M'sane muso drops first album

Mdantsane-born musician Luyolo Lenga has released his first solo album, Siphiwo Sam.

And he says he is not just singing for the sake of it but is using his love for music to fight social ills in society.

“My music carries a message which emphasises spirituality, humanity, humility, peace, optimism, unity, co-existence and progress as a way of living,” said Lenga.

He is no stranger to the music scene as he has his own music production company, QangiQangi Productions, through which he co-founded and produced an album for Xhosa hiphop band Izithunywa Zohlanga. He also produces songs for Xhosa opera singer and songwriter Mthwakazi.

“I live in music and music lives in me. I sometimes hear a sound and I quickly have to record or write it and that is how I make my music,” Lenga said.

He also makes instruments, one of them a wooden bow named umrhubhe.

Lenga’s collaborations include the legendary Mahotella Queens, pop band Beatenberg, and Sama nominee Lwando Gogwana.

In 2012, he performed at the Cape Town Jazz Festival.

But he wants to make a name as a solo artist now.

“This is me coming out as a solo artist to the world. I want people to enjoy my sound. It’s not the normal sound that people are used to, but I believe they will enjoy it,” he said.

Lenga mainly associates his music with an ethnic sound but said he would not box in his music and limit it to a specific genre.

“I am a composer, author and arranger of a fusion style of music that pays homage to the isiXhosa language, accessing ancestral sounds from ancient stringed and percussion instruments, uses classical techniques and shifts back and forth through time gathering elements of jazz and a range of contemporary styles.”

Lenga teaches people from children to professional musicians how to play and make wooden instruments.

The album is available for download on iTunes and Google Play.