22 Jul 2013

Having tried his hand at disco music and even choral, Sereta ‘Histo’ Diwambara of Tubu in the Okavango area, has now released a traditional-jazz album entitled Binang Koma.

Histo, as he is popularly known in and around Maun, said this was his first solo album after having been involved with a music group called Teegnash for some time. “I was also part of a group called Motheo Wa Koma and we once performed at Presidential competitions in the contemporary music category,” he said.

Binang Koma is an eight-track album that features songs such as Tswii, Bokopano, Elijah and Ba Mmolaile. On his experiences in the music industry, Histo indicated that last year he shared a stage with the legendary Splash group of South Africa three times. “I was the opening act on both three occasions and it was an invaluable lesson,” he said.

On another note, he also indicated that last year, he performed with Rex Thobolo at the President’s Day competitions where he got position three. About his album, Histo said he was looking to encourage people on everyday life’s struggles. “Elijah is a song about a married couple and the everyday challenges that married people encounter,” he said.

He further said his lead song; Tswii was dedicated to Ngamiland and was trying to explain what Tswii was to people who did not know it. Histo said the album would be available in shops by the end of July this year and he intended to start performing by the end of this year.

He indicated that as artists, they faced challenges of venues and steep prices from property owners. “But that will not deter me from taking my music to the people,” he says, noting that he is not solely reliant on music and has a permanent job as a driver at Maun administrative authority (MAA).

Histo calls on Batswana to support local artists not only because they are local artists, but also because of the quality of their music. “It is no use producing music just because it is music. It has to have a certain kind of quality,” he says. Ends