In collaboration with Backyard Stories for their 'Neo Soul vs Splash' Jam session, we interviewed the event's main performers to learn more about their interests, journey as musicians, and experience with Backyard Stories.

Backyard Stories was founded in 2017 by Thoriso Bogwasi and John Swaki Lechiile through their love for music and desire to create and provide a platform for artists to share their experiences and creativity in an intimate environment. The first edition of Backyard Stories took place in John Swaki Lechiile's backyard. A very important aspect of the music show is that the use of alcohol and drugs is prohibited to ensure people fully enjoy the show. (source: meraki magazine)

What is your favourite song to sing/perform?  

Ayanda: How does it feel by D’Angelo

Miss OJY: Titles ( it’s an original song that hasn’t been released yet)

Ame Royal: My favorite song to sing, Make Me Cry by Pip Millet...challenges my vocal range

What do you do to calm yourself down if get nervous right before a performance?

Ayanda: PRAY

Miss OJY: I pray and ask the Lord to take over because truthfully speaking, I can’t do any of the things I do without him. I take deep breaths too and remind myself that I’m going to nail the performance and that I am worthy of being on that stage

Ame Royal: Deep breaths, self-affirmation

How would you describe your experience at the neo-soul vs splash jam session event?

Ayanda: It was absolutely amazing I struggled at first because getting to work with a lot of new people is quite hard for me as I’m a shy and introverted person by nature but they were all amazing people who really made it easy to work together and enjoy so it was definitely worth all the anxiety.

Miss OJY: It was amazing probably one of my best performances so far. I had so much fun dancing with everyone and geeking over my fellow artists’ performances. Every single thing about the jam session was amazing truthfully speaking. I can’t wait to attend another one of Backyardstories’ events.

Ame Royal: It was really fun, it felt like one big family at a get-together, the audience was interactive, and the atmosphere too was so surreal..my favorite moment was definitely after singing the first song of the set..my anxiety was high at first but the reception I got from the crowd was amazing...the dancing with the audience too, it was more than evident that everyone was having fun

How did you discover backyard stories?  

MJ Austin: Backyard stories discovered me honestly..But I often heard that there was some kind of event that’s alcohol-free that took place in a backyard

Sarai: I actually didn't know about it until I was inboxed to be a part of the show by the page manager.

Tsholo: They contacted me the end of last year to be a part of the show, which is how l got to learn about them properly.

Which performance would you say was your best and you felt like you outdid yourself

MJ Austin: It would be my rendition of Mon Soleil by Princess lover It was in french and inside, I incorporated a poem and from the planned execution to the real one,i must say,i went all out in pouring out my emotions into that one And the crowd’s response to the performance wrapped it all up

Sarai: I wish-Carl Thomas

Tsholo: My performance of strange by Celeste has to have been my favorite. It was such a magical moment on my end. The crowd seemed to feel the song alongside me. I believe it was good performance and l enjoyed every moment of it.

How would you describe your experience at the neo soul vs splash jam session event?

MJ Austin: Everyone was so friendly and easy to approach The amount of work,dedication,every artist and instrumentalist put into this,is immeasurable and I honestly can’t wait to be part of Backyard stories again

Sarai: Intimate, enjoyable and fun

Tsholo: It was definitely an interesting and exciting, mostly because of the other amazing artist who would give input in the creative process which kept things flowing and interesting. The genres were something new and fresh especially splash being a genre that is as popular amongst young people. It was a beautiful experience overall, everyone from the directors, fellow artist ,the master of ceremonies, the bands and all the behind the scene people really outdid themselves.

What did you think of the theme neo soul vs splash when you heard of it for the first time?

Simon's playground: It was very interesting concept. Honestly i scratched my brain on how its going to work but i made a interesting comparison, being that splash is basically trap but for Africans. The way the beat and bass is arranged simply gave me that vibe. That just made it slightly easier for me to visualize.

Mohau:I thought "oh that's something."I was a bit sceptical of the concept because i had never seen these two genres put together before.

Lemo and Gole: Because we mainly perform pop & mainstream pieces, we were excited for the challenge. To be honest, we had no idea what neo-soul nor splash sounded like so we were definitely in for a shock the first time we heard the music being provided for us

Your favourite performer of all time?

Simon's Playground: Jimi Hendrix

Mohau: Yebba!!!

Lemo and Gole: The both of us listen to very different genres of music. Lemo listens to a lot of mainstream, hip hop- G Eazy being her top pick. Gole listens to indie, the likes of Far Caspian 

How would you describe your experience at the neo-soul vs splash jam session event?

Simon's playground: it was inspirational and such a good learning and teaching curve. it is quite rare to get musicians who sing and play for themselves. it gives one the power to control musical narrative which was definitely the fun part for me. not to mention the many wonderful artists i got to work with. people who definitely made my dream come true.

Mohau: Very exposing - but in a good, growth, leaving the nest kind of way.

Lemo and Gole: It was definitely one we wouldn’t mind experiencing again, minus the heat of course. But we love musicians. That was the best part, networking.

ame royal

The neo-soul genre is slowly emerging in Botswana, who is your favourite neo-soul artist in Botswana and why? : Mpho Sebina..her voice is so angelic and captivating..a lot of emotion goes into all her music..how she excels in other genres too, the versatility is beautiful.

Are you currently working on releasing any music any time soon?: Yes, I've been working on a song titled 'insan3'..it will be released in a few months

ayanda

You’ve performed at quite a handful music events, which one would you say holds a special place in your heart? :So far backyard stories tops the chart by a mile

Are you currently working on releasing any music any time soon?: Yes I am

miss ojy

You are performing for the second time at backyard stories, how was your experience performing for the first time there and when was it? My first time performing for Backyard Stories was during their Harmony Chapter late last year. It was honestly a beautiful experience for me. Having people who barely knew who I was, enjoy my performance to the extent that they did , brought me joy. The backyard stories team made sure that everything pertaining to my performance ran as smoothly as possible which made my job easier. Being able to perform my original song “Titles” for the first time made me very nervous but I got the chance to share my story through the song and I believe that helped me connect better with the audience

MJ Austin

We learned that you participated in my star, which year did you participate and how has your participation in the competition benefitted you as a musician?: Both 2020 and 2023 and from the experience,I’d say i grew vocally,gained exposure and also received opportunities to perform in open mic sessions and of course Backyard Stories

sarai

We've learned that you incorporate RNB soul and gospel music, who or what would you say has influenced you to get into these genres: My upbringing as well as cultivation from my own personal experiences which have caused me to desire to incorporate 2 of my most preferred genres. My biggest influencer is my mother. Rnb has just also been one of the genres I've gravitated to the most from songs I've listened to growing up.

simon's playground

You are part of a collective called Calluses, how did that come about and what do you want to achieve with lebeko panashe and malum carlie in the future? we are musicians with the love of self-expression through our instruments. we are interested in making feel good music that might literally just be instrumentals relative to neo soul jazz vibes. alternative music of sorts. we plan on achieving a place where live music is adored by all. especially underappreciated genres such as jazz, rock, funk, neo soul, etc...

mohau

you are only 17, one would say you are quite early in your journey as an artist, what hopes do you have for yourself as an artist in the future?

I hope to have my music being listened to by different people around the world, not just my music but other projects as well because I want to touch people's hearts with the work of my hands.

lemo and gole How long have you been performing together and what is your favorite thing about performing together?:

We used to sing at our parents’ tuckshop when we were younger But together, with instruments was around 2013 when Lemo learned to play the ukelele

tsholo

Are you working on releasing any music anytime soon? I wouldn’t say very soon but a song is in the works.