LOCAL SONGWRITER TELLING OUR STORIES THROUGH MUSIC

FLAGSTAFF-BORN Lutho Lwana founder of Songwriters South Africa, started his musical journey at a young age as his talent was seen and groomed by his grandmother who was a teacher, vocal coach, composer, and choirmaster. “ My grandmother would take me along with her to choir practices and that is how I got exposed to music and later joined the school choir,” he recalls. Besides being in a school choir he comes from a musical family; they would sing and compose songs in the evenings and that was their form of entertainment not only as a family but in the village, he grew up in and it is those experiences and teachings that has made him the creative and businessman that he is.

He later moved to Durban, Kwa- Zulu Natal to get better education and opportunities, it is where he discovered his songwriting gift and love for the music business, he would write other well-known songs and later grow into writing his own songs that he would perform for his classmates. “I grew as a songwriter and found my own message and passion of telling stories through songwriting,” he says. Lutho trusts that songwriting should educate first and then entertain because when we tell our stories we can find our identity, he also believes in storytelling because that is when we as people realize that we are not so different from each other as we think we are because we relate each other through our life stories no matter what race or religion you belong to.

Having worked with an international superstar Sisanda Nilsson based in Sweden and various media houses in South Africa does not mean he had it easy. When he started his agency at a young age, the Songwriters South Africa a Songwriting Agency and Music Publishing Company, which offers songwriting services for recording artists, film, and television. He did not know much about the industry, and it took him a very long time to circle to understand the ecosystem. “The challenge I’m facing right now is that not everyone is open to collaboration because songwriting is all about collaboration and coming together with other artists,” he says.

Storytelling is what they are passionate about, when they tell their stories it is when they can find out their identity. Through storytelling is when they can learn about themselves as people, and it helps them to see that they are not too different from each other as they think. “Our vision is to write and compose songs that tell our stories, songs that inspire who we are, songs that empower and educate more than entertain. Songs that will live on for decades and leave a message for generations to come,” he explains.

Lutho deems that our society is mostly influenced by what creatives say or do and they become just that. He adds that they are missioned into educating, empowering, and uplift society through words and melodies to give hope. The company’s mission is to be a Songwriting Hub in Africa and Globally that offers songwriting, publishing, and music education and helps its clients to tell their stories through songwriting.