Lefa Mosea to release first album

After years of hurdles, Port Elizabeth saxophonist Lefa Mosea is set to finally release his debut album in November.

Mosea teased fans with the release of his second single, Naha Ya Rona, earlier in 2020.

The album, titled Double Standards, is set to hit the shelves on November 3, with a listening session scheduled for November 7 at Pata Pata Lifestyle in New Brighton.  

Mosea, a popular name in the city’s arts and culture event line-ups for years, said the album was at its final stages of completion.

“Those who know Lefa Mosea can expect [Lefa as they know him],” he said.

“There’s afro contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, a little bit of gospel with a Lefa Mosea twist and, obviously, African jazz because I’m very big on that.” 

He said the title was an intentional description of the album’s finer details. 

“If you’re a purist of any genre you will feel that the album has a lot of double standards,” he said. 

Double Standards has been in the works since 2016, but the process was met with challenges that forced Mosea to return to studio and re-record from scratch.

This meant repeating the process of seeking funding after he spent thousands of rand on the first attempt at making the album.

“The process was very taxing emotionally and financially and, while I had the choice of just letting it go, I couldn’t because I do know that a lot of doors are going to open for me [because of it].

“We started recording the album in 2016, but it wasn’t properly recorded and I had to start again from scratch after having to spend all the funding I had secured from the MBDA,” he said.

The album features Port Elizabeth artists Zim Ngqawana jnr, Dongadala Bemdiliza and the late Siya Mdebele, who co-produced it. 

Originally from Sebokeng in Gauteng, Mosea moved to Port Elizabeth to study music at Nelson Mandela University in 2008.

He dropped out of his bachelor of music course because of financial shortfalls and stayed in Port Elizabeth to pursue a music career. 

“After I dropped out, I felt like I was going to be a failure if I went back home with nothing to show for my stay in PE all those years, so I stayed because I was a  member of the band Take Note at the time and we were signed by Native Rhythms around the same time [the stable] signed The Soil.

“It just felt right to stay because I also wanted to show my folks back home that they didn’t waste their money by investing in me,” he said. 

With Take Note, the artist travelled and performed on national and international stages, including the celebrated Joy of Jazz festival, Ugu Jazz Festival, Buyelekhaya and Ebubeleni.

The band parted ways with Native Rhythms in 2013 and Mosea pursued his solo career from 2015, releasing his debut single 2017.

“I strongly believe that my profile would not be as strong as it is had I not stayed in the Eastern Cape.

“This province gave me so much career-wise,” he said.

The artist has played alongside the likes of Sibongile Khumalo and Asanda Bam and performed on sought-after stages including the One Blood Festival where he headlined the jazz category, the National Arts Festival, NMB Cultural Festival and Marat’yane Afrofest.

The Double Standards album listening session starts at 5.30pm.

Entry is free and seats are limited. RSVP to lefamosea@outlook.com.

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