#MusicExchange: Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse

Last weekend, he and his band played the Azgo Festival in Maputo and this weekend he appears at the Zakifo Festival in Durban, then the Bassline Festival at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg along with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and many other acts and thereafter a four-hour drive to the MTN Bushfire Festival in Swaziland to headline the Sunday lineup.

Just last month, Mabuse was honoured by President Ramaphosa and received a national order. The citation, Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, read, “for his contribution to the field of music and social cohesion. His spellbinding music has consistently captured the imagination of the nation.”

Some of his plans for later in the year include a major show in Soweto, along with speaking at Music Exchange in September in Cape Town and a once-off event at the Baxter Concert Hall in October - no burnout for Hotstix. I spoke to him last week.

When are you happiest?

When children call me daddy, especially in Soweto.

Any funny moments on stage?

When I forget the lyrics to a song.

Which living person do you admire most and why?

Sol Kerzner, a brilliant creative mind (Lost City one of the wonders of the world, created by a human being).

What is your most treasured possession?

An old South African rand (the one rand and note) signed by the late President Nelson Mandela on his release from prison.

It’s your round, what are you drinking?

Martini and lemonade.

Dream gig to do?

Any desert festival.

What makes you stand out?

I don’t.

Nicknames?

Hotstix/Sax.

If you were not a musician, what would you do?

A hospital porter.

Pick five words to describe yourself?

Insecure, purposeful, magnanimous, amorous, loving, and sensitive.

Five desert island discs?

These are songs that have influenced my thinking and what I do as an artist.
Beatles - Norwegian Wood - first song I learnt to play in the Beaters, my first band.
Bob Marley - Jonny Was.
Babsi Mhlangani - Sala Emma.
Johnny Clegg - Scaterlings of Africa.
West Nkosi - Two Mabone - that song influenced me to make Jive Soweto and Shikisha.

What song changed your life?

Norwegian Wood and Burnout. Burnout has given me a life one can only dream of. The song is bigger than me, South Africa loves that song; it is humbling.

Top of your bucket list?

I would love to go to Cuba and play a show.

Your greatest achievement?

Passing matric at 60.

What do you complain about most often?

Unreliable partnerships and apathy.

On stage, I tend to?

Get nervous and intense.

Where would you like to be right now?

Somewhere over the rainbow.

@siphohotstix
www.hotstix.co.za