What’s up Sessioners! Welcome to another spotlight, where we present to you our multi-faceted lady of the hour. She has shocked us in the most pleasant of ways and we have enjoyed her unique style of music so of cause we had to write home about her so you can also get to know her and her journey. Her name?...Lerato Moloto-Moroka who goes by the stage name Ato Song.
Getting to know Ato Song…
Ato Song is a January baby, born in Limpopo but currently living in JHB. This Capricorn is not only a powerful musician but also a farmer who not so coincidentally, enjoys fruits and seafood as her favourite foods. Ato Song describes herself as loving/affectionate, brave and gifted and we hope you’ll get to see these traits as we dive more into her musical heart and mind.
Alongside being a musician and performer, Ato Song is a multimedia practitioner who specializes in: writing, photography and editing. She also does some inspirational work running an NPO based on substance abuse, relapse prevention and community development and food security. We told you that this queen and freedom fighter is every woman in one!
Into the Musical heart & mind of Ato Song
Ato Song has been active in music for 13 years. When we asked her why music, she said music chose her, she didn’t choose it - music is a spiritual thing for her. Ato Song describes her musical style as a mix of urban jazz, rnb and soul music and says she draws musical inspiration from human stories and the experiences of her past, present and future self.
With Thirteen years active in music, Ato Song had to let us in on her decade plus long journey in music. She shared with us what the best and worst thing about being in the industry and a musician was for her. The best being - connecting with other people’s souls and senses through her work. The worst being the pressure to trend and have your entire life belong to strangers. She continued expressing her feelings by sharing that she found that the "balancing of boundaries and remaining open is key”.
Being in this journey for that long has to have its ups and downs so we asked Ato Song to share her biggest highlights and low-lights both personally and professionally. She mentions that celebrating 10 years as a creative entrepreneur has been a major highlight. She acknowledges the hard work it took to make this happen against all odds, namely; being a young gifted and queer African female with big dreams in an industry like south Africa. Ato Song also shared that she looks forward to seeing what the next decade has in store for her brand.
Her low-light so far has been any opportunity she has sabotaged or missed out on because she let fear or self-doubt get in the way.
Talking about all the odds she had to conquer throughout her journey in an industry Ato Song described as “jobless and infamously controversial” we asked Ato Song to comment on how she feels about where the music industry in south Africa is right now - keeping up with the rest of world. Ato Song commented that there is always room for growth and if there were any changes she’d like to see, it would be more musicians being involved in the business of music as a career and "understanding how to turn capital into sustainable wealth through exploring the creative on a broader scale".
We have to say, we really stan Ato Song right know because she just proved to us that women have so much to offer this industry, not only just musically and creatively but also intellectually. While in the topic of celebrating women in music, we were curious to know if there were any unpopular opinions or misconceptions Ato received about being a female musician that she’d like to share. The queen let us in on how the “queer factor” makes people want to know more about her private life, which she does her best to keep private which sometimes makes her come across as antisocial. We just hope that one day fans and supporters will allow entertainers to entertain them with their craft and skill and focus on that, so just like them, their private lives can remain their own.
Ato Song The Musician
Since we’ve had a great time knowing Ato Song the powerhouse, we thought we’d give you a little more on Ato Song “the musician” to wrap up. For those wanting to experience her in her element, you should expect lyrics, harmonies, lessons and laughs as she tries to send a message of love, freedom of identity and good vibes in her shows and performances. So...we definitely had to know if Ato Song creates this atmosphere sober or inebriated, and the response, straight from the horse’s mouth, “lol, maybe inebriated but generally sober.”
So, if you’re looking for good vibes, make sure you catch one of Ato Songs performances and for more updates on this queen be sure to follow her on her social media platforms.
Ato Song signing out
For now, here’s Ato Song signing out with her favourite quote: “Keep kindness in the room” – Mbali Jozi