Artist

Morena Leraba

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Until now, much of the mystique surrounding Leraba stems from his roots in Lesotho, a mountainous country that is enclaved within South Africa. Like most of his countrymen, he spent much of his youth working as a shepherd (in the village of Ha Nchela), taking inspiration from the solitude that tending animals brings. “If you’re from Lesotho, being a shepherd is a common thing,” he says. “Growing up I was a shepherd, but I also went to school and then university.” Still, the experience remains pivotal. “Being alone in the mountains you create your own stories every day, and I developed an awesome communication with nature and animals.”

For Leraba, retaining deeply-sunk roots in Lesotho is more than sentimentality: it’s the stuff of his creative life. “These are memories of old and here lies our strange truths – 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.”

Over the past six years, Morena Leraba has emerged as the flagbearer of a remodelled Lesotho sound through a brace of collaborations, live performances and singles.

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