Loyiso Bala celebrates ‘unsung hero’ Su Lubner

The connection between producer and music therapist Su Lubner and celebrated South African musician Loyiso Bala is proof that music has the power to transcend cultural boundaries. Now, they are planning to collaborate on a children’s album in various South African languages.

“I had just turned 20, fresh out of school and barely stepping into the music industry, when a friend I had recently met introduced me to Su Lubner, a Jewish woman in her 30s at the time, who was a television music producer. Su welcomed me into her studio, and over the next decade, opened my eyes to an entirely new world of music.”

These words, written on social media by Bala, now 45, were sparked by his reunion with Lubner at the recent 30th anniversary of social upliftment organisation, Africa Tikkun. Founded by Lubner’s late father, Bertie, and now run by her brother, Marc, Afrika Tikkun, where Bala served as an ambassador, was also integral to Bala’s connection with the Lubner family.

“After the anniversary, I thought, we’re not getting younger,” Bala told the SA Jewish Report. “I really just want to give Su her flowers so people could begin to see the unsung heroes in my life. It took people like Su, who is totally different from who I am, to have an impact on who I am today, on the direction I’ve taken, and the family that I have.”

Yet it all began with music. Lubner recalls when she first met Bala. “Loyiso and I just clicked,” she says. “We found a synergy. He was this absolute delightful soul. He had come from the Eastern Cape, gone through church choirs, and got a scholarship to the Drakensberg Boys Choir School, which provided brilliant foundation training. He’s also beyond talented.”

Together, Lubner and Bala wrote more than 100 songs in various languages for Takalani Sesame, the South African co-production of children’s programme Sesame Street, which began its run in 2000. In addition, they won a South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) for their work on three seasons of educational drama series Tsha Tsha. The two also co-created music for TV series Soul City, and for several local and international documentaries, including many about Madiba.

Lubner has been making music since the age of five, and initially planned to hone that craft alone. Yet, she ultimately became a music therapist, working around the world in cities including Boston and Paris. While in Boston, she attended jazz school at the renowned Berklee College of Music. She later lectured music therapy at the University of Cape Town, and worked with street children in the area. Politically active, she moved to London, where she became the secretary of the African National Congress Women’s League in the United Kingdom. Here, she also completed a postgraduate degree in radio, and worked for the BBC World Service.

“When I was in London, I met singer Brenda Fassie and her producer at the time, Joe Nina, with whom I connected,” Lubner says. “When I came back to South Africa, Joe and I did an album together. At that time, jazz and kwaito were pushing the boundaries in a way that hadn’t been done before.” Their award-winning album explored this development, and Lubner’s production career took off with multiple job offers to write and produce music for television and short films.

It was during this time that she connected with Bala. “There was so much laughter and joy, and he just had a brilliant work ethic,” Lubner says. “We’d work hard, we’d commit, we’d put the energy in, and it was beautiful. He was soon a very well-known R&B star, and here he was doing television with me. He loved it, I loved it, and so we had an absolute ball together.”

In addition to Afrika Tikkun, Bala has supported the Lubner family’s other non-profit organisations including the Field Band Foundation, which empowers youth through music. “Over the years, I really felt like I became the other child in the family, to the point where I used to join them on holiday at the family home in Plett,” he remembers. He also stayed there with his then girlfriend and now wife, Jennifer, and later with their first daughter, the oldest of three.

“Su’s experienced my milestones from the time when I was just this young, budding artist smoking and eating takeaways,” he says. “Looking at who I am right now, the health conscious me, knowing how to love my children, a lot of the skills that were outside of music, I learned from Su. She taught me about natural, healthy living, the importance of meeting deadlines, and, most importantly, the power of generosity. A home for me is a place of giving, and it’s a place where there’s love. With the Lubners and within the wider Jewish community, I found that.”

Today, Bala still performs, but he’s also a business manager with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, overseeing two Eastern Cape radio stations, talk radio station Umhlobo Wenene FM, and youth station Tru FM. “I call my radio my career, and music my calling,” he says.

Now based in Cape Town, Lubner works as a therapist, focusing on movement in her work with people suffering from Parkinson’s and neurological illnesses. She also teaches Tai Chi, and dedicates much of her time to uplifting underprivileged communities.

“The ethos we grew up with was that it’s not just about the goodness of giving charity, rather it’s your responsibility and your commitment to give back,” she says speaking of the Lubner legacy.

Lubner is particularly excited about the possibility of a reunion with Bala. “Our children’s album is built on the idea of exposing children to the rituals and practices of various religions through song,” she says. “These days, that’s so necessary – just a little bit of tolerance, understanding, and openness.” Who better to teach the next generation about such principles than this formidable duo?