Moleshe answers ‘Final Call’

Bra Zim Ngqawana walks in on you while you’re teasing the piano’s ebonies and ivories in a practice room eMakhanda. You feel his presence. You continue nonetheless, while trying your hardest to do an “I ain’t really bothered” impression.

The elder, who has a headlining show that year, opts to hang around, in spite of his fast-approaching set time.

Let them wait, his attitude suggests.

You notice that he’s no longer in the room, and rush to the DSG Hall where the concert is due to take place. You step outside, only to find him stretched out on the lawn. “I didn’t know you could do that, you cheeky native” is what the look he gives impresses upon your 20-year-old self. You downplay the compliment, yet don’t undermine it.

Both of you head to the performance venue — you as part of the audience, him as the band leader. A bond is formed; it will develop and expand when he calls you — along with Kyle Shepherd, Nduduzo and Omagugu Makhathini, Shane Cooper, Ayanda Sikade, Mthunzi Mvubu and Malcolm Jiyane — to join him sporadically at his Zimology Institute, located on the outer reaches of Egoli.

You are Sakhile Moleshe, born and raised on a diet of your father’s records and the romantic ideals of 90s R&B. You are the last of five children; four sisters came before you. Your parents are business people: your father is a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, your mother dabbles in fashion and alteration. eDikeni (in the Eastern Cape) is your ’hood, the backyard you’ll get to explore many years later as part of a jazz-electro band called Goldfish.

You’ll tour multiple cities, performing to sold-out audiences. Your life will predate what the likes of Black Coffee are doing in 2019 by about five years. For now, these tapes, this love at the house and the memories of growing up in a tight-knit community are what you have. They are enough.

“I remember my mother telling me that they went to [Steve Biko’s] funeral. It was a national duty. Politics was a heavy influence. My father [who was also named Biko] made sure we got a hold of [politically charged literature] early, that we could read [it], so that we could get hip to that stuff early,” says Moleshe on a Jozi afternoon. He recounts his childhood memories while seated on a couch in his Norwood, Johannesburg, living room, which also serves as a studio where preproduction for his music projects gets done.

His engineer lives just around the corner, as does his girlfriend. The sound of his neighbours rehearsing intermittently bleeds through to our side. He maintains a sense of community around him, a carry-on from his childhood.

For the rest of the article go to mail&guardian.co.za

For more info on Sakhile Moleshe and booking enquiries : sakhilemoleshe@gmail.com

Notes to editors:

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON : The Mail & Guardian. Author: Tseliso Monaheng

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