What is it like working with young talents?
It is inspiring, to see new faces, hear new voices, share new dreams. I adore the moment when I give minimal musical advice and suddenly the singer is on an entirely new level in their voice, in their confidence and in their understanding of what is achievable through good choices.
What are some of the challenges that you have faced? (How have you overcome them? What have they taught you as a person?)
We work through a lot of inexperience, fear, wrong genre and lyric choices. It is an indescribable feeling to experience RAW talent that is just magic.
You are quite well known in the Namibian arts industry, how was it making a name for yourself in the country?
It is a daily choice to get up, prepare, rehearse, take care of my health and to keep the balance of career and family going. As mother to 4 incredible children and wife to an amazingly original man, I really just focus on what is important, and that is being happy and real.
Consistency is everything, with a splash of wild fire, of course. Also, I love working. It makes me happy, so I work a lot. I want my children to see that everything you say and do, can and will be held against you in life.
Tell us of a memory of a day when you thought it wouldn't work out (sort of a bad day):
I am sitting here, with sun stroke, feeling really sick and exhausted - after performing in the blazing sun with no hydration for hours.
It affects your mood so badly that you feel finished. But then again, I thrive on the unexpectedness of a performance, when the band, I, the lights, the weather, the mood –everything – comes together in beautiful musical harmony. It gives me peace to make music so don’t see myself stopping.
Another day a memory when everything fell into place and you knew you were going to make it:
There is really not one day, or one moment. My favorite saying is always: We are what we repeatedly do. And I repeatedly have epic moments of laughter, great fashion, lightness because my choices lead me to it. It is a high you get when possibilities become realities.
Has singing always been a passion for you or something you stumbled upon?
I grew up with my mother always singing, at the school where she taught Grade 1, at church and at home. She was such a classy lady. She always put on her pearls just before she would leave the house, and would always say: My kind, sonder my perels is ek nie aangetrek nie. – My child, without my pearls, I am not dressed.
My father would also come home from building and he would ask my brother and me to make music. These were my building blocks in music. Learning through doing.
Then I got my musical education once I moved to Windhoek and now I live in music, I stay passionate by learning a lot of new things, new genres, mixing theatre with music, and working with different people who have different ideas. I learn a lot from the company I keep.
What are your other talents apart from singing?
My other passions are definitely acting, I write scripts, poetry and music and I love directing projects.
I cook a lot when there is time and reading to my kids I think is a talent because to make it funny and memorable - one has to think out of the box.
In which countries or international shows have you performed?
South Africa - 2014
Brazil - 2009
Zambia - 2007
Rwanda - 2006
I work a lot in Namibia, but if all goes well, this year includes Germany and France into my performance life.
What to you is/are the biggest accomplishments you have ever made?There are so many incredible moments. From being a mother and a wife to being the NAMAS 2014 Most Socially Responsible Artist.
Awards do not define accomplishments but it somehow manifests your work and your sweat and your passions. Like my Encourager Award I received in America at the AMTC Shine Convention on 2014.
What was/is the motivation behind the event Song Night?
The motivation was that there is remarkable talent in Namibia that needs to be mentored and supported. I want to see Namibia flourish economically, politically but mostly through its art and what it reflects.
Since its initiation can you mention artists that have benefitted and gotten bigger and better after Song Night?
Miss H, Sean K. Christopher The Grand, Vocal Dynamix - these people have incredible world class talent and with albums, singles and gigs en route, when you experience it, you will share my sentiments on the Support Power of Song Night. Not to mention what Priscilla, Anna, Sophia and all the new faces are getting up as we speak.
The Namibian Entertainment Industry compared to that of other countries around is not as successful as it could be, what would you say holds it back the most?
We are only 2.5 Million people. We are highly successful in relation to the number of people in other Africa Countries. We are also experiencing a new wave of artists coming out not only through Song Night, but passionate quality music makers that will get booked by our own corporates in order for money to stay in the country and nurture a growing industry.
What would you suggest to other artists out there to help them attract a bigger and more excited crowd?
Stay committed. Find your brand. Stick to your brand and your brand values, do you know what your brand values are? Rehearse, give a show that you would like to watch yourself and then stay consistent, people will show up if you have a good product, you market it well and you respect and value yourself and your audience.
What is your motto?
You are what you repeatedly do.
Advice to others out there:
Don’t wish. Don't blame. Just do. Own your uniqueness and do it for the love. Remember it is still super hard work to be a music maker but if you truly love it, it doesn't even feel like work. Rise early and you will reap the fruit of your sweat. Do it yourself. Stay actively creative. Keep your word; you will be surprised at the change in your life when you show up for your life.
Kindly visit www.uyelele.org for more information on the Uyelele project.
0 Comments