"Shanti Lo" dazzles at Maitisong

ARTS & CULTURE

"Shanti Lo" dazzles at Maitisong

WANJA NJUGUNA
CORRESPONDENT

 

It was an evening to behold, as Botswana's Afro pop/jazz singer, Tuduetso 'Shanti Lo' Loeto, last Saturday staged a 'one-off' event at Maitisong, at Maruapula, in preparation for his forthcoming trip to the prestigious National Festival of Arts in Grahamstown, South Africa, later this year.

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The exciting 90-minute performance organised by Local Theatre and Music Production, Brincat Productions and Streethorn Promotions was also a chance for local fans, supporters and the general audience to see what Shanti Lo and his cast will be presenting at the 10-day festival that has previously seen crowds of close to a million.Though Shanti Lo, 27, was not backed by his usual band, Brand New Vibes, who according to his manager, Soares Katumbela, had another engagement that night, he however had his two vocal artistes, Thongbotho Kebadiritse and Nunu Ramagotsi and he did not disappoint. With help from his manager, Streethorn Promotions proprietor, Katumbela - popularly known as DJ SK on Duma FM - the jazz singer had put together a very talented team made up of among others, legendary lead guitarist, John Selolwane.

Selolwane, who until recently played for Hugh Masekhela, has also played with other reknown singers such as Paul Simon among many others. Others in the band for the evening were Enock Mbewe on drums, Elliot Morgan on keyboards, Kabelo Tamukate on bass guitar, Dingalo Mpoloise on percussions and Andrew Chinganga on Saxophone.  

During the show that was interspaced with loud cheers from the audience and singing along, Shanti Lo sang more than 12 songs, dressed in his usual fancy clothing but his trademark dreadlocks were not visible the whole evening. The singer sang his first song, The Look of Love and a few others, dressed in a flowing metallic orange coat, which sparkled with the dim lights on stage. He later changed into an African design white top, trousers and head scarf, a tight fitting yellow leather outfit and finally, a sky blue top and brown trousers.

The singer gyrated to his own music churning out some of his popular songs such as Lerato, Ubuntu, Tshuele, Ditshwanelo and Boloi. The crowd screamed the loudest and sang along when he sang Ditshwanelo, Ubuntu, Tshuele and Boloi. Other songs were Summertime, Ke A Mo Rata, Mas Que, Nada, Ma Africa, Emang, Ngwao and Keogomodumo among others. As he sang Tshuele, he encouraged the crowd to clap and sing along much to their excitement.

According to Katumbela, though the show was not house full, they were happy with the attendance that was marked by a larger number of young people than more mature ones, who are often associated with the love for jazz. He however lamented the dismal support local artistes get from locals when they stage shows.  "The problem with Batswana is that they do not support local artists as much as they support foreign ones," Katumbela said. "If this was an international artiste, we would have had to look for another venue," he added Katumbela said that from the comments he has had previously and on that night after Shanti Lo performs, he believes the young jazz singer is headed places. "The fact that he is the only one from Botswana who will show case his talent at the South African event says a lot for itself," he said.The singer's manager believes Grahamstown will be a selling point for Shanti Lo as he will show case himself among the best the continent has to offer.

Shanti Lo, who is also a fashion designer and is due to release his third album soon, started singing when he was nine years old when he sang with the Watoto ensemble, which was a mix of Batswana and South African musicians. He later opted to be a backup vocal for his mother, Mpho Loeto and the Family Joint, a gospel music outfit.  His first album was entitled, Koi.The singer has also been an apprentice for Punah Gabasiane, Ndingo Johwa and the late Duncan Senyatso. He has featured on his mother's album, Haufi le Morena, Johwa's album, Batalaunda and Citie Seetso's album, Initiation. He has also previously backed South African cabaret singer Abigail Khubeka at a show in Jwaneng. He has previously played with Unity, Shine and Gem bands as well as Abraxas Jazz Combo

Shanti Lo's career is said to have started rising when he performed at the World Summit for the Sustainable Conference in South Africa a few years back. Other festivals that he has performed at include Alliance Winter, St Louis jazz and Stanbic Jazz Festival. He has severally participated in Maitisong annual festival. In 2006, he was nominated for the Botswana Music Awards best Afro pop album and later declared Botswana Television (BTV) Blue Crystal Morakagana Music Competition champion.Before setting base in Gaborone, Shanti Lo was in 2002-2003 based in Johannesburg, as a resident performer at various hotels, including the Holiday Inn.

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