A rare creature of artistic contradictions

Tomeletso Sereetsi | Friday March 14, 2014 15:13

 

At that moment little known Skit Kabomo scored yet another hat-trick as a songwriter.

That melodic moment could be all the excuse many an artist would need to rest on their laurels.

But that artist is not Kabomo.

Scott’s rendition of his soul-searing Tsutsube composition was just another confirmation that to keep the faith and the winner’s work ethic pays dividends.

The wordless song was not crossing borders for the first time. Kabomo debuted the song on stage in Canada in 2005 with Mogwana Traditional Troupe before the famous Alexander McCall Smith book series became a film script.

It is today part of the repertoire of his traditional music and dance band, Seragantswana Cultural Group.

“I went to London with Mogwana and Rre Stampore (late folk guitarist) for the official release of The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency movie where I performed the song, Uwe, that is featured in the movie,” he relates.

Kabomo’s performance credits are impressive.  In 2003 he went to Ivory Coast with Mogwana for a cultural festival.

“I met with people from different countries and got to learn about their cultures,” he says.

In 2005, the president of Germany invited Kabomo to perform at his birthday party along with local musicians, Khoitrans, Ntirelang Berman and Joseph Dikgomo.

He also performed in Kenya after he bagged an award during the President’s Day competitions.

“Winning the President’s Day competitions was a dream come true because I had been after the feat for five years. Being featured as one of the main acts during the President’s Concert was one of the highlights of my work,” he says.

The most striking thing about Kabomo is that he is a rare creature of artistic contradictions.

In his work the old meets the new, and the foreign melds seamlessly with the familiar.

He plays setinkane, marimba, African drums, several percussion instruments and segaba. He is a highly respected dancer of setapa, tsutsube, selete, phathise and Sebirwa.

He is also a music producer who works in genres as disparate as rock, traditional music, hip hop and house music.

“I have made beats for VS, DJ Sid and Seragantshwana, among other acts,” he says.

Kabomo also plays for two rock bands - Alive & Bolder, which plays traditional old school rock and roll and Kamp 13, a new melodic hard rock outfit.

 “I am a drummer in both the bands.  It all started in 2002 with a band called Stealth (another rock band). We entered the My African Dream competition and ended up in the final five,” he relates.

Kabomo says the transition from traditional music to the western sounds of rock has been an artistically fulfilling one for him.

 “I keep bringing up traditional dance rhythms into my rock drumming, and my bandmates seem to enjoy what I do.

They keep encouraging me to continue mixing it up. Now we have a rock song with Tswana traditional sounds and chants titled Stars,” he says.

However, rock purists seem to have a problem with their rocker mixing up with the ethnic cultural expressions.  They do not prefer their distorted sonic mess served with borankana.

“Other rock fans have actually boldly told me to choose between rock music and traditional music. Fellow traditional musicians and fans do not mind a bit,” he says.

He says the rockers do not even say why he should drop one and run with the other.

“I don’t know why I’m being pressured to choose between two music forms that I love,” he says, “I have two jobs – borankana and rock, period. No one will make me part ways with any of that without giving me a job to feed me.”

How has his different musical lives helped him as a producer?

“Anyone who can mix, edit and master a rock song can do any kind of music. Rock is more difficult to work with because of its distorted guitars. 

Now that I work with the sound everyday, I know how to properly engineer it. I can do any kind of music, except for classical music,” he says.

Kabomo says working as a musician is a lifetime mission to impress, inspire and heal the souls of those who come to see him through music.

He has been a professional performer for the past seven years now. He says that it is time artists are paid well for their work.

“Nako ya go duelwa ka plate ya dijo e fetile,” he says.

He argues that artists who agree to perform for free are sabotaging the growth of the industry.

“People take advantage of them saying that they are marketing them.

That is killing the industry,” he says.

Kabomo joined Mogwana Traditional Dance Troupe in 1997. At the time, he was already a decent marimba player.

Mogwana introduced him to indigenous instruments such as segaba, setinkane and African drums.

He especially fell in love with setinkane, which is something of a primary instrument for him today.