoholism and promiscuity. What’s worse, being in music wasn’t very lucrative, with most musicians being broke with nowhere to call home.
He said of their new offering;
“Some songs are an encouragement for self-dependence. We need to discourage laziness and encourage the able-bodied to stand up and work for themselves and their future generations,” he said.
Multi-talented Sereetsi co-produced the album with Mikael Rosen, an integral part of the band who also plays keys, drums and does some string arrangements. The band also roped in Kagiso Mangole on the keyboard, Saakie Nonong on bass, Gomotsegang Rapoo on electric guitar, Leroy Nyoni on drums and US Native Terry Lewis II on alto saxophone.
“I also had Metal Orizion’s front man Dumisani Matiha translate Pasi Pa Nyolo, a song I composed in English to Kalanga,” he said.
Sereetsi & the Natives gained themselves an army of fans with their first album and will no doubt see their fan base grow with this new album. Their first album yielded four Botswana Music Awards in 2016 being the Best single, Best Male Artist, Best Folk Album and the Best Newcomer.
The band has collaborated with US jazz band, Anthony Stanco and the Crucial Elements. Sereetsi & the Natives is the first Botswana band to tour South Africa and have also been featured at the Mahika Mahikeng Jazz Festival, Kgalagadi Jazz Festival, and the Cultural Calabash Fest, among others.
Source: The Botswana Daily News
Video titled: Sereetsi & The Natives: The Making of Motoko
Video courtesy of Sereetsi & The Natives
Published April 26, 2018
