South African Music

We grew up following international artists and bands, so for me it’s strange to see how South Africans today clamber after and support South African music; not due to blind patriotism and not because the music has a cultural significance, the artists have simply become so good at what they do that today they compare with, and sometimes exceed, their international peers.

If you have some time to watch, and listen, take a look at the page that I put together with a few South African music videos. Safe as Houses by aKing is a special favourite of mine.

Monique Pascall - the real party-starter

We arrived at the castle for J&B’s Start a Party at around 9pm which is just about the right time to start getting a party going, wouldn’t you say?

As we walked into the venue, we were greeted by the electronic sounds of the lovely Monique Pascall – which her bio refers to as being “Minimal and Techno with tough, dirty, progressive, rolling bass lines”. Now, I’m not a huge techno/electronica geek, but on reflection and after critically listening to her tracks on sShadoworkss I’d say that the description is pretty accurate, and well deserved.

The most difficult time for a DJ to perform is at the start of a party, when everyone’s still a little tense from the day and has had just a little too little alcohol to relax the inhibitions. Up for the challenge, Monique picked up the beat and got the party started, enticing the first few party-starters onto the dance floor. By the time she handed over the reigns to Culoe de Song, the party was pretty much tripping.

In case you’re wondering who the guy in the photo below is, that’s Ivan Turanjanin, a DJ who’s pretty much synonymous with Fiction nightclub’s Killer Robot.

Jack Mantis Band at the J&B Met

While relaxing in style at the J&B Met we were treated to music by local star performers – the Jack Mantis Band, Magic Carpet Ride, and Loyiso.

I’ve heard Magic Carpet Ride’s music previously, and I’m sure every South African has heard Loyiso by now, and while both were great entertainment it was the two members of the Jack Mantis Band that blew us away. Their music was a chilled and laid-back mixture of blues, reggae and rock – and the perfect accompaniment to an already outstanding event.

Visit their website and take a moment to listen to a few of their tracks, or watch this YouTube music video – a love song featuring Jack’s (strikingly beautiful) girlfriend whom, by chance, Kerry-Anne found herself chatting with while watching the show.

If you haven’t yet seen our other photo albums from the J&B Met click here for horses, and here for people, and finally here for photos of Loyiso, Magic Carpet Ride and the Jack Mantis Band.

The Assembly

Visiting Assembly is plenty of fun. What’s awesome is that they have a slick website that’s constantly updated with information about future events. As an example of slick, check out the upcoming Discotheque & Arcade: Mr Majestic’s Cirque de Fantastic. Doesn’t the event description sound just awesome? Did you notice that the page links to the individual artist’s respective pages with detailed information and a calendar to let you know on which other nights they’re playing? I found this site refreshingly different to the outdated and unmaintained sites I often encounter.

Check out their contact page for contact info as well as a map to the venue.

“In true Arcade fashion you’re invited to enter the world of enchantment where you will experience mischievous wonderment in marvelously epic proportions. The magic will course through your body overwhelming your senses, luring and bewitching you into the world of circus carnival, a world of charm, temptation, charisma and splendor.” – Mr Majestic’s Cirque de Fantastic

Cape Town Stadium

I took this photo of these strange zebra-men at the Cape Town Stadium a while ago (during the Football World Cup), and share it with you today because this, dear friends, is the place where 72,000 fans will arrive to watch the spectacle that U2 is so well known for.

Kerry-Anne and I hate queuing for tickets (it’s far too boring!), so we normally take our chances with purchasing from an online ticket booking site, Computicket. I say “take our chances” because South African sites, and I guess this one specifically, are known not to handle well huge volumes of people trying to buy tickets at once, and invariably slow to the pace of a reluctant teenager on a family hike – leading many close to death from pure frustration.

This time around Kerry-Anne paid the $50 registration fee and pre-bought our tickets through U2′s website. No mess, no fuss.

Fan photo

Two notable South African musicians established a trust fund, called SHOUT, with the idea that monies collected by the fund would be donated to anti-crime organisations, like Crime Line and Business Against Crime. They then got together with a few more notable musicians to record a modern version of the Tears for Fears track called Shout. The track is currently for sale at several prices from R20 to R1000 – the amount that you pay is at your discretion. Visit the SHOUT SA website to hear the track and for more information on how to donate.

Brenda Fassie

Brenda unfortunately passed away 2004, at the age of 39, after suffering an asthma attack and cardio-respiratory arrest, and I recall at the time the mood in the country turned extremely solemn. I believe that even ex Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki visited Brenda while she was in hospital – which, I’m sure, speaks for how important she had been to the nation.

I’m sure that Brenda is still today still.

Gumboot dancers

If I remember correctly, they danced the dance to a popular song by South African kwaito singer Mandoza (pronounced Mun-dor-za). Take a moment to listen to the song here, but note that unless you speak Zulu you have little hope catching the lyrics. Nevertheless, if you’ve never heard it, crank the volume pretty loud and enjoy the beat!

Gareth James, The Undefind

The Undefind (that’s right – it’s spelt without an “e”) is a Cape Town-based band that’s on a mission to make it in the world of full-time music. It’s often said that American musicians have it easy, but South Africa’s music market is so small and the number of good bands so large that it makes surviving purely as a musician a huge challenge.

The Undefind are a reasonably young band of five, and according to their website they are all full-time musicians. Gareth (guitarist and lead vocalist, pictured in this photo) recently enlisted two of the band members, Chris (bassist) and Jeanré (drummer), to start up a three-piece acoustic version on of the band, which will be playing quieter sets at local restaurants and bars.

Check out their latest music video, Fragile Skin, below; and if you like it, take a moment to vote for them here on the KFM Homebrew Top 10 list.

Che Guevara

Che Guevara, depicted in the photo above, is an icon that you’re likely to have seen on t-shirts all over the world. His face is often used as a symbol of revolution or political awareness, but has become pretty fashionable over the years – thereby losing some of the meaning that it may have had in the past.

Che Latino Café (map), in the suburb of Brackenfell, is a hangout for locals in the surrounding areas. While you’ll see a few “oldies” heading to the back to gamble, I’d guess the average age to be about 20 years old. The bar area rocks to the sound of local bands while the patrons relax on couches, bar chairs and even spill outside to socialise while sitting at tables, a little way away from the loud music inside.

Just Jinjer at Kirstenbosch

On 22 November last year Johnny Clegg opened this season’s Summer Sunset Concerts at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Since then the Gardens have hosted the likes of the Johnny Cooper Orchestra, Zebra and Giraffe, aKING, and many others.

After a day out in the sun watching cricket, we met up with two friends at the packed concert venue in the middle of the botanical gardens. The vibe was happy and relaxed, and even though it was windy elsewhere, the gardens had comparatively little wind. And, as always, Just Jinjer were phenomenal.

A few more concerts remain this season, but the upcoming highlight for us would have to be The Dirty Skirts. They have a super-energetic stage presence (which makes for awesome photos), and it seems that they have an interestingly euphoric effect on the ladies. We have our tickets already; I suggest that if you want to go, you should make sure that you book your tickets fast.

Kevin Sykes, guitarist for Autopilot

As I mentioned in my previous post, we were invited to go along to Mercury Lounge in Cape Town to take photos at Autopilot’s new video launch gig. This particular show must have been one of the most challenging that I’ve shot – the stage was very small, and although the lighting was great for the performance, it was terrible for photos.

Nevertheless, I felt challenged and had plenty of fun trying to come up with angles that would work. I’ve uploaded an album of photos here.

Autopilot was born in 2005 as a 4-man band. While Kevin Sykes (the guitarist in this photo) and Shane Coomber (the other guitarist) seem to be the only original remaining members, the band has seen a shift with the introduction of a female vocalist, currently 22-year-old Brigette Greybe (who according to the drummer, Nicholas, has a great butt ).

At the time of writing this article, the new video hadn’t yet been uploaded to their website, but if you’d like to hear their sound take a look here for one or two other music videos.

Thanks for a great show, Autopilot!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

There’s something soothing about the deep bass voices of a group of singing black men. I think it’s completely unlike what any of their white counterparts could do. If you’re not from Africa (or are, but haven’t heard it before) then it’s something that you should certainly experience. I didn’t even understand the words that were being sung, but in some ways I think that’s a good thing – it prevents you from being distracted by the words, and helps you to feel the music and perhaps the meaning of the words.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo (LSBM) and their style of music has its origin in the mines of South Africa. Joseph Shabalala (here’s a photo of him), leader of the Grammy-Award-winning group, assembled the members of LSBM from family, relatives and friends in his hometown of Ladysmith. The group quickly rose to fame by winning every singing competition they entered.

The group’s name is made up of one place-name and two concepts: Ladysmith is their home town, Black refers to the strong black oxen that were prevalent in their farming community, and Mambazo means axe. In other words – the singing group from Ladysmith that is so strong that it cuts down every other group in every competition. Voila! Ladysmith Black Mambazo!

An interesting fact that you may not be aware of is that LSBM co-wrote and recorded two tracks on Paul Simon’s Graceland album in 1986. Do any songs come to mind? Of course they do! Possibly the first one you may think of is Homeless; the other is Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.

LSBM will be singing at the V&A Waterfront again on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 January at 20h30 (see my photos from the event here). If you haven’t seen them before, go along and prepare to relax to the sound of deep, dark African voices. (You can buy tickets online or at the little Computicket caravan near the Aquarium’s entrance.)

Axene, pop star

Her show also included a young lead guitarist, who accompanied her on several songs; award-winning solo artist Shaun V; and a talented team of dancers from the Waterfront Theatre Company. Together they performed songs by Rihanna, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Abba, Michael Jackson and more. And they were all really pretty darn good!

Axene is playing at the Waterfront’s Aqua Festival until 6 January, so if you have young kids, perhaps take this opportunity to introduce them to the world of live concerts. I’m pretty sure you’ll end up enjoying it too.

AquABBA at Aqua Festival

“I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay – Ain’t it sad?”

After the brilliant performance by Johnny Clegg on Saturday we found ourselves at the Aqua Festival’s AquABBA show at the V&A Waterfront. What a spectacular spectacle it was – especially with the likes of Amra-Faye Wright (cast as Velma Kelly in The Broadway Company’s musical, Chicago), Jody Williams (winner of SA Idols 2007) and the members of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra gracing the stage. Other artists taking part were Craig Urbani (known, amongst many other things, for his role in the SA soap-opera Isidingo), Chrissy Caine, and Alistair Izobel.

They sang all ABBA’s best-known hits, as well as a few songs from the musical Chess (which was written by Benny and Bjorn, of course); and by the time they got to “Thank you for the music” the crowd was on their feet, singing and dancing along. Kerry-Anne pointed out that the setting was absolutely perfect for an ABBA tribute show, as the harbour backdrop was very reminiscent of Mamma Mia.

If you don’t yet have plans for New Year’s Eve, (and especially if you’re going to be at the V&A Waterfront anyway), consider booking your seat for AquABBA – I believe the ticket price includes not only the show, but the NYE afterparty at the Aquarium as well.

I’ve put together an album of photos from the performance. Check it out here.

Johnny Clegg performing at AquaFestival

Isn’t this setting just beautiful? Unfortunately the sun had fully set by the time that I got away from the photographers’ area down below and up onto the grandstand. At night it’s really difficult to capture the beautiful lights and Table Mountain in the background, but can you imagine the ambience of watching such an awesome performance in the fading Waterfront light from this vantage point?

Check my previous post or the AquaFestival website for more details about Johnny Clegg’s show later tonight, and other shows that you may want to see later this week.

On a final note, have a look at this iconic shot of Johnny floating both on water and in the air.

Johnny Clegg at AquaFestival

Kerry-Anne and I were invited to watch the legendary Johnny Clegg performing at AquaFestival at the V&A Waterfront last night. This year is the first AquaFestival, and if last night’s performance, vibe and setting were anything to go by, I can only imagine that the performances over the remaining week and a half will be magical, and that the festival will definitely be back next year!

You can’t see it in the photo above, but in this photo you’ll see that the entire stage on which the band performed was floating about 5 metres off the pier in the V&A’s yacht basin. Table Mountain, the setting sun, beautiful yachts, and the city lights filled the background to make the setting comparable in beauty to that of the Kirstenbosch concerts.

Johnny Clegg is performing again on Monday night (at 20h30), and I think there are still a few tickets up for sale. Even if you can’t make that show, check out the circus that’s performing at 14h00 every day until Thursday, or book tickets for the evening ABBA or ballet shows; tickets cost between R60 and R250, depending on the show.

P.S. In case you’re concerned about the persistent wind we’ve been having – I can’t speak for the shows that I haven’t been to, but there was only the slightest of breezes in the yacht basin last night, which was a freakin’ fantastic break from the wind we’ve been enduring!

People under the Stairs

This photo reveals a little more context around my previous photo. People under the Stairs is an underground hip-hop group from the USA… who by all accounts played at Zula Sound Bar on 20 November. If you’re into hip-hop I’m going to guess that you’ve heard of this duo, but if not, take a look at their MySpace page and listen to a few of their tracks – they have some interesting stuff!

For interest’s sake, this photo was taken in Gardens, where Maynard Street crosses under Mill Street (the M3). The area is an awesome place to just wander around and take photos. While it’s not an unsafe area (and perhaps I’m being over-cautious), I did notice a few loitering people around, whom I avoided. So, if you do take your expensive camera on a walkabout, just keep your eyes open and all will be well.

Zula Sound Bar

Kerry-Anne and I visited Zula Sound Bar for the first time a few years back when Freshlyground was still largely unknown. It was their night to perform, and the intimate setting at Zula was amazing! Zula is practically an institution in Cape Town and definitely worth a visit (unless you can’t take very crowded and vibey places ).

Each night Zula (in Long Street) rocks its patrons with the sound of a variety of live musicians. From what I’ve heard they have really good traditional food (like potjiekos, boerewors rolls and sosaties), and they also have half-price cocktail specials between 5pm and 7pm, Monday to Saturday.

Synergy Music Concert at Boschendal

Things got way too busy and somehow we managed to miss Synergy, a weekend of music at the beautiful Boschendal Wine Estate, earlier this month.

Towards the end of November we spent a Sunday afternoon at one of the Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset concerts, and, as I mentioned in my last article, we managed to make it to The Killers on Sunday. We’ve also just been invited to take pics of the Johnny Clegg concert at the V&A Waterfront’s AquaFestival later this month, and would love to make it through to the Sunshine Saturdays concerts at Wynberg Boys’ High to watch Zebra & Giraffe, The Dirty Skirts, and Prime Circle.

So, the purpose of this post is to say that summer in Cape Town simply rocks, and that if you’re not a local and you are able to make one or more outdoor music concerts a part of your holiday in Cape Town then I suggest you do just that, and experience the concert vibe. It really is something else! Also, if you are a local and haven’t been to one of these concerts… dude, seriously, get tickets and be there!

Lion's Head

We arrived at the venue just as the sun was setting, and I have to say that the frustration of three hours spent in stop-start traffic quickly faded as we watched the sun set over the mountains to the music of supporting band, Zebra and Giraffe. The Killers were spectacular; the show was better than either Kerry-Anne or I had expected… in fact, it was outrageously good!

Unfortunately, the heavily packed parking area, the 2km single-lane exit road, and the crowd of 20,000 people trying to leave at the same time meant that some of our friends only arrived home at 04h30 in the morning, after spending hours just waiting in the parking lot for traffic to clear! We were the lucky ones – because of where we were parked (fairly close to the exit), we weren’t stuck in the traffic for quite as long as that. We arrived home after only two and a half hours, at 1am.

Luckily for Cape Town it seems as though Big Concerts, the organisers of this event, won’t be handling the arrangements for the 2010 World Cup football!

Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert

Summer has arrived in Cape Town, and with it the annual open-air Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset concerts. If you’re coming to Cape Town between now and 4 April then check out the lineup and book your spot online with Webtickets. (Oh, and I’m not kidding when I say that you shouldn’t delay – tickets do sell out fast).

The music styles range from rock to orchestral, so there’s pretty much something for everyone’s taste. Even if you’re not into the particular music of the day, the crowd’s vibe, the beautiful botanical gardens, and the Cape Town sunshine makes any concert worth the time.

Let me say again that if you’ll be in Cape Town over the period, do make an effort to get to at least one concert. It really is something different and memorable. Even if you’re alone, the people are so friendly that you’re bound to make friends. (All that you need to do is to take some wine, beer, and snacks along to share. )

Just for interest’s sake, some of the awesome bands that we’d like to go and see are Prime Circle, Just Jinjer, The Dirty Skirts, aKING, Zebra and Giraffe and Flat Stanley.

& Union Beer Salon

We had the chance for the first time to visit & Union (yes, that’s And Union) for drinks and a light snack last Friday. We had an awesome evening, not only due to the fun people that we met up with, the exclusive selection of imported beer, and the yummy bratwurst snacks, but also because we were fortunate to be treated to a few dozen songs by photographer and musician, Andy Lund (pictured here, on the right).

As you may have gathered, summer has arrived in Cape Town. Days are getting longer and evenings are getting warmer – which means that restaurants have started spilling over into the open air, creating an awesome party vibe throughout the city. I love this time of year!

If you’re looking for directions to & Union, no worries, here’s a map.

Method Man

Clearly I don’t know very much about hip hop music. This storefront had me confused, as I had never heard of a shop or brand of clothing called “Methodman”. After googling a little I discovered that it was no wonder I was confused – apparently Method Man is the stage name for an American hip hop artist.

Cape Town has had a large hip hop following for many years, but it seems that over the last few years there has been a huge increase in the general popularity of the genre. A fact that might surprise some of our friends: when Kerry-Anne’s niece and nephew visited us last year, we listened to so much hip hop in the car that we developed quite an appreciation for it – to the extent that I now own a Flo Rida CD!

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest, a 16-day (sometimes 17-day) festival held in a (super) large field in Germany is celebrated in many countries, including South Africa, with plenty of beer, all kinds of traditional German food, a traditional-style band and plenty of dancing.

Stellenberg High School (which Kerry-Anne attended for 5 long years) held their first Oktoberfest celebration this year as a fund-raising event. Given that it was the first time they’ve attempted this, we’ll forgive them for the tiny selection of Bavarian food, solitary brew of beer, and lack of beautiful woman dressed in traditional German beer-lady attire (and yes ladies, the lack of handsome young lads in traditional weird long-shorts and braces too).

But seriously, the event seemed to have huge support from the community and everyone there seemed to be having an awesome time. I have a feeling that next year’s Oktoberfest is going to be a rocking event. Best make sure that you get there!

Marco Gomes of Prime Circle

I was really really lucky to see two of my favourite South African bands performing back-to-back at Rocking the Daisies. Just Jinjer was fantastically good, and Prime Circle, well, they absolutely rocked the house… or, shall I say, the vineyards.

The dramatic start to their performance built up tension in the crowd, and when Prime Circle finally appeared on stage the masses roared with excitement. The band’s unmistakable energy carried over into the crowd, who loved every minute of it. It was awesome to hear their songs live again – the music was precise, and they delivered an excellent performance.

Visit the Prime Circle website for more information about the band, or start the music video below to listen to one of their tracks. However, if you represent a large record company that may plan on signing the band and relocating them to the USA (or any other country), please stop right here. I speak on behalf of all their SA fans when I say that we aren’t interested in any offer or contract that you may have.

Oh, and don’t forget to take a look at the other photos that I shot during their set. Click here to see the albums.

Brent and Art's percussion duet

Just Jinjer are arguably one of the best-known South African rock bands. Unfortunately for us they left our shores at the beginning of the decade, as most really successful SA bands eventually do, and spent time in the UK and USA, recording with various large record labels and touring with bands like Def Leppard, The Goo Goo Dolls, and U2.

Over the +-13 years that they’ve been around, Just Jinjer (formerly Just Jinger) have become somewhat of a legend back home, and now it would seem, they’ve returned to settle in Cape Town. Although I guess “settle” is bit of a strong word, as they have several tours lined up that will see them out of the country for more time than South Africans are willing to share them.

I could go on and on about how awesome the band is, but rather visit their website – the music will start playing automatically. Alternatively, listen to my favourite Just Jinjer song below… and when you’re done, check out my photo album from their awesome set at Rocking the Daisies!

Zolani lead singer of Freshlyground

Freshlyground is an Afro-fusion band who found their feet in 2002, when they played their first “big gig” at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. They launched their first album in 2003 – their success is evidenced by the fact that they were invited to play at the opening of Parliament in 2004, when South Africa celebrated 10 years of democracy. With both black and white band members originating from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, I guess that it’s fair to say that Freshlyground is a Smarties box of cultures.

Kerry-Anne is a super-huge fan of the band and was stoked to have seen them live at the cosy Zula Bar in Cape Town before they got really big. We were about 3 metres from the stage (which was more of an elevated platform, really), and the band members were incredibly interactive during the set.

Today they have a huge following both locally and internationally, and (if you hadn’t yet guessed) I managed to get up close for a few photos at Rocking the Daisies. Click through to our Freshlyground album, and if you have a moment more to spare check out the other RTD photo albums.

The main stage

Although the festival stretched from early on Friday to Sunday afternoon, I only managed to go along for Saturday. Many people spent time swimming in the dam (practically right next to the main stage), while others watched the bands, some were entertained by comedy shows, and others spent time listening to DJ mixes.

My summarised review of the event is:
1. Well-organised
2. Great music
3. Fun environment
4. Sufficient facilities
5. Great food stalls
6. Good entertainment
7. Good and easy parking
8. Great camping site
9. Clean and tidy

I’m definitely going to have to go along to RTD 2010 – this one was an absolute jol (pronounced “jawl”, which is South African slang for “freekin’ awesome”). If you’re thinking of coming to South Africa next year, but don’t want to come during the World Cup, why not time your trip to coincide with RTD? We’ll see you there.

I’m still busy processing and uploading photos to our photo album, but in the meantime check out what’s there already.

Opera Shows

We were invited to the launch of Encore, an “opera appreciation club” created by Cape Town Opera to promote opera (and other performing arts) among 20- and 30-somethings. Don’t you think that the posters for “Dead Man Walking”, “Cunning Little Vixen”, and “Requiem Mass” all look enticingly appealing?

We spent the evening listening to several young, stylish and talented singers and musicians perform in a style that I’m not accustomed to, and while I’d have to admit that I’ll never be a opera junkie, the performances were pretty darn good and definitely worth making a part of your “night on the town”.

Joining Encore is a matter of paying a R100 fee per year, which gives members access to several benefits – you can read about them right here. If you’d like to go out regularly, have the chance to dress up a little, enjoy some sophisticated entertainment, and perhaps meet other young people with similar interests, give it a try – I think it’s certainly worth the R100.