Latest / Drive with John Perlman / A Song, A Book, and A Dish – Langa Mavuso

Transcript

A Song, A Book, and A Dish – Langa Mavuso · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A song, a book, and a dish on 702.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Well, at quarter to six, an opportunity to talk to
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: somebody who's making some really interesting and exciting music and
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: has been doing it for a number of years, has
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: just put together some new material, which is going to
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: be out there for you to enjoy. He grew up
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: in a musical family. He's been finding his own voice
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: over a number of years, and we're delighted to welcome
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: to 702 Drive, Langemar Wussow.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: It's great to have you with us on the show.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: Thanks for your time.
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: Good afternoon, John, and good afternoon to the listeners. Thank
• 0:38
  Speaker 4: you so much for speaking to me this afternoon.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: I understand, and I've looked at a couple of other
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: interviews you've done, your parents, Tandi and Temba, both singers,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: both in choirs, some music and singing going on around you,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: although you spent some time, as you let us know,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: with your grandmother. We'll talk about that a little bit later.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: But growing up with music around you, what are you
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: hearing as a kid, and at what point are you thinking, ooh, okay,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I think I want to sing as well?
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: So my parents were part of a choir called the
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: Orlando Interchoir and they took part in a number of
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: choral competitions when I was growing up.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: So I was this young boy sitting at the back
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: of the hall in Orlando.
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: Listening to them rehearse and prepare for things.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Like the Mall Office show, competitions at the Standard Bank Arena,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: performances in Orlando and the love for music kind of
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: came from there because as they would rehearse I kind
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of started to have my own favorite songs and it
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: was so nice to watch them go from like the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: process of rehearsal to getting to stage and I think
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: that's where maybe the love for music started for me
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: it was definitely with them having this love for music.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: There was constantly music playing. My dad was someone who
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: played tapasula a lot growing up. He listened to choirs
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: a lot. And so their love for music was definitely inherited,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: you know?
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: So you're hearing them sing. Are they hearing you sing?
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, maybe you're in the choir and you're bursting
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: into song. And if they're hearing you, what are they saying?
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Oh, man, John, it took some time for me to
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: kind of muster up the courage to sing for them. Actually,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: a child that I grew up with in townhouses, her
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: name was Putmeza, she heard us sing as kids playing outside.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: And she said, you can really sing. And I started
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: to kind of figure.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Out my voice as a young boy. And one day
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: my mom came home and she heard me singing and
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: then she made me sing at church as well. So
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: it was like a slow journey towards sharing that singing.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: And then obviously I joined the school choir when I
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: was like more senior primary and they would come and
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: watch us like at the performances at the Linda Auditorium.
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: So eventually they did.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Discover that talent and they tried to support it as
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: much as they could.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: So you're at Meardale Primary School at this point.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: You're in the choir. Are you getting solo parts yet?
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Are you able to stand out or are you still
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: very much part of the collective music making?
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: I think for a very long time I was part
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: of the collective until my teacher, Mashiba, heard me singing
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: and then she said, no, no, no, you need to
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: do some pieces alone. And she got me to sing
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: at a prize giving alone. She got me to sing
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: at a grade seven Lever's Dinner alone. And so those
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: moments kind of came later as I became more senior
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: in primary school. But I was very much part of
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the collective for a very long time.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: So.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: Of course, at school, you can't just sing.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: You've got to do maths and you've got to do
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: history and there's all this stuff as well.
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: What else are you enjoying at school?
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Because in secondary, you go on to the National School
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: of the Arts, so obviously a very clear focus in
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: your later years of school. But in general, was there
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: other stuff you enjoyed?
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: I mean, while at the National School of the Arts,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: I did very well in English and history. History was
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: my highest subject. and my languages as well. So much
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: so that my history teacher at the National School of
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: the Arts, Ms. Lucas, she started our debate group, and
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: then she eventually enrolled us to be a part of
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: the Model United Nations debate, which was being facilitated by
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: the South African Institute of International Affairs. At this at
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: the time, we had an incredible exchange student named Deborah,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: who was running it for all of us. And so
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: we got to compete with other schools and kind of
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: chair a general assembly on weekends. And we would debate
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: as if we were in a general assembly in the
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: United Nations. And the school that won the whole debate
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: at the end of it got the chance to go
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: to America, Washington. Unfortunately, we came second in my matric year.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: And The Oprah Winfrey Academy for Girls, they won that
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: year and they went, but we did still win best speakers,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: you know, so we got a prize when we left.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: So I was always very interested in history and English,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: which then led me to spend a year at Rhodes
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: doing politics and economics, but I quickly ran back to
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: the music world.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: But it's interesting because there's a thread of finding your
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: voice in so many different ways. And obviously, you know,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: we're focusing on singing, but there's finding your voice as
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: an expression of so many other things. We need to
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: talk food and I'm not going to forget your gran
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: because we need to hear a little bit about her.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: But your dish choice, Samp and Lamb Stew. And you say,
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: this dish reminds me of home and it feels like
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: a warm hug. So was this Samp and Lamb Stew
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: in Deepcliffe with your gran or in Meardale with your folks?
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: This is with my mom.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: This is my mom's signature dish for me. If she's
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: trying to learn me back home... This is how.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: She gets me home.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: She'll send me a text and say, I've made the
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: samp and the lamb. And then it brings me back home.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: It's my favorite meal. It really reminds me of the
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: winter seasons at home. It takes so much time to
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: make because you have to soak the samp and do
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: all of these things. And so it feels like a
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: labor of love. And she's always made it the best
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: for me.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: We speak to a lot of people in this feature.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: As you can imagine, we've been doing it for a
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: number of years. And the number of times there is
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: a grandmother in the mix of positive and meaningful upbringings.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: Tell us about your gran.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Oh, man. My grandmother, literally the apple of my eye.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: I spent like the first six years of my life
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: living with her in Deep Blue. Her name was Martha.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: And she was just.
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: I think a lot of the reason.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Why I'm such a spoiled adult human being is because
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: of her. Because she made my life so warm and
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: filled with love. The home was just one that was
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: constantly surrounded by family. She really loved and encouraged us
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: to be friends as a family. One of those homes
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: where your cousins are your best friends. And she was
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: a wonderful, wonderful woman who... Gave me all the love
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: in the world. And I think that I'm constantly like
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: searching and looking for that kind of love from the world,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: you know. So she was a special lady. Yeah.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: And I want to go to your book there because
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: you describe it. And in fact, this is the subtitle, Love,
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: Loss and Liberation. Elizabeth Gilbert, who I think wrote Eat, Pray, Love,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: if I'm not mistaken.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: Yes, she did.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Yes, she did.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: All the way to the river.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: And can I tell you, the good news is this
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: book is actually on a table next to my bed.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: The bad news is I'm not reading it. I'm not
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: reading it coincidentally, but my wife is. But a special
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: book for you, and you're going to tell us why.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Yes, very, very special book for me. I received it
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: for my birthday beginning of this year from my younger brother, Bobo.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: And three years ago, I lost my partner and it
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: was quite a difficult kind of grief for me to
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: deal with.
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: And as I was going through my.
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: Sorry to hear that.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: Thank you, John. As I was going through the gifts
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: at the beginning of the year, my friends buy me
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: a lot of books every year.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: And so.
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: I was flying to.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Cape Town for like a show and I just grabbed
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: one of the books and I was like, I'll read
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: this on the plane. And it was like two.
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: Days after my birthday and I opened it and.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: I just started reading the book and it kind of
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: sounded like everything that I was going through. And then
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: I just came across a page, which it felt like
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: a conversation with Lindsay and it felt like he was
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: giving me a happy birthday.
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: Because four pages in.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth speaks about their late partner coming to them almost
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: in like a vision or a dream to say, I'm
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: still here. I'm still present. Happy birthday. I love you.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: Be present in your own life. It's okay to move on.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: It's okay to be loved and joyful. And so I
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: was in the plane like crying.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: I was like, oh my God, what's going on?
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: And my brother hadn't written a message in the book,
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: so I didn't know where the book had come. I
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: didn't know.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: Which friend had bought it from me. And I finished the.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Book and I just put it on my private page
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: on Instagram. I was like, who got me this book?
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: And he called me and he said, I got it
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: for you.
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: So it was even more special for me that my
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: younger brother could think of me in that kind of way.
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: So the book is definitely a highlight of all my
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: reading this year. It's been super, super special. And I'm
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: grateful for that gift from my brother.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: So Lange, we're going to get into your song in
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: a moment, but generally, do you go out looking for
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: music or do you put yourself in spaces where music
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: can find you? In other words, do you have things,
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: I need to hear what this person is doing at
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: the moment or are you just generally open to new
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: musical inspiration and somehow songs track you down?
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Oh, John, I'm such a huge fan of live music
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: in the theatre. I'm one of those people who attend
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: a play once a month regularly I see a show
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: at least once a week. And so I'm constantly surrounded
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: by the work of other people all the time. It
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: just kind of sharpens my eye. And I mean, this
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: week I've watched three live music shows. And on Sunday,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: I'm going to go watch Mamma Mia at the Teatro.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: So I think that I'm constantly surrounded by arts. And
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: I think it might come from being at art school
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: and being inspired by my peers and knowing that it
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: really sharpens the eye to witness something the mastery of
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: other talented people. And so I think I put myself
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: into beautiful situations where I can experience and I can
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: be blown away by others and in the same breath
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: also learn from them and receive their work and their
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: art in the best light possible.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: So we're going to listen to Bobby McFerrin, a man
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: who's made magnificent music.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: And you've chosen this one.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: We'll hear it in the background as you tell us
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: why Freedom is a Voice is your pick for today.
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: Oh, Bobby McFerrin, Freedom is a Voice. It just reminds
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: me of.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: My vocal lesson in high school with Omakuku Makatini, my teacher,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: it just speaks about a freeness. It's a scatting in
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: the beginning, which kind of really allows anyone to listen
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: to it because it's not one defined language before he
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: gets to the English. I just think it's beautiful. And
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: I think that it's soothing. And I just wanted to
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: share it with the listeners today.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much for not only sharing Bobby McFerrin,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: and we'll enjoy it in full in a moment, but
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: thank you so much, Lange, for sharing with us your song,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: your book, and your dish. And do look out for
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: the music that Lange is going to be sharing with
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: all of us. We played you a little bit of
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: I Choose You, and it's all part of Therapy, the
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: other side, Deluxe, which you can pick up and enjoy.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: Lange Mavuso, joining us for a song, a book, and
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: a dish. Thanks for your time.
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: Thank you very much, John.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Have a lovely afternoon. And you.