eish (aysh) - Used to express surprise, wonder, frustration or outrage
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday SA Music Spotlight - Cutout Collective
I saw these guys interviewed on some local Dstv show and really liked their personalities. Their knowledge of the local music scene within their genre and the energy they exude, oddly in a super laid back way, caught my attention. So I did the Eishman thing and began trawling the interwebs. Like any self-respecting musician they have a MySpace and Facebook page and although they could probably make better use of these platforms there was enough for me to take a good listen and be extremely impressed. My personal taste in electronic music is somewhere on the chilled, world, acoustic and eastern groove side. However there is just enough late 80's, early 90's edgy, synth electronica to grab my attention. Check out my favourite track 'Bloodlines' (available for free download here) and Fossils, and you will see what I mean. These guys are destined to make it big if they can stick at it and build up their audience. Cutout Collective is Tim Apter, Jason Hartford, Flikkerr & Max Lehr and the for their sins are Johannesburg locals (Cape Town streets are too narrow for them!), keep your eye out for them their debut EP Eponymous will be released shortly and their tunes seem like they would be wild live!
It's been a while, but the Eish!! SA Music Spotlight is back! I like to do the bands I highlight justice, so when time is short I prefer not to post a half-hearted attempt and wait until I have some quality time available. This week was almost another one past, when I got a quick reply from one of the bands on my shortlist. The enthusiasm and willingness to interact inspired me to drop what I was doing and start typing this post.
'If you’ve ever been stuck in a dead-end job (hopefully not anymore) you’ll know exactly what it means to be ‘chasing Friday’. Phill Black on lead vocals, Brendon Hull on backing vocals and lead guitarist , bass guitarist Nico Mouissie and drummer Andrew Mellish make up Chasing Friday a Cape Town band making waves on the local scene and seemingly on the brink of making that all important leap into the commercial success on the SA music scene.
Their current single 'It's not like London's calling you' is a moody/grungy melody fits into the current consciousness of the SA youth torn between the love of their country, the perceived greener pastures beckoning and the bonds they have built with their peers at home. This, along with the tunes I have heard around the various internet properties they are utilising to get their gospel spread, already illustrates a growing, quality catalog of raw grungy rock and roll.
With the music video below already featured on Fuse TV in America , MK and DSTV's HD channel and singles getting airplay on Radio 2000, Tuks Fm and Mfm almongst others things are happening for these guys.
I thought it would be fun to get to know the guys a bit better, so here's a short text interview with the lead singer Phill.
How did the various band members find each other? Nico bumped into Andrew on Facebook, I pulled in a few months later (knew Andrew frm school, since 96, we went to SACS together) through another band, Autopilot, we met Brendon! (he was good buddies with them!)
What names were in consideration before Chasing Friday won? One was wilderthanvan....pretty crap! Can`t remember any others???
How are you using the web to market the band and how do you intend to going forward? We are doing the obvious thing.....Facebook!But we also take pride in www.chasingfriday.com keeping it updated every week. you can download our debut produced track on iLike. We also have our music vid on various US sites and as a result it aired on Fuse US TV in the states shoot funny vids of us messing around.....and stick em up all over! Myvideo, youtube etc
What is the weirdest gig you have played? ROAR springs to mind, you need garlic to fend off the vampires....... also after winning the CT leg of the RBF SABC battle of the bands, then having to pay for ourselves to get to the final in Gauteng, then waiting 12hours with 22 bands ahead of us, to only allowed to play 2 tracks????? ( you just gotta smile and wave boys! )
How would you describe the SA music scene? Growing, with great potential! It is a very exciting time to be part off it! We love rocking out in SA.
What is Chasing Friday aiming to do during 2009? Dominate South Africa and the world....seriously!!! Also shoot our 2nd music vid, get onto 5fm and work with our chosen charity REACH FOR A DREAM!
What will you be doing during the 2010 World Cup? Apart from watching all the games, playing at one of them to. Listen out for our second single LET ME BE YOUR CHAMPION and you will know what i mean!
As a the first spotlight of the year I have decided to feature a doyen of SA music, someone you has wowed audience's since the mid eighties and the radio waves not long after. Wendy Oldfield began her music career in 1983 when the founder members of Sweatband, a small garage band which became one of the leaders of South Africa's 80's pack of rock bands that many swear was a golden age for this genre. Remember éVoid, Petit Cheval, Bright Blue, Tribe after Tribe and a band I always had a soft spot for, The Helicopters? The demise of Sweatband saw Wendy pursuing a solo career and I think it would be true to say that she has purposefully ensured that her productions remain genre non-specific. Five solo albums later and one reportedly in the works Wendy Oldfield is sure to remain in the country's consciousness for many years to come.Her style has become more 'worldy' as she has matured and her music has become celebratory African. Once known for her tireless gigging, at one stage averaging over 100 appearances a year over a 15 year period, she has so many other projects, and of course a family, so catching her live, particular here in Cape Town is now something you cannot afford to miss. This Saturday she is performing at a special venue a little way down the road from Eishman's abode. So if you are able, I strongly suggest spending a Saturday afternoon listening to one of South Africa's musical doyens at the Cape Farmhouse in the hamlet of Scarborough.
Even though jacSharp won HP's Design you personal life at the beginning of the year already, I must admit they have not been on my radar at all. However they are creating quite a buzz all of a sudden as they release their debut album Technicolor this month and quite rightly so.
Juliet Harding (Vocals and Keyboard), Emelio Gassibe (Bass), Ben Peters (Drums and Sampling) and Carl Wegelin (Guitars and Vocals) make up the band who put themselves into the Electro/Afro/Jazz/Pop/Rock genre. Personally I would reorganize this to Rock/Electro/Pop/Afro/Jazz. Man, I pity the music store assistants as they try and figure where to put the upcoming cd. As I write this, I am listening to the tracks they have posted on various sites and find myself backspacing and re-writing my descriptions. Their offerings are so diverse that I has actuall given up. Perhaps the only constant is that they are distinctively South African.
I enjoyed this bio from laodtheshow.com though:
What do you get when you mix an electronic drummer, rock/funk guitarist, afro/jazz bassist and a pop/jazz singer? A completely new, eclectic genre of music that's unique to Cape Town based band, jacSharp. If you dig to the core of this band, you will find something magical that has been built on a foundation of nothing but good times, good tunes and keen understanding of musical diversity. All of this has been melted down, mixed together and energetically thrown at their enthralled audiences.
Their debut album bash is on the 18th December @ the Assembly but they are embarking on a nationwide tour with Plush from tomorrow, so I strongly suggest you follow the links and give their tracks a listen and then make a note in your diary to go check them out when they are in your neck of the woods. Oh, and when visiting their website jacsharp.com you can download the title track of the new album Technicolour (check the SA spelling!) for free, gratis. Well worth the visit.
I started the Friday SA Music spotlight as a vehicle to share artists I have come across, most often on the web, that my readers may not yet know about. I hope to excite my readers as the discover talent on their doorstep that they have not yet experienced. And I am proud to say that most times I get feedback from new fans thanking me for the discovery and from the artist, appreciative of the extra exposure. However, I am acutely aware that many, many visitors are not South African residents. So very often, musicians that have become a household name here in sunny SA, have little exposure elsewhere in the world and there is space for my international readers to discover music we hear on our major radio station's playlists on a daily basis. Hence, the spotlight has fallen on Watershed, Louise Carver, The Parlotones and now it falls on Jesse Clegg. To say he has burst onto the music scene is a bit of an understatement. Although he has been touring since 1988, it must be made clear that this was also the year of his birth, and the many performances he made on stage during his formative years were only enjoyed by a select few ... roadies. While having Johnny Clegg as a dad must have a massive influence on your musical career, there is no comparison's that can be made in style, something dad has made very clear. In fact in an interview he admits that the tracks his son presented to him, sounded great, but he had no idea how this would fit into a genre he new nothing about. Although, how cool must it be that you father goes and gets a second opinion from David Gresham! Jesse's breakthrough single 'Today' debuted back on mid August, and literally took the charts by storm, however amazingly people are still discovering Jesse, and perhaps to his credit, are unaware of his pedigree. The rest of his album, "When I Wake Up" has a much more rock vibe than 'Today', but are all very listenable, middle of the road, yet classy rock tracks. I have made a habit of making comparisons so, how about Just Jinjer? All is that just the voice? That's probably to South African to assist non-Saffa's anyways. So take a listen to the sample on his website and you make you own comparisons (and feel free to share in the comments).
If I can just make one criticsm? Jesse, if you ore one of your people read this, please do something about your website! This is a vital portal for your fans, current and potential. Please add some other samples in to the auto media player on your site. As good as 'Today' is, a repeated sample can make it wear extremely thin.
Perhaps it's my natural, in-bred aversion to the genre he is most associated with, but I keep finding myself re-discovering Chris Chameleon's music and being re-surprised (I don't think this is actually correct English, but it is the best description I could come up with) at the quality of musicianship and the depth of lyrics.
Chris started his journey in 1997 as the bassist and front man for Boo! which received as fair bit of international fame before they disbanded on 2004. Although a prolific and successful Afrikaans singer/songwriter, his first English solo album 'Shine' was my first experience of his music and when my appreciation began to grow.
A true ... er .. chameleon, his music cannot be forced into any genre. There is a a whole load of rock, folk and acoustic thrown into his songs but not necessarily into the same ones.
For his latest single 'All of Me' he has released a video that is a collaborative Brighton based Shotopop and WIZZDesign in Paris who have created "emotionally charged visual journey set to a hauntingly beautiful vocal performance." It makes for awesome viewing while listening to yet another masterpiece. Check it out below.
Yet another Cape Town artist finds the spotlight this week. Matthew Gair, is a perfect example why I started the Friday SA music spotlight. There is so much talent in this country just waiting to burst into the 'big' time. However, one almost doesn't want someone of Matthew's caliber to be discovered. Once you hear his compositions you want to keep them in a safe place, ready and waiting for that discussion when you can show those around you, what you have or know that they don't. To describe his music and give those who have not heard it a reference, think Glen Hansard's 'Once' soundtrack, beat David Gray down to his most raw or imagine Jack Johnson after he has spent a few years in the mother city.
I can't wait to catch his next gig.
As an extra bonus SA's Overtone music (a great site btw) is offering his album 'and She whispered I Told You So' for free download. I strongly suggest you do so, enjoy it and go out and get the next one he is currently working on immaediately it is available. Then you can say, I knew of Matthew Gair before he was a mega-star!
I first came across Autopilot on the disappointing SABC tv show Pump up the Volume. Their slightly alternative rock sound was probably the best thing the 'show' had going for them.
Shane Coomber, Kevin Sykes, Brigette Greybe, Nicholas Oebell & Wihan Pretorius make up this Cape Town band that has been around since 2005. There sound has changed a bit over time particularly since vocalist Brigitte joined. To be honest I haven't heard the pre-Brigitte Autopilot, but am extremely grateful that her beautiful, but sufficiently raw voice has been given a platform.
They have gradually been growing their fan base and importantly for Eish!! have really being using the internet. They have songs available to podcasters to play and promote at the Podsafe Music Network, the obligatory MySpace page and are using Facebook to communicate to their fans.
As luck would have it they, have just updated their own website this week! It's a great improvement on the previous version and I will be popping in from time to time as I am particularly interested to see what appears on the promised Media page.
They are currently in line to be included in the massive Virgin Festival in December, so if you enjoy what you here click here and give them a vote.
Deciding what or who to select for any week's week's Friday SA Music Spotlight is difficult as there is so many talented musicians in this country and so many different genre's in which individuals and collaborators excel. Having said that, this week I have decided to stick with the Afro-Jazz genre, because highlighting my chosen artist will hopefully assist her in gaining a few votes. More about that later.
Although Verity has long been the darling of the online world and was first featured in this feature six months ago, her story is currently been told all over South African mainstream media at the moment. A by-product of her success is the funding received by the Live Your Dreams Foundation from her Lucky Packet Project. 5.3% of every cd she sells goes to this project which in turn currently funds the foundation, providing financial assistance SA musicians realise their dreams. The first recipient of this assistance was Mimi Ntenjwa exactly a year ago.
Mimi's silky smooth voice (to use an old cliché) fits the jazz genre perfectly, taking you to a place where you are sitting in a cane chair with big comfortable cushions, cocktail in the hand and a white sandy beach just a few steps away. Mimi is starting to become a star in her own right and I have noticed how many other musicians have mentioned playing with her on their online cv.s. Being recognised by your peers in this industry is something not many achieve in such a short period of time.
So how can you help her gain votes?
She has been nominated in no less than three categories in this years Metro FM music awards. These awards allow for public participation, so you can sms your vote to, hopefully, influence the outcome. Click the Myspace link below, and should the sound of 'Goodbye Loneliness' resonate with you follow these instructions (SA Only) before the 22nd October.
Categories : Best Female, Best Newcomer, Best Jazz To Vote SMS: Category (eg Best Jazz), Mimi to 34764.
It's been a while since I shared a South African musical gem. The irony been that along worth 'real world' work pressures, much of my free time has been taken up with experiencing various of our country's crop of talented musicians live. No regrets there.
Unfortunately I have not experienced this week's featured artist live ... yet. I have been following Black Porcelain's journey on her blog Music, Life and Music for a long while, and it was with great excitement that, after not visiting for too long, I read that she has posted a few singles from her EP "Green" @ Myspace for us all to hear.
I have been struggling to categorise her music style, especially as her musical inspirations seem rather diverse, and really don't want to compare to Lira as this may be a little unfair. The sound is a little afro-jazzy, but with a hint of hip-hop here and there and there is just a small bit of pop infused in there as well... ok, if you enjoyed Lira (and I know many readers did!) then you will appreciate Black Porcelain's compositions. I capitulate!
If you have been a regular reader of Eish!! One Day Remains will be well known to you. First featured on the 3rd April 2007 when they unwittingly burst onto the international independent media scene. Since then we have followed their path to becoming SA's premier hard rock outfit. They are not yet, but with 'Sins, Convictions & Confessions,' their debut album about to hit the shelves and a track from this album 'Never say die' just having being chosen as the soundtrack to SuperSport's Vodacom Tri-Nations advertising campaign, they could be at the top very soon.
As we continue our journey through the varied and dynamic SA music landscape, we pause at an interesting artist making his presence felt in a genre we haven't highlighted yet @ Eish!!
Ninja, recently signed to independent label Sotho Mafia and is currently recording his debut album. Not having any expertise in the Kwaito/Hip Hop/Hard Ass Rap genre, I asked for some input from the label. Here is the reply, directly from the keyboard of the artist ...
“Don’t get it twisted I'm not your average mreppa.Eazy just, that dude, mr see ha ke go feta. Life is too short to wait. So I’m always on the move Get I right.im here for good I’ll never go back. I didn’t build this city but I want my own plek. Yeah another Maftown rapper.Tshepiso,Ninja,Mixed Breed...Funny how u turn a hobby into a career. I don’t wat the first hip hop track I heard was. but what I do know is I've been into it for bells. from the time I was called "lemy man" to "lehipi" to "lenigga" now ke "mreppa".MHS where I started spitting at school shows. and then formed a crew "Sotho Mafia”. which is now the record label I run with. Now with all the fooling around it got crazy when I recently featured on Morafe's 2nd album "a e ne",9mm logo...alongside some of Maftowns sickest mc'z.K.T,Thainouko and Gomez...I was recently approached by glen sebeelo (my producer,skeem sa ka) to work with him on my album. Then went to Cape Town where I worked with Lungelo.Im ready to take ova.me,I follow the birds.up.Now,tswala matlho,relax n breath.”
He has put a few tracks on his MySpace page as a preview , click the link below and give them a listen, it'll get you into the weekend vibe.
PS : (For those of you who struggled with Ninja's reply, I put the quoted text above through the Google Translation Ringer and got this result :
Failure to do so twisted I am not the average mreppa.Eazy just that dude, M. See ha go feta. Life is too short to wait. So I am always moving, I right.im here for my good will never go back. I have built this city, but I want my plek. Yes another Maftown rapper.Tshepiso, Ninja, mixed race ... Humor and how to turn a hobby into a career. I am not that the first piece of hip-hop, was heard. but what I know is that I was there for bells. since I have asked "lemy man" to "lehipi" to "lenigga" now "to mreppa." MHS where I began spitting at school shows. and then formed a crew "Sotho mafia". which is now the signal to run. Now, with all the mistakes around him was crazy when recently Morafe 2 nd album "ae do," 9 mm logo ... Maftowns alongside sick mc'zKT, Thainouko and Gomez ... I was recently approached by Glen sebeelo (my producer, Skeem for you) to work with him on my album. It then went to Cape Town, where I worked with Lungelo.Im ready to take ova.me, I am the birds.up.Now, tswala matlho, relax n breath.
In my quest to find a broad spectrum of genres for the Friday SA Music Spotlight, I decided to look for something a little more electronic. And I succeeded in finding yet another Cape Town local, albeit only since 2004! Micheal Martin plays a style of dance that can only be labeled as organic trance. His early didgeridoo playing has definitely influenced has compositions. I found myself suitably entranced. His album Align is full quality tracks my favourite being Transgenesis. Incidentally the track has been placed on the Podsafe Music Network so let's hope he gets some nice international exposure ala One Day remains.
I promised some readers something a little harder this week ... Rising from the ashes of SA band Tweak in 2006 Crash Car Burn have become arguably SA's premier punk rock band. They have paid their dues in Europe and continue to do so on the local festival scene, and continue to build a larger and larger following as well creating an awareness in the overseas markets via mainstream media avenues like MTVU's The Freshmen. You get the feeling that they are building towards a break through track that is going to see them hit the big time. However, in my humble opinion they haven't found yet. What I have heard from them is awesome but perhaps a little generic for the genre they find themselves. They need to find something within themselves that distinguishes them from the pack, not just locally, but globally.
Having said all that, they have continued to grow and become a tighter unit and their melodies more complex, and it is only a matter of time before that killer track blasts them into the stratosphere. There offerings rock, and can compete with the best the world has to offer.
Jax Panic is, Jacobus Johannes van Heerden, is an oke from Bellville, Cape Town.
He has been billed as SA's first online musician, releasing his music in the online space only. Reading several write-ups and his own biography there has been a stream of thought that his music is somewhat emo-ish. I don't get that, "A sexy mix of pop, rock, and electro, with catchy hooks", Yes. In fact there is a whole load eighties pop group 'Yes' stuck deep down is his sound. It's a great blast from the past for those who remember the late eighties mix of artists. For someone who bought some cheap software and started recording and programming his own tracks the sound is rich and just complex enough for the discerning listener to keep listening long enough to appreciate the mix and lyrics but still poppy and catchy enough to be appreciated by the masses. Kind of like a thinking man's Mika!
Click here for to download his track 'Cigarettes and Cinnamon' from 24.com
Friday SA Music Spotlight - The Parlotones special on BBC
I am going to cheat and repeat a South African artist already highlighted on the Eish!! Friday SA music spotlight; The Parlatones. The reason is simple. They were the featured band on BBC Bristol's Morning Glory. The show was aired last Saturday and is currently available to listen online until this Saturday.So you do not have too long left to catch it, if you are interested. The boys did an in-studio set and an interview with Andy Howard.
The show is available on the BBC iPlayer until Saturday 10th May - http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/ - click on "Listen Again", look for Morning Glory with Andy Howard..
I also really enjoy their video "I'll be there", so thought I would share it with you. This adds to their an awesome collection music videos that tell the story of the songs in a clever, quirky and visually flawless way.
It's a day early, but hey, it's the weekend. I know very little about this week's artist. Pat The Dog is the creative oulet of Ray Goodfellow, a singer/songriter from Durban in South Africa. All Songs have been recorded at his home studio. He has managed to get played on a few podcasts around the world since he joined the Mevio (formerly Podshow). I enjoyed the simple guitar driven medleys. It will be nice to hear more from Ray AKA Ray.
As I began my travels through the web-o-sphere deciding on this week's SA Music artist, I browsed through Peak Performances' artist catalogue. (for the first time I'm ashamed to say) As the first notes of Verity's single 'Perfect' came through my pc's speakers I knew it would be an easy decision. The fact that she comes from my neck of the woods and claims to have been inspired to write her first song on the beach down the road helped make the decision even easier.
Doing my homework, I found that she is quietly pushing the music scene here in an interesting direction. Ideate.co.za did an interview with her earlier this month where she explained how she has gone about financing her upcoming album. She is pre-selling her album online and has already managed to pre-sell over 1700 cd's (Eishman's copy is #1703). While this doesn't sound remarkable, it must be explained that the pre-selling is in fact financing the production of the cd. Those buying the album before release are called official "Future Owners" and given the power to help choose the songs that will appear on the album as well as assist with the choice design of the album art. Thus becoming intimately involved in the development of the product. Further to this 10.6% of every album sold will be given to two worthy organisations People Opposing Woman Abuse & Live Your Dreams Foundation.
She currently has 21 songs you can give a listen on her website. Here adult contemporary style is reminiscent of early Jewel with heavy us of piano and acoustic guitar. She also has a few overly poppy tunes on the current playlist, 'Don't look back' as an example of one such song, but on the whole her compositions are easy listening with meaningful lyrics. My personal favourites being 'Perfect' and 'Box of photographs', with '18 holes' sure to get overtake them with a wee bit of extra production. But hey, you be the judge, take a listen and you can help her create a masterpiece!
I am just a normal Joe Shmo sharing my views, web travels, experiences and gems I have found with you all. Of course the focus is on the Motherland, South Africa, with a bit of bias towards Cape Town, from time to time.
I saw these guys interviewed on some local Dstv show and really liked their personalities. Their knowledge of the local music scene within their genre and the energy they exude, oddly in a super laid back way, caught my attention.
