Adam Haupt spoke to Moses Molelekwa about the exotic ingredients on his new album, Spirits and Genes
Moses Taiwa Molelekwa recently captivated Cape Town audiences at West End with the launch of his second album, Genes and Spirits. The show was broadcast live to P4 Radio’s ever- smooth constituency and the West End crowd itself reminded me of the days at Manenberg’s Jazz Caf, where Molelekwa used to perform.
He was due to take off for Johannesburg the next day and I managed to squeeze my way into his hectic schedule for a chat. During our interview, I get the impression that this artist’s personality defies expectations in much the same way as his music does. He is a somewhat shy and private person, but also rather easy-going and secure. Similarly, his music resists conventional definitions of African jazz or contemporary jazz and plays with different elements such as Cuban, Brazilian and African music as well as drum ‘n bass.
This brings us to Genes and Spirits and some of the memorable moments during the recording sessions. “The whole experience,” says Molelekwa, “was really exciting and challenging for me. And having [singer] Flora Purim in the studio, being in the studio with her and having to tell her what I want felt a bit uncomfortable.”
He felt rather intimidated by the fact that he was working with Purim, who he sees as a superstar. But he discovered that she’s a very down to earth person. He recalls the day when they put down the vocals on Sogra. They only had to do two or three takes and they were brilliant.
Some of the best moments during the recording sessions were with Cuban pianist Chucho Valdez when they recorded Ntatemoholo. This song has a distinct African feel and takes one into phrasing which is uniquely Cuban. Both pianists take turns at solos on the song. Apparently, Valdes does not speak much English and music was the medium through which they communicated.
Of all the songs on the album, Molelekwa feels most passionately about Rapela. He compares it to a meal with different ingredients that are put together in a “killer recipe”. The tune is actually in 4/4, but “if you count it with sixteens it becomes something else, some odd time like 16/9, or something like that. Then it goes into a 7/4 groove. So it’s just me playing around with time and making it enjoyable and exciting at the same time.”
Molelekwa says that it was putting these different elements together that made it exciting to work on. Of course, it also helped having Cameroonian funk drummer Brice Wassy participate in these sessions. Wassy has worked with major artists such as Manu Dibango and Salif Keita and brings strong African rhythms to Rapela.
Most people might know Molelekwa for Down Rockey Street, which he describes as a reggae groove. He first composed the song when he was at school and developed it over time. Molelekwa recalls that he used to play the groove and go straight to the improvisation, but decided to structure it for the album and include a counter melody in the song to make the melody stronger.
Many of his compositions, such as Spirits of Tembisa, seem to be tied to his childhood memories and this is where the album’s title comes in. The music both takes him back and moves him forward. While he tries not to be too personal in his music, he feels that he has to acknowledge certain aspects of his life. The thinking behind the notion of genes and spirits begins to make sense when he provides an interesting anecdote about his family.
“I am discovering almost every day that in my family there have been artists in general. There have been actors, particularly an uncle of my father’s who went to Britain with King Kong … My grandmother was a tap dancer, my grandfather was a pianist, even my great-grandmother knew how to tinkle a bit on the piano.”
He feels that this is probably why he became a musician – fate or because it’s in his genes. And this is probably what we are as human beings – both genes and spirits. One can’t ignore the DNA but, he contends, one can’t deny our spirituality as people either.
This dual philosophy towards life and art perhaps explains why it is so difficult to pin Molelekwa’s character and music down as either one or the other.
Recently Molelekwa spent some time in France. He performed at the Fin du Siecle, a festival which was organised by the French government to honour South African arts. He also did some gigs in places such Paris and Nantes. Molelekwa also had the honour of sharing the stage with Senegalese artist, Ismael Lo.
“I think France,” says Molelekwa, “is one of the places where I’ll be going back occasionally. I will be going on a European tour, but at least in France I’ve been introduced and I’ve got a good response. Ja, it’s going to be great.”
He plans to do much travelling and will go to Europe in October. Upon his return he plans to tour places like Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Bophuthatswana and Botswana. He would also like to tour Senegal and Zimbabwe. At the same time, he would also like to make music for movies and embark on more projects.
Among these, he hopes to work on what he secretly calls the biggest project of his career. I try to bait him on this but he’s holding back on the details for now. All he is willing to say is that he has already started working on some compositions for the project.
He says that his record company MELT 2000 has realised that it has to go all out in promoting him and in supporting his plans. In this regard, they’ve gone the extra mile in marketing his CD as it contains interactive elements, which can be accessed via Windows 95 or Mac Operating Systems.