Sereetsi�s debut album, a journey
Chippa Legodimo | Wednesday May 6, 2015 14:11
Chances are that, ultimately, you imagine him with a beautiful wife and children. But out of the blue your son comes home one day and calls you, his parents, aside and ushers the words you have waited for, “Mum and dad I want to get married”. The two of you are over the moon but that happiness suddenly turns into a mixture of shock and anger as your beloved son tells you, “I want to marry Robert”.
Well, emerging folklore jazz artist Tomeletso Sereetsi of Sereetsi and The Natives fame, captures this scenario in song.
The poetic musician’s debut album, Four String Confessions, released last Friday is likely to cause a stir with the potential hit track Robete. The song does not only boast ravishing instrumentals, but it also explores rich Setswana language spiced with the musician’s spongy voice that easily alternates between tones. The track Robete, is based on the society’s perception of gays and lesbians regaling the painful rejection they are dealt with, even from their families. The opening line of the track goes, “Abuti Rankwakwanyana, ore tletse tshika Johane/ Ore tletse motho Gauteng/ Motho o theka lesesanyane/ mme are gase mosadi/ koko are se ke botlhodi/ bothodi jwa nta ya tlhogo le kile la se bona kae ngwetsi e bediwa Robete”. From these lyrics, it is clear from these lyrics that the family was not ready to accept their son’s sexuality, but rather had expected him to be straight.
However, he is steadfast and insists on marrying Robete. This song is food for thought.
From Robete, you can move to Thaa Kokome and enjoy the four-string acoustic guitar melody with a roaring bass.
While he strives to keep his music purely cultural, the musician moves with the trends as exhibited in the track Ke boletsa mongwe. This assertion is popular on social network Facebook where a person often asks questions on a particular personal problem, yet they claim they are enquiring on another person’s behalf. The song is rich with traditional tswana poetry metaphoric language.
The former journalist has documented his life in the media, in the song Headline, Deadlines and Bylines, which is purely instrumental. In the track Chankaneng, the musician decries the sorry state that former inmates find themselves in, such that some of them wish they had never come out of prison.
The old but popular Kalanga folkore song Ngwana ngu wa enda, has found its way into this beautiful recording, something that gives the composition excellent variety.
If it is pure class that you are looking for in music, then this eight-track composition is likely to be your cup of tea.