Leburu simplifies music
Chippa Legodimo | Friday August 1, 2014 14:11
His combination of the guitar, harmonica and cajoling lyrics has made him a unique performer who creates spontaneity between him and the audience. Leburu creates some mythical impressions, which people find attractive. In some instances he uses common Tswana connotations to good effect, just spicing them up with a tickling string.
So it came as no surprise when the charismatic songwriter scooped the first prize (live band) in the recent President’s Day music and art competitions.
He had captivated the judges and lured the audience into openly ‘vouching’ for him with a big applause.
Leburu said he gets inspired even by the simplest things in life and often cannot resist the lure to turn such moments into artistic work.
“Inspiration can come from anywhere and you find that in terms of music people embrace the kind that they can easily relates to,” he told Arts & Culture.
The soft-spoken musician believes writing and composing music requires patience and a lot of self-criticism if one is to impress his followers.
“Do not throw away anything that you scrape off because it could turn out to be the missing link as you continue to refine your song. Music sometimes comes from fragments.
I recently told a group of students I trained in song writing that they need to turn some imaginary situations into real life scenarios when they write songs,” he said.
Although there is a lot of poetic rhyming in his music, Leburu insists he is “not a poet, but a musician who likes poetry”.
Before he even released his first album, Leburu had featured in various poetry shows.
Working with poets, he said, has made him appreciate the craft.
“In 2008 I was part of David Pasarira’s poetry performance during the Exodus Live Poetry show. I was only punctuating with music but after that performance he told me it would be good if I fuse my music with poetry. I took his advice and featured Berry Hart in my single Xhaio and realised that Pasarira had made a good observation,” he said.
In the song Mmapaseka, the musician uses the words: Ke mabele ke gasame/ ke tlhoka mosedi. This line is drawn from an old Tswana self-praise, poem commonly used by a man proposing love to a woman.
“When a man says this it does not mean he is all over the place, but that he is interested in a woman and is also available,” he explained.
By default Leburu has only been performing at indoor corporate shows while his peers grab the limelight in bigger shows.
However, this has crafted an identity for the musician and added class to his profile.
“It is not really by choice that I do not feature in most big shows. But perhaps it is good to start like that. I like testing people’s reaction in a smaller stage before going all out.
“For instance I compose songs, play them to the crowds before I can release them because then I would know what people want,” he said.
Winning the award has motivated Leburu. The recognition, he said has given him the confidence to aim higher as a solo performer.
“Remember the category was best live band, but I decided to enter alone because I felt I could impress the judges like any band could and I did. I want to refine my act and fully exploit my potential,” he said.