Team Distant goes international
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday October 28, 2019 13:28
The decision was also based on the fact that the two remaining members decided to spread their wings and learn different cultural music so that they could explore more diverse cultures.
In an interview with Arts and Culture, one of the group members Roy Kasale said their tour started in Kenya last month at an event called Kondwana.
“The next date is November 22, 2019 in Londo, UK at a function called The Afro House Party organised by Drumz Radio. There are many countries we are going to tour and many more. We are yet to confirm other dates, which we will share with our fans on our Facebook page.”
“The decision to embark on this world tour came about because we have been everywhere in Botswana. So we want to feel like growing our brand and we decided to go to other countries and experience the culture, the music and grow.
We needed something new, something fresh hence we have changed our sound so that it becomes more suiting for the global consumption,” he said. He explained that their visit to Kenya was a success as the reception was amazing.
He said the crowd there knew all their music and the audience sung along the music during the two hours they were on stage. He added that there were so many good things out there for brands that are willing to take their music and career to the next level.
He said people are listening and want to see the faces attach them to the music. Kasale also indicated that there are lots of challenges facing the local music industry, for instance, he indicated that includes local artists having to fight for their own market with artistes from outside, foreign artistes given a much more attention and their raiders given a lot of attention than local artistes.
He added that through travelling, they realised that things were different as people were fair outside than in Botswana where artistes get late payments and flyers not done well to mention a few making things difficult for local artistes.
He added that people don’t generally follow music that is being released on digital platforms, which is a challenge for artists who release their music digitally.
He explained that digital was something that sells music better and called on Batswana to start buying music online to measure up to the international standards. He also called on promoters to pay artistes saying that they need every penny for both their personal and professional growth.
“This tour is monumental for us. Since from day one for seven years now, that is what we have been trying to do. We want to get our music to a bigger market and bigger audience as artistes.
This is what we have been meaning to do. This is us doing what we have intended to do and is working very well for us. Our music is also playing and doing well on an international platform,” he said boldly.
Even though they will continue doing shows locally, he said they are more focused on taking their music outside the country that would also pays better.
He says they are willing to search for bigger platforms and exploring their talent. To ensure sustainability and growth, they will continue releasing world standard music for all countries out there. He added that they would be releasing their first album next year.