Sounds of Home: 5 Songs by Basotho Musicians to Inspire You to Keep Going.
Featuring Nthabiseng, Khomari, Aura Griffiths, Origin Musiq & Leomile.
Sounds of Home, a subsection of our newsletter in which we highlight fresh music from Lesotho through candid interviews with our local musicians and music compilations for your listening pleasure.
Even as we move towards embracing the rhythms of our Basotho calendar (August - July), the Gregorian calendar’s January still continues to mark the beginning of many ventures for most of us. Starting a semester of school, new projects, building up that business, pursuing goals towards healthier relationships, the list is truly endless.
For many, there is something about January that inspires a refreshing of one’s goals, a reigniting of one’s dreams and a restoring of the will to pursue it all. And so, for our second instalment of Sounds of Home, we bring you 5 songs by Basotho musicians that can accompany you into 2024, and hopefully encourage, comfort and inspire you to keep moving forward.
Listen and enjoy! 💟🎶
“Ha Ke Tele” by Nthabiseng
Sometime during that infamously eventful year of 2020, Nthabiseng — a musician with a bold voice and lyrical prowess — blessed the masses with a fresh body of work, aptly titled Setlhare. The five track EP, two of which feature Rapper Arc Floww, is truly a sonic delight and a testament to Nthabiseng’s artistry and command of language.
The last track on this project, Ha Ke Tele is the perfect song to encourage our hearts to keep moving forward even against the world’s unending challenges. “Tsa lefatše ha li fele,” Nthabiseng writes, “empa nna ha ke tele.” The hook “Ha ke tele” is repeated throughout the song in a melodic and meditative way, and this coupled with the song’s calming production, makes it a soothing and encouraging anthem for those inevitable hard days.
“Sebetsa Mshana” by Origin Musiq
You can’t speak of the beat of live music in Lesotho today and not speak of the band, Origin Musiq. And yet, the music they cook in studio is just as energizing and full of life — their recent debut studio album Mabote #29 being the perfect example of this!
However, for this new year playlist, we travel back through their catalogue to the 2020 single Sebetsa Mshana. They describe it as ‘a song inspiring artists to work and give life to the people through art’. It is definitely also an ode to the dreamers, the hard-workers, the resilient, the ones taking the road less traveled, the ones forging a colourful path for themselves and others, in this world that can feel too black and white.
“Monsters” by KHOMARI
Singer-songwriter and record producer, Khomari carries that soulful voice that serenates and soothes the listener. He also boasts quite an impressive catalogue of music, including his self-titled EP KHOMARI and a 19-track album Black Crown, so that you know he is one of those musicians whose work ethic is deserving of more praise.
From his 2021 EP “I Smell A Revolution”, Khomari brought an empowering collection of songs. One of them “Monsters”, with its ambient and acoustic feel, is a song that will feel like an invocation of courage for you, as you face and slay the monsters in your life.
“Song for Pulane” by Leomile
It’s been over seven years since Leomile’s offering; Pula Molomo and yet, even today, this album houses songs that we can always go back to and happily bask under. Leomile’s narrative songwriting positions her songs as both timeless and relatable.
Song for Pulane, on the album, is a song that holds you when you are afraid. It recognizes and empathizes with that very human urge to run while also inviting you to stay, to choose courage. Her description of this invitation is lyrical gold : “Ntšepise ha u na tšaba/ Ha u bona lehalima le se nang letolo.” To the backdrop of a beautiful blend of live instruments, Song for Pulane is a work that really inspires you to be courageous.
“More” By Aura Griffiths
Aura Griffiths’ 2022 EP In My Head, is an impeccably produced project, that really showcases the singer-songwriter’s soft vocals, lyrical flow and her R&B sensibilities.
One of the songs off this project is More —a fun and upbeat track with a beat that blends alternative R&B with a tinge of Bossa Nova. It features renowned rapper T.U.R.K. The song is a perfect reminder to dare to focus on what matters to us, never mind the naysayers, and just make most of this short lifetime and keep going for more.
Read our article from the last issue:
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