Pretoria - What’s in a name? Well, it would a lot, like in the case of all-round house music producer and DJ Thab De Soul.
His nickname Lord-Xchanger simply defines his unique production style, a fusion of African chants and drums with electronic dance music sounds that gives his music an emotional feel.
Thab De Soul is short for his birth name Thabang, and De Soul comes from his music that gives spiritual touch to the next person.
“So, you can say Lord-Xchanger is Thab De Soul in his beast mode,” the hitmaker said with a laugh.
His government name is Thabang Sethunya, born in Benoni, Brandwood Park. He grew up in Stoffberg/Learsdrift in Limpopo. These days, he is based Tembisa.
Thab De Soul fell in love with music at an early age. Those who were in primary school remember the time when he would bang tables in an effort to make a song.
“It went to the next level when my elder sister won a radio cassette player from a modelling competition. We used to record songs that play on various radio stations to a single cassette and listen to them later.
“In 2011 I got my first PC and I started installing software such as FL Studio and Virtual DJ. I did not have a clear understanding of how to make beats at the time.
“But all that changed in 2013 after relocating from Stoffberg to Tembisa, where I linked with Native Tribe, who introduced me to basic stuff of music production. Then everything started growing as I kept on working.”
Thab De Soul said he was inspired to do well by his friends and partners in music. In addition, he is willing to work hard and educate himself every time.
Patient and consistency, creativity and uniqueness, and being up for different challenges are some of the characters that have moulded him into the musician he is today.
Through music, he is grateful to have meet and hung out with other “cool” musicians, travel and see amazing new places and learn universal life skills.
Today, he makes tribal house, Afro house/tech, electronic dance music and deep house. “I choose to produce tribal/Afro/Deep house back in 2009 towards 2013 when these genres were still a dominating in places like Limpopo, KZN, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and others.
“I must also say I was influenced by big names such as Da Capo, Problem Child Ten83, Culoe De Song, Shana, Cuebur, Ralf Gum, Rocco and others who had been making hits and introducing this this genre to the underground.
“The rest of the other genres followed when I get to try something new in studio.”
To say Thab De Soul is a serial hitmaker is an understatement. In recent years, he has had chart-topping hits such as Bailando, Olkeri (with Saint Evo) that also gained support and was played by pioneer DJ Black Coffee as well as Temba and Bhekzin Terris.
Others include Arai, with a Kenyan vocalist Tina Ardor, which again also gained support from Black Coffee, Never Too Late (with InQfive) and Ongata Ronkai, on which he collaborated with his old friend Native Tribe.
He urged others who want to pursue a career in music to stay positive, work hard, accept their downfalls and be consistent and versatile.
When not making music or spinning the discs, Lord-XChanger enjots travelling, photography, exercising, computing and eating.
And on any normal day, he produces music, practises on the decks, study and the back to beat-making.
He recently released his Good 4 Nothing EP and is already working on another Trauma EP, featuring talented musicians such as Torque Musiq and Kat Soul RSA.
He is also featured on Native Tribe & Da Q-Bic’s upcoming single with Shona SA.
On all these projects, the formula is the same: simplicity, arrangements, proper mixing, and his mood. “With these, you cannot go wrong,” he said.
Like other musicians, he was hit by the national lockdown and said “90% of the live music industry lost income due to Covid-19”.
Pretoria News