Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Pops Mohamed arrives in Cape Town
I am just on my way to the airport to fetch Pops Mohamed, who will be coming to stay with us for a night or two.Pops is feeling a burst of creativity, and is wanting to collaborate on a new album with Dizu Plaatjies from Ibuyambo (and ex-Amampondo), and so Dizu and his wife will be coming to supper tonight - yes, Lenny enjoys cooking up a storm for as many people as she can, and if there is music involved, all the better!
Pops is bringing me lots of new marketing material, which you can be sure that I will be featuring here over the coming days!
I am also going to be getting some DVD's now, before the airport, from one of our VJ's Inka Kenzia, who recently appeared with the Kalahari Surfers, Dizu, Lungiswa & Friends at Red Bull's Hangar 7, in Austria - so lots more live footage to get excited about!
Labels: Amampondo, Dizu Plaatjies, Ibuyambo, Inka, Kalahari Surfers, Lungiswa Plaatjies, music, Pops Mohamed, traditional
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Kalahari Surfers and Friends for Red Bull
Yesterday we stuck our heads in at the final rehearsal in Cape Town between Warrick Sony from the Kalahari Surfers, Dizu Plaatjies (Ibuyambo), Lulu (Lungiswa Plaatjies pictured right with Warrick)), Xolani Gongxeka and Xoliswa Tom for another very exciting international project. At a time when South Africa is once again making an impact on the international stage – congratulations to the Soweto Gospel Choir for their Grammy Award for Best World Music album – it is exciting to feel a part of marketing these exciting projects from our country to the rest of the world.
This South African world music ensemble had come together before setting off for Salzburg Austria today at 17h00, to perform at Red Bull’s Hangar 7, for three performances – on the 16th, 17th and 21st of Feb. They are going to be joined in Austria by artists from Zip Zap Circus, and will be collaborating for one spectacular Aerial Scarf act, bringing together all the South African influences.
They have been invited to perform there as part of the exhibition titled – Turbulence – Art from South Africa , with exhibits by artists Sanell Aggenbach, Conrad Botes, Nicholas Hlobo, Ledelle Moe (pictured left is Heads: Collapse II, 2004 - Concrete, steel, oil), Samson Mudzunga, Brett Murray, Johannes Phokela, Lyndi Sales and Joachim Schonfeldt (the exhibit lasts from 17 February to 11 April 2007). And there is some amazing material out on show! We naturally are very excited to be involved with the mixing of musical styles again; the Kalahari Surfers electronic sound combined with traditional percussion, drumming and vocals, bringing together the old and the new.
All these artists have incredible experience with this kind of project, having done similar things with Juno Reactor, the African Dope crew, and other genre’s like Jazz, Gospel and . Add to this ensemble Inka Kendzia, who as VJ will be projecting African images and animation to the music, and I guarantee that the audience is going to be blown away! (I will be doing a feature in Inka as soon as she returns!) .
This rehearsal video is a little dark and grainy, and the music is very much in its infancy stages, but it gives you a good idea of how these artists compliment each other. There is also a very interesting little interview with Dizu for French TV5’s Mondomix – and I will be getting some more footage later this week of other shows!
Take it easy folks!
Labels: Aerial Scarf, African, African Dope Records, Dizu Plaatjies, electronica, Inka, jazz, Juno Reactor, Kalahari Surfers, Soweto Gospel Choir, traditional, world music, Zip Zap
Friday, February 09, 2007
Mogwana Dance Troupe - Botswana
It’s an early, and very rainy, Friday morning. I have been editing video tonight of totally different genre’s; Shannon Mowday Shannon Mowday playing at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in 2005; some laid back footage of her with Jeremy Olivier and friends; and then suddenly the Mogwana Dance Troupe from Gaborone, Botswana. It’s a definite case of world’s apart, but then I am sure Shannon could even spice their shows up with her musical mind!The Mogwana Dance Troupe is a group of artists dedicated to preserving the traditional dance of Botswana, and other area’s of Southern Africa. It’s not an easy project to do in these modern days of instant-electronica, where especially the youth, look away from their traditions in striving to be the coolest cat on the block.
Artists like Dizu Plaatjies, Amampondo and Madosini are the same artistic sort of archives; essentially keeping their cultures alive by allowing them to grow – against all odds; while artists like Thandiswa Mazwai really looked to connect the traditional with the modern sounds that she also felt connected to and the Kalahari Surfers keep traditional music as a solid base for very funky sounds.
But for a traditional dance group it is more difficult. Your audiences are more limited, and because of the amount of dancers that take part in dances, the size of the groups mostly prevent them from traveling too far from their home base.
The Mogwana Dance Troupe, started in 1991, has been fortunate having had the opportunities, in that they have been able to travel internationally and so been able to continue growing. They have created a DVD to promote not only themselves, but their traditions, and have toured countries like the USA, Canada, China, South Africa, Namibia and Swaziland, picking up numerous awards over the years.There is always such a warming rhythm to traditional celebratory dances; where you can’t help letting your head bop along like one of those dashboard doggies. In this video clip, the Mokomoto dance comes from the North-East region of Botswana, and is mostly danced at celebrations like weddings. Both the men and the women take part in it, and it’s a happy dance because it is the welcoming of the bride by the grooms family.
I hope what ever celebrations you get to enjoy this weekend, you’re able to enjoy them enough to want to do a little shuffle and bop, with fingers clicking! And make it safe!
Labels: Amampondo, botswana, Dizu Plaatjies, Kalahari Surfers, Madosini, Mogwana Dance, Shannon Mowday, Thandiswa Mazwai, traditional
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Kalahari Surfers at In-San-ity
It’s late Sunday night, and I am preparing for the week ahead. Last week we were very busy, and though not all of it was fun and games, there were some good shows that we presented around the country – it just left us feeling very drained at the end of it all and in need of a good break.One of my oldest performing friends, Abe Thomas from the Starlight Rhythms, or as most people know him – the guy with the trumpet from the Waterfront – performed as a surprise at a 70th birthday party on Saturday; Arno Carstens and his band got a party going in East London on Friday (even after he had been incorrectly billed as the Springbok Nude Girls - tut tut tut); Zolani Mkiva, the Poet of Africa, and official praise-singer at Nelson Mandela and both of Thabo Mbeki’s inaugurations, appeared for us at the Mount Nelson – so lots of interesting things.
The girls had to do a fair amount of over-time in the office last week when we had a number of hiccups, but these things happen when dealing with the ‘human element’, and we are just happy that when things do go wrong, we strive to solve the problem before panicking! Once everything is back on track its always a good idea to go out and shout at the heavens, dance a jig of madness or jump into my freezing swimming pool!
Which is of course why I am preparing for the coming week!
I was very happy to read more about an upcoming festival, wonderfully titled the ‘In-San-ity Khoisan Benefit Festival’ happening at Clanwilliam in the Cederberg from 13 – 15 October. We just happen to have booked some camping sites at the dam, so will definitely be popping in to see some of S.A.’s coolest acts.Who can turn their nose up at Goldfish, the Kalahari Surfers, Hog Hoggidy Hog, Godessa, Pops Mohamed and even 109 year-old !Gube Tee Tee from SanScapes and Bushmen of the Kalahari fame! There are over 80 groups appearing over the 3 days, with loads of stuff happening around the festival to make it an awesome weekend.
Len & I talk about the fact that when we were living in Holland there were African music festivals happening in every corner of that small country – when at home, in South Africa, at the bottom of the continent that has been the flavour to the rest of the world for years now, there are such a few!
So here’s a track to celebrate the In-San-ity team and all their efforts! It’s Gangsta by the Kalahari Surfers and Mdu Mbutuma from the Akasic Record, released by the African Dope Records crew – Have a great week people!
Labels: Arno Carstens, godessa, goldfish, Hog Hoggidy Hog, Kalahari Surfers, Pops Mohamed, Starlight Rhythms, Zolani Mkiva
Friday, July 28, 2006
Kalahari Surfers - Kicked by the ball
While at Milestone Studio's last week with Robert Trunz, we bumped into Warrick of the Kalahari Surfers. He is the sole remaining member of the group that started making music as a string of studio projects in 1982, and is still on the fore-front of electronic music today.The Kalahari Surfers have been pushing the limits of South African music for over two decades pioneering the use of filtered beats, tape loops, exotic samples and old school electronica in SA music at a time when everyone still thought the electric guitar was cool.
Warrick says,"Being a white English South African means being schizophrenic. It means not having a firm foot in any culture, but it also means being privileged to be exposed to many wildly diverse aspects of social life. A tapestry of influences."He's established a massive reputation as film scorer, sound designer, african music dj, album producer and collaborater with the likes of Massive Attack, MELT 2000 and Greg Hunter.
In 2000 Warrick produced Akasic Record (ADOPECD004) through African Dope Records, and he once again set the standards so high that a whole new generation of musicians are looking to him for inspiration. (Kicked by the ball was produced by Inka Kendzia @ MEME - always amazing stuff)
Labels: African Dope Records, Inka, Kalahari Surfers, MELT, Milestone Studios
