Patricia Ochurus: The Songbird With The Golden Voice

If ever there was a female singer who was born for showbiz that person is none other than Patricia Ochurus, known in the entertainment circles as the lady with the golden voice.

Gifted with a crystal clear voice and an incredible vocal range, no note is too difficult for Ochurus.

Ochurus is one local artist who has managed to blend traditional folk music with contemporary Afro-pop music. She has since come of age, in her own words, and has now returned to her childhood roots to transform herself into a gospel singer.

Her musical journey, which spans over 20 years, has taken her to events like the 2009 Namibian independence celebrations in Austria, the Hannover Expo 2000 in Germany, the 2010 Expo in Shanghai, China, the 2011 Namibian independence celebrations in the Czech Republic and the 2013 Namibian independence celebrations in Nigeria.

That Ochurus is such an incredible singer is not surprising because she has had a remarkable music journey, which started from her youth days singing in church choirs as well as as a backup singer for the likes of Willie Mbuende and Jackson Kaujeua.

It was fitting that Ochurus was the headline Namibian artist chosen to share the stage with the multi-talented France-based Dobet Gnahore, a Grammy award-winning superstar from Cote d’Ivoire who is a virtuosic singer, dancer, percussionist and songwriter and her group Na Afriki.

The Namibian star held her own against the more energetic Gnahore. What she lacked in dancing and other crowd-pleasing theatrics, she made up for with her superlative singing ability, to the delight of the capacity Zoo Park Theatre crowd in 2010.

The bill consisted of some top African artists like South African Afrika folk maestro Vusi Mahlasela, Zimbabwean award-winning guitarist Louis Mhlanga and the blues and flamenco music expert Habib Koite from Mali and his supergroub Bamada.

Says Ma /Gaisa music producer Steven Alvin Naruseb, who was the person responsible for influencing Ochurus to follow a solo singing career: “There is no single person who can question Patricia’s singing prowess. She is undoubtedly one of the best female vocalists in this country ever.

“Her stage presence is tops and she is also a fantastic dancer. Patricia was still just a backing vocalist when I started working with her and I influenced her to start a solo career. She has immense talent, but she must only listen a little more when being advised.”

Naruseb also arranged and mastered her only album to date, ‘/Khara /Kharasen’, which was released in 2011, and wrote her a couple of songs named ‘Khaima I Sisen’ (Khoekhoegowab for ‘Stand Up And Work’) and ‘#Nu /Goaros’ (‘Black Girl’).

Ochurus was just four years old when she was first exposed to music, listening to her mother, Christofine Ochurus, play the violin and harmonica while singing, and her father, Immanuel Ochurub, playing the guitar and keyboard.

“I come from a very musical family and our house was never quiet growing up. If I can put it better, there was never a dull moment in our house because of the beautiful sounds coming from the instruments that my mother and father played.

“Before I knew it, I was singing in the school choir at Damara Higher Primary [now Goreangab Junior Secondary School] and later Academia High School. I joined the youth choirs of our church, while I also assisted my mom in the women’s choir,” she explains.

Ochurus, who first attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church, where she sang in the youth choir and the Bach Choir, is now an avid member of Bethesda Healing Centre.

She was also a star netball player who excelled both as a goal shooter and centre player, and was a very competitive 1 500-metre runner – both at primary and high school, where she participated in musicals as well.

Baby Doeseb, lead guitarist of the award-winning band Ugly Creatures, with whom Ochurus played a few gigs, is only full of praise for the songstress.

“Patricia is a very good singer,” he says, adding that “she has the ability to control her voice very well. She performs like the seasoned artist that she is. She has a very good voice and she deserves all the praise heaped upon her. She literally lights up the room when she sings.

“What I like most about Patricia is that she is an intelligent singer and a good thinker. Many singers only sing for the sake of singing, but she listens to herself and she gives her all when performing on stage. We did a few gigs with her and she left me very impressed.”

She was definitely in good hands musically throughout her youth years as she was nurtured by celebrated music teachers like Dantago Nicro //Hoabeb and Jack Francis, two of the country’s most celebrated choir leaders at the time.

Her singing career took a serious twist after she toured Europe with the Sida Di band under the leadership of Willie Mbuende in the early 90s as well as after she got exposed to modern classical music when she went on a music scholarship to Germany in 2006.

“I was lucky to receive a music scholarship in Trossingen in Germany because that experience enhanced my understanding of music. I could read and write notes already under uncle [Jack] Francis and uncle [Nicro] //Hoabeb, who were great music tutors.

“But I was not exposed to classical music before. It was thus a blessing and wonderful learning curve for me to go to Germany. What I was taught there came in very handy in the later stages of my career. I’m now comfortable to sing any music genre,” Ochurus explains.

Ochurus, runner-up of the Last Band Standing competition in 2012, describes her tour of Zimbabwe with the Hare Hoado Choir in 1998 for the World Summit of Churches Celebrating Christianity event as another lifetime experience that will live with her forever.

She is one of the few Namibians who can claim that she performed at the iconic Market Theatre in Johannesburg when she toured South Africa with the Kayec Cultural Group to present the diversity of Namibian cultural song and dance in 2001.

As a permanent member of the National Theatre of Namibia, she also toured Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland (now Eswatini) and South Africa with the now disbanded Sidadi band between 2000 and 2003, presenting Namibian music to the southern African region.

Ochurus is currently running a youth vocal training project known as House of Cultures under the slogan ‘Building Our Own’. Close to 30 children from around Windhoek are registered with the initiative that was officially launched in 2010.