Tlokwe Sehume

BIO

One of SouthAfrica ' most conceptual of musical artists and composers is undoubtedly Tlokwe Sehume. The SAMA award winning musician and performer was born in Pretoria/Tshwane, the  fourth in a family of six siblings

His music is spiritual witrh a thrust on indigenous African classical culture.Tlokwe studied Musicology at the University of South Africa

He says of his music - Mmino wa Thaba- Music of the mountains - 'music of the day before yesterday for a people of the day after tomorrow'

Composer, Producer, Director, Cultural historian, Teacher, Performer, Vocalist and multi instrumentalist par excellence. He combines his compositional and musical art skillswith the natural talent that is showcasedthrough his playing of a myriad of indigenous African classical instrumnents that include mbira, mvet (A Cameroonian chordophone) lekope (jaw harp) , meropa ya Afrika, percussion,  he also delves into some guitar playing, flute, keyboards - all instrumnental in bringing his socially aware messages to life , through song Influences for Tlokwe's work stem from his motherland which is Africa

His first two albums, Naga ya Fsa and BaUtlwile, spawned hits that reached the very core of humankind, songs with handsome depth and flowing rhytms - These caught the attention of the South African Music Awards , with Naga ya Fsa winning a SAMA award and Ba Utlwile getting three nominations 

On the Producer, Director and Arranger front ,Tlokwe has a long term project which he calls Medu Nakeng, a 150 piece ensemble of both rural village musical art practitioners and his band , Medu- wherein the rural village musicians including The Xun, (San people) , Bapedi with their music of Kiba (male) and Makgakgasa(female), Batswana, (Pina ya Setswana), vha-Venda with Tshikona (male) and Malende and Tshigombela(female), vha-Tsonga both male and female groups , Phuthi ya Bokone(a group of traditional healers) and a group from Rwanda singing in Kinya-Rwanda, all dancing to the same music simultaneously but in their different respective dance styles Medu Nakeng is not only a multicultural and multi-lingual research based project, but it is one of its kind in the whole entire South Africa , the continent and the world

Another of Tlokwe's conceptions is the 35piece 'Village Square' which is a marriage between musical art, spoken word and movement 

Tlokwe has performed and collaborated with some of the high- profile musicians in the country including McCoy Mrubata, Zim Mgqawana, Pops Mohamed, Hugh Masekela, Lefifi Tladi , Vusi Mahlasela among others

His other albums include Mmino wa Thaba, Serunya , the epic Medu Nakeng, and two international recordings , one in Koln , Germany and the other in Oslo, Norway which are still to be released.

He has toured and performed internationally in countries including India in cities like(new Delhi , Mumbai , Chandenagore), Cameroon in Yaounde, Hungary in Budapest at the Vigado, Germany ((Koln , Berlin) Norway in Oslo, Italy in Roma, France among others.

Collaborated with Peru 's Lady of song, Susanna Baca, Celio de Carvalio from Brazil on percussions and berimbau . Shared the stage with Mutabaruka from Jamaica

Was invited by the Lincoln Center in New York for a performance with Jazz at The Lincoln Center Orchestra that includes Wynton Marsalis

Was also invited by Kahil El Zabar of The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble fame

Tlokwe also teaches Arts & Culture in the country to craft indigenous African classical instruments

Contact Details

email:   [email protected]

             [email protected]

mobile:  +27 82 632 4202 

              +27 82 872 9718