Born a musician
Some people have to learn to create music, while others have lived in it since their conception. This is the case for Protea Glen born musician, Musa ‘Trail Music’ Ntuli.
Trail Music (28) grew up in a musical family which ensured that his love for singing and creating music was home grown and organic. “My family is very music based, from my sisters to my cousins, so music was a very big part of our family gatherings. My dad used to sing a lot so I think that’s where I actually got an ear for music,” Trail Music said.
This love was further cemented when he started singing at church, this gave him a platform to realise his true music potential. He also began his journey as a songwriter, composer and arranger in the church choir.
“I used to be the one that arranges most of the time. I would be the person who suggests the songs and how to rearrange them until I got fed up of that and I wanted to create something new so we started writing our own music,” Trail Music explained.
He started writing during his primary school years and admits that the writing journey did not start out as smooth sailing for a young songwriter who was still learning the basics of proper grammar and spelling. He has since grown tremendously as a songwriter and has graduated to not only writing music in English but also in African languages.
Music has however not always been a clearly chosen path for Trail Music despite an upbringing in its throes as the musician did not intend on pursuing it as a career until two years. He describes his music as “high music” and feels it shouldn’t be classified into a specific genre.
“The music I’m doing doesn’t really have a genre…it’s the type of music that leaves a certain trail in people’s hearts hence the name ‘Trail Music’. I’m mostly about being heartfelt and helping people to articulate and share a certain message,” the musician explained.
Trail Music is an overall creative as he is also a photographer and a producer for a television show. He enjoys live performances as he enjoys interacting with people. He would like to center his career around live performances rather than recording in studio.
He has performed at the Johannesburg Theatre and more recently, at Soweto Theatre as a supporting act at One Night With Ntsika Rise. The musician is currently working on putting new music out next year.
Trail Music feels that in an increasing competitive and binary music industry, it is important for an artist who wants to share a message with their music to firstly be aligned with themselves and know who they are and what they stand for.
“You have to first find yourself because you are trying to portray what you are inside and your thoughts,” Trail Music said.
