By Lerato Mohone
Johannesburg - From singing in the school and church choir in Alexandra, to taking the South Africa gospel music scene by storm.
This is the story of identical twins who call themselves The Light Twins.
The duo burst on to social media platforms in 2015 after accepting a Christmas carol challenge.
The pair, devout Catholics, made up of Lesedi and Lebone Khunou, derived their moniker from their names, which, translated to English, means light.
“As Christians we are called upon to bring the light to the world,” they said. Each twin is gifted with a calling.
“For us, it is our voices through music,” they said.
For now, these marketing graduates from University of Johannesburg, are juggling demanding careers at an insurance company with building a reputable name in the competitive gospel music industry.
As a deeply-religious duo, they started lending their voices and talents to the St Albert Catholic Church choir in Alexandra.
“When we were younger, a lady who was our instructor in the faith, encouraged us to join the junior choir and we have not looked back, resulting in us being part of all the choirs at the church. And depending on which service we attend, we are sometimes conducted by our mother, Elizabeth, who is our biggest critic, but also our biggest cheerleader,” they said.
But, it wasn’t until they came across a Facebook post challenging brave choristers to put out videos of themselves singing a Christmas carol that they took their singing seriously. The response was incredible, they say, and this encouraged them to record more videos and share them on social media, said Lesedi.
“Over the years, we had overwhelming requests so we recorded an album … in 2017 when we gave in to the demand by releasing a 12-track debut album, Filled with Hope,” they said.
They describe their sound as contemporary gospel, which has had a wide reach after their singles have been on high rotation on TV channels and radio stations.
As much as they reinvent old, traditional Christian hymns by giving them a fresh twist, they have also composed their own such as O tla Ntshedisa, Ho lokile ho lla and Yehla Moya.
While this year has been marked by difficulties and darkness, with people in a panic, distressed and in despair, they continued spreading the message of hope and have joined forces with other musicians.
This was followed by the release of a Ke Fumane Medley – a mix of three of their favourite hymns ( Ngingowakho Jesu Wami, Leme lwa me, Ke Fumane Eena and Kwenzu Jesu.
“Our message is that this too shall pass. With the latter song loosely translating as, Jesus Did It – we asked friends and fans to send us concise video recordings of themselves reflecting on the great things that have happened in their lives incorporating the words, ‘#Kwenzu Jesu’. That we still have breath when millions have lost their lives is one prime example,” explained Lebone.
Like any other siblings, these singer-songwriters grew up engaging in silly bickering. “But our mother has always taught us to value one another. However, I must add that as twins, we are in each other’s spaces all the time so we are bound to taunt each other,” said Lesedi.
She continued: “I admit I cannot dance. Lebone thinks she can dance and our friends unfortunately agree with her. But then again, the same friends are adamant that communication skills are my strong suit. I must say that my sister makes me talk a lot which gives people that impression. Having said that, we complement each other very well.”
Christmas carols, to a great extent, introduced them to the masses. In the spirit of the season, they, in collaboration with other artists, recently held a Christmas Carols at the Cathedral concert at Christ the King Cathedral in Joburg, which went viral.
People were treated to favourites such like Noel, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Ke utlwa mane dithoteng and Masihambe nabelusi. The event was also streamed live online bringing the festive experience to the homes of South Africans.
The Light Twins endeavour to have this as an annual fixture on their calendar.
Social media platforms:
Facebook: The Light Twins Instagram: @the_light_twins Twitter: The Light Twins - https:// twitter.com/TheLightTwins?s=09 YouTube: The Light Twins-https:// youtube.com/c/TheLightSA
The Star