The Spirit-Shifting Band set to ‘Breathe life back into people’ at this Year’s Econet Beer Meats Bands

The sky seems to be in an ironic, temperamental mood when we meet Sun Xa Experiment for a virtual interview. With us being in overcast Maseru, and the band speaking to us from Johannesburg, where they excitedly tell us, “The sun’s out!”—words which will be repeated throughout the conversation and will later prove to encompass multiple meanings. The sun, even metaphorically, will surely be out when they take the stage at this year’s Econet Beer Meats Bands on Saturday 31st October at Baduza Park, Maseru Mall. The sun coming out boldly announces Sun Xa Experiment to the world, a unique band blending spiritual philosophy and visually arresting live performances. Though the beginnings of a storm hang over Maseru during our conversation, it is our feeling that Sun Xa Experiment is so connected with the roots of both material and immaterial existence that they are genuinely able to conjure the sun out, regardless of the grey atmosphere in our side of the world.

Composed of Buyisiwe Njoko on lead vocals, Tebogo Mkhize on bass guitar, Lerato Setei on lead guitar, Benedict Watte on percussion, and finally, and interestingly, Karolo More on dance, the band explains that their music is underpinned by spirituality, change, hope, and self-awareness, and that they view themselves as collective vessels of hope. Listening to their music, it’s hard not to feel a push towards something higher than yourself—on their song “Babhekile”, the soulful guitar arrangements paired with Buyisiwe Njoko’s stirring vocals puts the listener in direct, and even spiritual contact with their self-coined term, “Unism”, a feeling that drives their music and that they describe as a “spirit of one”.

The existence of Sun Xa’s musical offerings seem necessary in times like these when wars are live-streamed straight to our phones and divisions across belief, race, sexuality, and political ideology feel more calcified than ever. We ask them what in their view is the role of spirituality in today’s rapidly modernising world. They answer with conviction the need for Africans to reconnect with their cultural roots to navigate today’s fast-paced world, and provide guidance for future generations.

The importance of silencing external noise, including from the media, in order to focus on who each person is as an individual, and “really go back to the crux of it all” they say, “what’s important is to breathe life into each other. That is what Sun Xa Experiment is doing, we are breathing life back to people. In these difficult times we ought to remember that we still need to take care of each other. Be mindful of the next person, don’t just come and do however you feel like, think about how you would have felt if that was done to you. So, take a moment…pause…look at your surroundings. And also breathe life. That’s what we aim to do”.

Based on previous performances in cities such as Berlin and Dubai, the band is set to bring the same “goose-bump-inducing” set to Maseru. Buyisiwe describes how strongly audiences have reacted to their performances in these places, with some even weeping from the sheer feeling their performances have brought them. A lot of this is as a result of the sharpened intention that grew from their 2020 project “Umculo Umuthi” to their current one “Sun Xa Experiment”. They shifted from just “casual jamming” to intentional “music creation” meant to leave audiences with a singular, soul-shifting experience. Beyond just the live performances, they score the music for visual elements that accompany their sets, such as the incorporated dance elements, as well as their donning of other-worldly body paint. They explain that the body paint frequently gives a “shock factor” to their audiences, but more than that, is what gives them a distinct visual identity.

Cheekily, they later quip, “Before a performance, before putting the paint on, you could probably recognize us…but on stage, with the paint on, we become different people”.

The incorporation of performance art is something to look forward to for people attending this year’s Beer Meats Bands, and as per their words, the performance is going to give people “an experience they have never felt before”.

So, what should attendees do to prepare for this?

“Just come with positive energy to support and build each other up” they say. 

Though no one easily proclaim to be able to fix the world, at the end of our conversation, we strongly feel that the request to come with positive energy, once it meets Sun Xa’s promise to “breathe life back into people”, a unified world could indeed be possible after all. And if it is not, there is consolation behind the fact that as sure as all storms will end regardless of their brutality, and perhaps their wonder, the sun will shine shortly after. And maybe even in these difficult times, that is enough.