E Cape’s first music indaba paves way for artists’ success
MORE than 200 aspiring artists and music hopefuls gathered at the Eastern Cape Audio Visual Centre (ECAVC) on Saturday for the province’s first record label music indaba.
The event was aimed at developing and broadening the knowledge of musicians and record label owners in the Eastern Cape.
Record label manager Luyolo Beku said the indaba marked the beginning of the future of music in the province.
“This is the launch of an annual indaba, and we as the Eastern Cape have birthed such a model. We should take pride in that.”
Beku was excited at the prospects for growth for local artists, and said the aim was to now “strengthen the province as a bedrock of the music industry”.
Kawala Jazmee artists’ Tshepo “Stoan” Seate and Mandla “Spikiri” Mofokeng, as as well president of Native Rhythm records Sipho Sithole, and other well established music fundis equipped the large group of hopefuls with the tools needed for success in the industry.
Sithole, who recently obtained his PhD in anthropology, has worked with songbirds Siphokazi, Thandiswa Mazwai, Unathi and Camagwini, all from the Eastern Cape, said artists from the province “have the greatest voices. They are certainly the most soulful”.
He added that while talent was “Godgiven and speaks for itself”, it’s the artists’ attitude and character that determined how far they went.
A joint partnership with Buffalo City Metro, the department of sports, recreation, arts and culture, and the University of Fort Hare, the ECAVC event was a platform for young and old musos to network and share ideas of how to cultivate the province’s music hub so that they did not have to travel to other provinces in search of greener pastures.
The crowd got to interact with the fundis and got to learn the secrets of staying power from kwaito legends Spikiri and Stoan. BCM ward councillor Pumla Nazo said the municipality ran support programmes for artists, and would plan frequent events to foster development of the creative industry. —