Back in November, upon the release of single ‘ Morea-rea’, we described how Lesotho’s Morena Leraba is setting out to continue and reinvent the musical heritage of his home. Music which “draws heavily on Sesotho culture and aims to preserve the language which is declining due to the spread of colonial languages such as English” as we put it, with Leraba updating the traditional sub-genre of Famo with a number of contemporary influences. A sound grounded in cultural history and the natural world.
Forthcoming EP Fela sa Ha Mojela feels like the culmination of this style. One which started when Morena Leraba worked as a shepherd during his youth. “Being alone in the mountains you create your own stories every day,” he explains, “and I developed an awesome communication with nature and animals.” But more than a fond memory, the experience connected him to a historical tradition of storytelling and creation, and helped to position the Morena Leraba sound as the new forward-facing node of a lasting lineage. “These are memories of old and here lies our strange truths,” as he continues. “Stories from our grandmothers, of underworld waters, villages and other-worldly beings—and you have seen this before (arcane ways of our people). Our futurism—old riddles have become new.”
Named after the foot or ankle shakers worn by traditional healers or musicians during Hlophe ceremonies, and inspired in part by the work of South African multidisciplinary artist Buhlebezwe Siwane, latest single ‘Meritlhoana’ sees Leraba explore ideas of spirituality as well as the malign resistance colonialism provides to such beliefs. The song’s protagonist experiences a spiritual calling (known as ho thoasa in Sesotho) and searches for clarity through a series of dreams. As the sound builds in its rhythmic energy, the confusion is pierced as it reaches its final epiphany. A voice saying: “This is a gift, and it is for you.”