Mavuma, Mathiessen aim for solo careers
Kgotso Kennekae | Thursday March 20, 2014 11:07
The Metrophones, a 10-member Jazz Band started in 2011, majorly focusing on corporate shows. Mavuma and Mathiessen are the band’s lead vocalists.
Despite being so young, 21 and 22 respectively, their voices have often beckoned men and women to the dance floor, something that is not too common at jazz shows.
Mavuma who was introduced to music at a young age, starting in the school band and different school plays from standard 1.
She described her start in music as a rocky one, as she was forever troubled by stage fright.
She gradually improved her stage skills by Form 2.
“I started performing in school talent shows, the choir and several plays,” she told Showbiz.
”After high school I went to a local music school but it didn’t have what I wanted so I quit.
During my brief break I also recorded songs with Zeus and B-note and various other artists. After that I auditioned for the Metrophones in 2011,” she said.
It has been a smooth ride after that. Mavuma said that she plans to go to music school after 2014, return and release an album.
As for Mathiessen, who is the youngest member of the band, music has always been a career written in the stars, according to her.
After graduating from Legae Academy, Mathiessen went to Ungodomshojskolen Ved Ride in Denmark where her parents sponsored for a certificate in music.
She focused on her vocals whilst at the school and later did a diploma in singing at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.
In 2013 Mathiessein joined The Metrophones after auditioning to replace departing vocalists. She was accepted without any hint of doubt, and has since gone to teach music in her free time at a school owned by the leader of the band, Akhutlegeng Mogami.
She has planned to go to for a degree in singing some time this year. Speaking about her plans for a solo career, Mathiessein stated that she plans to record an album, which would be old RnB.
Whitney Houston is her number one inspiration.
Mogami describes the young women as the most amazing singers she has ever seen in Botswana. The girls are very hard working and are fun to work with.
“By my reckoning they will go far in music,” she said. She added that the band would help them improve as they move towards their solo careers.