It’s been around a year since I wrote about South African band P.H. Fat, but they’re back – with a new EP, a new website, and the start of their national album tour. After the release of their debut album Dinosaur Blood last year, the group decided to release their follow-up EP – You Are Going To Die – independently and for free via their new website. If fans choose, they can make a contribution through the site. “The traditional music distribution model is a thing of the past, and with it so is the album per year model.” Instead, Mike, Disco & Narch plan to release new material with more regularity, keeping their fans happy – so happy that the site’s servers struggled to handle the amount of traffic on release day.
The new EP has the same unique electronic bass – rap that P.H. Fat is known for, despite its’ members growing up listening to punk rock. The band officially formed in 2008, but it took a few years to solidify their sounds. In a recent interview the band opened up about the production and studio time behind You Are Going To Die. “It was made a lot faster than ‘Dinosaur Blood’ which took us like… twenty two years to make (it was our first album). We also made the silly decision to make it in the middle of summer which was a mistake because my studio doesn’t have air-con. But it was fun as hell… it was just us hanging out making music we enjoy again.We’re kind of just making music and if people want to enjoy it that’s cool. The title is about presenting the idea that your own death is a certainty; which is just about the only message we can give to the world with any certainty.”
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
I wrote about Johannesburg native Spoek Mathambo’s first EP of “township tech” music back in June, and this talented musician continues to impress me. He makes the Afro-futurists look old school. With the arrival of his second album, Father Creeper on March 13, he’s one man building up an army to make his creative visions reality, rewriting artistic laws. The title Father Creeper is a reference to a classic in the world of sleazy South African tv jingles . Spoek embarks on a nation-wide tour of the US in March around the release of the album. Take a look at Spoek Mathambo the artist, and the making of Father Creeper.
The South African release of Father Creeper comes a month ahead of four South African performance dates in April 2012 (details to be announced shortly). These will follow hot on the heels of major North American dates including showcases at SXSW, a Canadian Music Week festival performance and shows in New York. All of this follows the release in December, of Spoek’s Nombolo One project, a collaboration with Theo Tuge and Ayanda Sithole in tribute to South African afro-pop, including the lead single “Melodi” featuring The Frown.
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
Jam Jarr is one-half Bakaman and one-half Rubix Qube. Half hip-hop, half trance but in no way a combination of the two. Jam Jarr is fresh, nu-age South African glitch come hop come dub come kwaito, with a full head of bass. Rubix Qube (aka Keiron Grieve aka Soundproof aka Phat Planet aka one part of Biorythm) makes the beats, with six years experience under his belt as an internationally-touring trance DJ/producer, and Bakaman (Paul Stubbs) provides the rhymes and vocals, having previously been a member of other glitched-out rap groups Chamber Concept and Spitshine. Together the duo create awesome tracks, but are equally as impressive solo, or collaborating with other artists. The duo explains the meaning behind their name as, “A name that spoke to the no-holds barred nature of our music, as well as the gob-smacking potency of it, and the mixture of our two different, yet similar musical backgrounds. Jam Jar was the result, and for some extrra flavor, and extrra R. And now we arre Jam Jarr.”
Their first EP – Fat Fruit – was released on African Dope Records in October 2010, and their second – I Am The Danger – is available in the Online African Dope Store now. Since their beginning Jam Jarr has created great tracks, collected a loyal following and played at many of the best clubs in South Africa. Their latest track “Zombie Guts” is sure to be a crowd pleaser at their show this Friday February 3rd at Die Mystic Boer in Stellenbosch.
It’s easy to tell this duo produces great track for the simple love of music. In a recent interview they were asked to explain why they chose music as a career, “There was no other choice. Music called and neither of us have hung up the phone yet. If you want a life of financial security and solid future prospects, don’t pick up the microphone, and take your fingers off the decks. The digital age has made it all the easier for independent artists and labels to get their music out, but it’s also meant that music is usually lost in the sea of all the other crap that’s flying around, let alone the gargantuan quantities of music itself. Still. Some things are just too good to pass by, so here we are, riding the wave of digital uncertainty, and over-abundance. Godspeed to us all.”
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
Pierre-Henri van Pletzen, known affectionately as Peach created Yesterday’s Pupil originally as a side project while he was the drummer in SHU. New listeners were immediately struck by the smooth, haunting vocals, the incredibly diverse production skills and the depth of the song-writing displayed by “SHU’s drummer/backing vocalist”. Yesterday’s Pupil played his first live show in October 2007, and released his first full-length album, Errors of Enthusiasm, in October 2008. Rogan Kelsey of Lapdust Audio Mastering called it “the most eccentric album” he had ever mastered (an impressive claim when considering Rogan’s equally impressive list of clients). From that moment, Peach cascaded into a two-year mission of almost unbelievably diverse collaboration, performance and production in every corner and niche of the South African music scene, crowned with a scattering of international shows. Since 2007, Peach has worked on many projects including performing at the Soccer World Cup Opening Ceremony with Tumi Molekane at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
Every part of Yesterday’s Pupil’s new album will be made available for free download. The plan is to release it in five parts – one every two months. The first part, Singularity, contains two singles, of which “Too Tired to Disco” is the first. Dual, the second part of his new album, has just been released and consists of two singles, namely “The Beast” featuring Tumi Molekane and “Harm”. While recently recorded, the songs were written before those of Singularity, and are noticeably less poppy. Part 3 is set for release in March. In a recent interview Yesterday’s Pupil was asked why he decided to release the entire album for free through downloading – his response is an interesting take on the status of the music industry in general – “Music is free in one way or another. I decided I would prefer the fans to get the music directly from the source in a decent quality and format as opposed to some crappy youtube rip or something. It also connects you more with the fans. The position I was in I basically had to choose between some money or more fans and I chose the fans. This album is much much better in terms of song writing and production, I feel as though I have- or I am closer to finding my sound. The album will be released in five sequential parts with a two to three month interval in between. Each part will consist of two brand new original tracks accompanied by an artwork for each track as well as the lyrics and artist notes.”
I think the greatest thing about the format of Yesterday’s Pupil’s free download is the included extras in the Zip file. It’s easy download free music, but what I really miss is all the extra things that are included when you buy the album – like lyrics, artwork and writings from the musician about the music. Well – it’s all here. Here’s an excerpt from the artist notes under documents in the download from Part 1 – about “Too Tired to Disco.”
I wrote Too tired to disco in 4 hours, the whole thing done except for mixing of course. The mixing process got done in pieces over a course of fourteen months. I know this sounds absurd, but I was so busy with other jobs that I couldn’t always find time to work on my own material. When I did find the time, I used it for writing and recording new songs as opposed to mixing. But nonetheless here it is for all to enjoy for free.
I love the insight into what went into making the song – I highly recommend getting both Part 1 and 2 – and while it’s downloading check out the video for “Too Tired to Disco.”
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
Formed in 2005 Mugshot is an indie rock band from Johannesburg, South Africa that recently released their second album Broken Finger. Despite multiple changes in the original line-up the band had a growing fan base and released their first album, Sixes and Sevens in 2009. The follow up Sophomore album has received great acclaim to date – and the track “KidWithAMatch” is available for a free through soundcloud this week. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources it is easy to see that the band has many influences. Asked about bands that inspire them in a recent interview they responded, “We love all styles of music, old and new: The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Tears for Fears, The Pixies, Tom Waitts, Radiohead, The Kills, The Police, Pearl Jam, Miles Davis, should we keep going?”
Erupting with a myriad of genres such as classic pop, rock, jazz, folk and soul, Broken Finger is soothing on the ears and bubbling with a slow burning excellence. This album is, for the lack of a better word, haunting. It’s like the soundtrack to an autumn day. While the band toys around with the delicate crossing of genres, incorporating a variety of instruments, the one constant is the vocals of Grant Sissons. His melodies chime throughout this release, bringing a reassuring familiarity to the diverse songs. Mugshot incorporates a great free flow sensibility to their shows with an unmissable energy and musicianship. With all of this and the ability to pen tight, catchy lyrics Mugshot are most definitely on the cusp of great things.
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
In March I wrote about an up and coming band from Cape Town – GoodLuck – which has continued to produce new electro – swing music. Almost two years after combining their passion for good music, Ben Peters and Juliet Harding have been enchanting crowds with their new wave of live electronics. There is a power to their music that lifts and energizes you. They have just released the dramatic, cinematic music video for their new single “Stars In My Eyes.” Directed by Kyle Lewis from Dirty Soul Productions, the portrayal was shot in Cape Town in December 2011. The video pays homage to the last 72 hours of legendary female icon, Marilyn Monroe’s (played by Tinarie Van Wyk) life.
The song lyrics are reflective and while the song is mainly about growing up in our country and wanting the best outcome for that country. The video also echos the sentiments of looking back on a happy time and having a heart filled with hope for the future. Even though this story ends tragically, the legacy Marilyn Monroe left in the world shows how a bitter/sweet life and spirit can still have a massive impact on history and even today. “All stars, no matter how bright they shine, feel pain, longing and have real, human experiences. This lady had an incredible, dramatic and short life but she lived, loved, cried and screamed and was as real as you and me.” says Ben Peters, producer of GoodLuck. The video’s original release date coincided with the film, ‘My Week With Marilyn’ staring Michelle Williams. GoodLuck will be playing at Cape Town Tens, Hamiltons Rugby Club in Green Point on February 3rd!
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
After a chance meeting in 2007, Pascal Ellinas and Dave Pearce began the long winding road that is now the stellar production and DJ duo of Pascal & Pearce. Their sets have been described as energetic and enthusiastic – pretty much your perfect dance DJs. Both Dave and Pascal have very diverse backgrounds in music, which combined with their love for the industry provides an abundance of energy which is both seen and felt by the crowd. With each song chosen to perfection, a rich blend of original tracks and world-class floor killers, it keeps the crowd going non-stop. Having played at top clubs around South Africa, and a number of big events – including Earthdance, G&G Rage and the 5FM NYE rooftop party – Pascal & Pearce know how to work a dance floor. These talented guys are continuously working on their sound in a way that is both organic and constantly evolving. The duo was spotted in production last year in Red Bull’s Studio. With some new gear to toy with including electronic drum kits, the boys working process became an onslaught of Electro-house magic.
Over the past 18 months the duo has created a loyal following doing official remixes of some of World & South Africa’s biggest artists including: Martin Solveig, Nadia Ali, Roger Sanchez, Wretch 32 Feat Example, TV Rock, Ian Carey, Above & Beyond, Locnville, Goldfish, Flash Republic, Zebra & Giraffe & Goodluck. Their debut album Passport features their distinctive electronic beats and includes collaborations with vocalists including: Michelle Breeze, Yoav, Louise Carver & Swedish rapper Lazee. Check out the official video for “Days Go By,” off Passport.
By: Elizabeth Stene | Beat-Play Ambassador South Africa | @LizMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
