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Cape Town – It’s been three months since Karabo Mogane walked away the winner of Idols SA Season 11.
Since then it’s been a roller coaster ride of interviews, recording and gigging for Karabo, who released his debut album, Love Is A Verb, in December.
We chat to Karabo about how his life has changed since Idols and his new album:
Channel24: What has your life been like since winning Idols up to now?
Karabo: It’s been really really crazy but in a good way. I’ve been very busy with interviews, performances, gigs left and right. I also had a gig in Mauritius, that was really awesome, I had tons of fun there! And then I’ve been doing a couple of corporates as well. And the album has been doing really well hey. I think we’re halfway there to reaching gold. By the end of May approaching June we will have reached gold.
Channel24: What does a typical day in your life look like at the moment?
Karabo: Interviews, and if I’m not doing interviews I will be writing my own music for the next album. And if not writing I will be gigging, doing a corporate gig or a festival. I do motivational speaking as well, and if I’m not doing that I’m just relaxing, taking a break from everything.
Channel24: What do you do to relax?
Karabo: I write music, if not writing I’m probably reading, and if I’m not reading then I’m probably just watching a movie.
Channel24: You went into the studio two days after you won Idols... Were you involved in the writing process?
Karabo: Most of the songs on the album were written for me because of the short space of time we had, but I wrote one song on the album as well, track number 11 on the album, Baby I Don’t Know Love.
Channel24: What was the recording experience like? Have you ever been in a studio before?
Karabo: Ja, I have been in a studio before, but obviously not such a big studio, it was really really great, it was awesome! In five days we recorded all 11 tracks, it was quite hectic. Every day we would record two or three songs. I just did the vocals.
Channel24: What did you learn and what did you take away from the experience?
Karabo: I think what I’ve learnt is that if you put your mind to something, you can definitely achieve it. If that’s what you really want to do and if you’re really serious about it, if you set a time and a limit for yourself, when you push yourself you’re able to do absolutely anything. What I’ve learnt in life is that nothing is impossible, you know, as long as you put your mind to it. I mean recording 11 tracks in five days, people take months, so for me anything is possible if you really put your mind to it.
Channel24: The songs that you are working on now, and the one you wrote for the album, what do you write about, what inspires your songs?
Karabo: Love! You know, when I write it depends on what I’m feeling at that moment, so I write about experiences as well, generally love is always relatable, love is a universal language that I use in my music. I mean the album itself, the title is Love Is A Verb, so the music on the album is about love, so it’s the stuff that drives me.
Channel24: Describe your sound in one sentence?
Karabo: I think my sound is soulful, heartfelt, and it just makes you want to fall in love again.
Channel24: If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
Karabo: I have two people I would love to collaborate with. John Legend and Adele. I really look up to John Legend as a musician, I like how he carries himself, I like how he writes as well, his writing skills are like really awesome! And I also just like how he is as a person you know. And then Adele, I just love Adele man, her voice, she is just so effortless, she doesn’t struggle. It just shows that it is really a gift that she has. So I think I would like to do something with her definitely, if I get the opportunity to work with her just on one song it will be like a dream come true.
Channel24: A lot of fans and people obviously come up to you now and ask for your autograph and photos, how do you handle that?
Karabo: Look, hehe, the way that I handle that is, it comes with the territory you know, I could say that I literally signed up for it. I mean for me it doesn’t bother me at all, I get excited when people do that, it means that they really appreciate the person that I am, for them to even take the time to walk up to me and say ‘hey’, I’m okay with that, I’m happy, like I don’t mind at all. Like some people are very fun as well, they wanna take crazy pictures, and that builds a profile for me going forward, so I don’t mind.
Channel24: What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Karabo: I’m planning to do a charity event, the money made there will be given to orphanages and handed over to widows, and not just in my province but in provinces around the country. I’m planning to target nine charities around the country that I can give back to in each province. Then I’m also planning to do a tour around the country, the Love Is A Verb tour, where I will go from city to city, all five major cities around the country. I will also be going to America for the American idols finale, and yeah there are other countries that are interested in me coming over like Botswana, I know Nigeria, I know Kenya, and Zimbabwe, they really want me to come over that side, so I’m planning to look into venturing that side as well.
Channel24: When will the next album be coming out?
Karabo: I’m hoping to release it either at the end of this year or the 14th of February, as I’d like to release it on Valentine’s Day. I think that will be great!
For more info on Karabo and his music like his Facebook page and follow him on Instagram.
(Photos: Jacques Loots/Fathom Media)
