17 Mar 2019

Five years after their establishment, Matlotla Sename cultural troupe is determined to make a successful sojourn in the local music industry and help promote Botswana’s traditional music around the world.

The 10-member Lobatse-based traditional song and dance group, started making their presence felt in the industry in 2015 when they released their first album.

The group mostly performs in corporate events, cultural festivals and social gatherings such as wedding ceremonies and parties.

In a recent interview, founder and director of the group, Abel Sename shared that love and passion for traditional music and poetry drove him to recruit others with similar passion and together started the group with the aim to perform locally and internationally.

“We recently performed at the Basotho and Batswana cultural event, which was held in Mogoditshane and we are going to perform in Lesotho sometime this year. It is events like these ones, which we use to market ourselves and promote our culture,” said Sename.

He observed that the traditional music industry had grown fast adding that songs were of good quality.

Sename said despite stiff competition in the market, they were able to find their feet quickly and develop themselves because they used their talent well.

“We used to fear sharing the stage with international artistes because the quality of our music used to be low. But these days we are confident enough to compete with them because of the quality of music we produce,” he said.

He however explained that the biggest challenge they face was lack of funds to run the group.

“We do not have sponsors at the moment, but have written a proposal to the  Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development for funding through the Youth Development Fund. We are still waiting for their response,” said Sename, adding that they had also approached different companies for sponsorship.

Sename pointed that music was not all about entertainment but business too.

He said since their establishment they had attended and participated in many social activities and competitions, including the presidential arts competitions where they scooped position four.

He further said that they had in the past been invited to feature in big events in places like Johannesburg and Klerksdorp in South Africa.

The group’s backing vocalist, Kerapetse Seeletso said  traditional music and dance should be held in high esteem because it portrays the nation’s culture.

Seeletso encouraged other youth that had the love and passion for music to use their talents to earn a living. ENDS