It all started with a dream
"Growing up in a rural area, no one really knew what a guitar was and why one would like to have one".
MBOMBELA – “Music – speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole and flows from heaven to the soul” – Angela Monet.
Ten years ago, in the heart of Swaziland, a little boy named Sakhile Maseko made these words his own.
But today, this 18-year-old of Lowveld High School (LHS) mastered his guitar and is now aiming for the stars.
“It all started on my lunchbox,” he laughed, and explained how he carefully took rubber bands, wrapped it around his lunchbox and imagined it was a guitar. Growing up in a rural area, no one really knew what a guitar was and why one would like to have one, he explained.
At the age of 13 Sakhile convinced his parents to buy his favourite instrument, and he became the proud owner of his very first guitar – an acoustic. With his parents wanting him to get the best education possible they decided to send Sakhile to South Africa. With only the guitar in his hand and a dream of becoming a famous musician, Sakhile embarked on the journey.
It was in grade eight when he, for the very first time, received any form of training, and although the music teacher’s knowledge was “quite basic”, Sakhile is still grateful for the assistance.
He started downloading cords, watched his favourite bands perform on the Internet and spending several hours on his guitar to master the techniques of the blues and rock genre. With his confidence growing by the day, Sakhile one day decided to record one of his songs with his phone and send it to Jamie, a member of Gibraltar, a local rock and blues band.
“I searched for his email and sent it to him. To my surprise Jamie responded telling me how much he loved it and invited me to perform with them. Today, it is still one of my best memories. It was absolutely great.”
According to Sakhile, Jamie introduced him to his cousin, also a musician of GoatnHare and he got the opportunity to perform at Stoep, where he met Daleen Hillicks, his current agent.
According to Hillicks, area manager of the South African Model and Talent Convention Showcase (SAMTCS), she immediately saw potential in Sakhile and hoped to help make one of his dreams become a reality – to perform in front of a large crowd and release a CD before the end of the year.
“I would love to perform in front of a huge crowd one day. A crowd I can share my love and passion for music with and inspire them in the same way that music inspires me. I want to tell a story and speak to the people’s heart, mind and soul. I want them to be moved and express myself without thinking too much.”
Sakhile hopes for this on May 21 when he will perform at Stoep.
Visit Lowvelder’s website to see how Sakhile performs.
