Friday, January 26, 2007
Tinariwen - from the deserts of Mali
Yesterday was so hot, it seemed like we had all gone to hell! It was impossible for any straight thinking; crazy to even try and move a muscle in the heat; and no matter how many times the office jumped in the pool, it just didn’t make it any cooler, or easier, to think. I did find a very pleasant place to spend the previous evening – we took the boys to the Spur at West Coast Village (right), where they had an ingenious way of keeping the customers cool. With a water-pipe, and small spray nozzles, a heavy mist would be sprayed into the air above us every 15-minutes, making us all feel like we were fresh produce at Fruit & Veg City – who use a similar method of keeping the veggies looking fresh! And it really works at keeping the air cooler, and us sitting at the table longer.
Talking about hot stuff, we had a great meeting yesterday with Heidi da Sousa – Craig da Sousa’s wife and manager – who has now taken over the management of one of our firm favourites, the sexy sounding Iridium Project.
They have had a slight change in membership, seeing Mario Parmeggiani return to Italy (for love) and Craig taking his place for local, and soon, international gigs. The group is planning a tour of Europe later in the year, with another Cape musical powerhouse, Goldfish (pictured left), and we will be assisting them in finding more gigs across the continent at club’s, festivals & of course all those S.A. corporate’s that are missing home so much! I am also very excited that Iridium Project is working on their 2nd album, expected around August 2007, which is pretty impressive; if you consider that it took almost 6-years to complete their first!
So, now, as it’s a wonderfully cool Friday, I thought I would feature something very funky, and well, cool!
Tinariwen (Tamashek for ‘empty places’), a group of traditional musicians from the deserts of Mali, have been making waves on the international performing circuit with their incredibly ‘hip’ style of music, called Tishoumaren – meaning literally ‘music of the unemployed’. Tinariwen was started in 1982, in Moammar al-Qadhafi’s camps for Tuareg rebels; their music’s main theme being of their desire for independence from the government of Mali, after almost a century of clashes with governments and colonial masters, who wished to control them.
As camel riding nomads, the Tuareg differ notably from most other Moslem cultures, in that it is the men who cover their faces with a veil, or Tagelmust – an indigo blue dyed strip of cotton that can be up to 10 meters long forming both veil & turban - when they reach maturity. Their society is also matrilineal – meaning that they draw decent from their mother’s line, as opposed to a patriarchal society.
Tinariwen released many cassettes in their first 18-years, but released their first CD outside of Africa in December 2000. Since then they have appeared at a number of World Music festivals around the world, having been one of the highlights of the 2004 WOMAD Festival in Reading, U.K. (where Amampondo also appeared), and I am really looking forward to their 2007 album ‘Aman Iman’ – already being touted by BBC Radio 3’s Andy Kershaw as 2007’s album of the year (and that was in 2006!).
So enjoy this little video – Tinariwen is the only Tuareg musical group to make use of the electrical guitar – and remember that this is just another slice of the wonderful African music cake! Tinariwen - Amassakoul 'n' Tenere & Chet Boghassa
Labels: craig da sousa, goldfish, iridium project, mali, tinariwen, tuareg, world music
Monday, November 06, 2006
Freshlyground win MTV Africa award!
What a beautiful Monday, after a little bit of a cold front swinging past the Cape this weekend. It also seemed to affect the internet, as we were down for most of it, which is why it was quiet from this side.But just because I am quiet doesn’t mean the world stopped turning - there was so much happening; Freshlyground becoming the first South Africans to win the MTV Award for Africa on Thursday night in Copenhagen; Australia drawing against Wales in rugby, but then utterly destroying the West Indies in India during the Champions Trophy final; Saddam Hussein being sentenced to death by hanging; and our very own shaky Shaik's having his appeal turned down! Lots to keep us entertained!
Apart from that, we are still coming to terms with the passing of P.W. and whether he deserved to have our flag flown at half-mast in his honour; we wait in anticipation to see whether the NPA will be bringing new charges against Jacob Zuma; and finally whether the Americans have finally come to their own Rubicon and will vote the Democrats in…
Ultimately – I think we should celebrate Freshlyground and what they have achieved. It’s a milestone, and one that we should all be proud of - even if Doo Bee Doo irritates the hell out of me. I like it that they beat a whole lot of Nigerian artists. Damn, they actually beat a whole lot of African artists to get there!
So today I will let you enjoy one of their newer videos – I’d like. I’d like to see more and more South African groups making it internationally, but in the meantime, groups like Freshlyground, Goldfish, Seether and Just Jinjer are paving the way!
Labels: freshlyground, goldfish, Just Jinjer, MTV, Seether
Friday, October 20, 2006
iaminawe - show reel 2006
I have mentioned the iaminawe crew a few times this last week – Gregg and I have had some contact, as he is going to be assisting me with upgrading my websites at the beginning of November. (Whoohooo - excitement!) Angella is visiting her family in Canada, and I am sure will be visiting the UK too, so poor Gregg is pretty snowed under at the moment.
I love hearing that small companies are too busy for words.
The funky thing about Gregg, is that he is not only a pretty pro animator – having produced works for artists such as David Kramer and Goldfish, and the Corne & Twakkie comedy duo, but he is a very good VJ – that’s a Visual DJ for those who thought it sounded abit strange: an artist who accompanies a regular DJ or band, and produces visual images to compliment the music.
Iaminawe's high quality motion graphics and animations can be used for a variety of different mediums for broadcast, live events and also web delivery. And in order for Gregg to be able to create the animations he does, he needs Angella's illustrations and design - and what a pro?! She has developed such a unique style, that no mater how different the product, you can feel Angella's vision making it alive. You can see some of their work here, but know it involves some crazy creativeness!
These were some cliches Angella and Gregg created for our Freedom to Celebrate range of CD's & DVD's (more info coming soon) - and without them The African Music Collective would've been drab!
So whether in design, or as a funky VJ combination, they are pure artistic expression. Incorporating live footage into the visual mix, and abit of style and professionalism iaminawe is all of the above and more.
Check out their show reel for 2006 – and all of us at Peak hope you enjoy your weekend as much as we plan on doing!
I love hearing that small companies are too busy for words.
The funky thing about Gregg, is that he is not only a pretty pro animator – having produced works for artists such as David Kramer and Goldfish, and the Corne & Twakkie comedy duo, but he is a very good VJ – that’s a Visual DJ for those who thought it sounded abit strange: an artist who accompanies a regular DJ or band, and produces visual images to compliment the music.
Iaminawe's high quality motion graphics and animations can be used for a variety of different mediums for broadcast, live events and also web delivery. And in order for Gregg to be able to create the animations he does, he needs Angella's illustrations and design - and what a pro?! She has developed such a unique style, that no mater how different the product, you can feel Angella's vision making it alive. You can see some of their work here, but know it involves some crazy creativeness!
These were some cliches Angella and Gregg created for our Freedom to Celebrate range of CD's & DVD's (more info coming soon) - and without them The African Music Collective would've been drab!So whether in design, or as a funky VJ combination, they are pure artistic expression. Incorporating live footage into the visual mix, and abit of style and professionalism iaminawe is all of the above and more.
Check out their show reel for 2006 – and all of us at Peak hope you enjoy your weekend as much as we plan on doing!
Labels: Corne and Twakkie, David Kramer, goldfish, iaminawe, VJ Gregg
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Goldfish'ing all night
The wind just hasn’t stopped pumping in the last few days; battering the entire peninsula with and endless howl and whistle as it squeezes through every little crack in the house; under every closed window; rattling every door in its effort to go through, instead of over the top. So we’ve been living in a sort of goldfish bowl, unable to open anything for fear of it landing on Robben Island, looking at the world outside and wondering when its going to end.
It’s quieter now. The Cape of Storms is taking a breather.
So in celebration… (I am so excited!...) I am going to let you watch a very cool Goldfish vid, made by some friends of ours on the other side of the peninsula in Fishhoek – Gregg & Angela from iaminawe (I-am-in-awe for all those thinking you had suddenly stumbled on a Xhosa site!) Greg & Angela do some of the most awesome work – see for yourself – and are involved with some of Cape Town’s most progressive entertainers, musicians & corporate clients, and as they describe the work they do ”Iaminawe is a nomadic experiment in lateral living. It is travel, passion, culture, movement, originality and creativity."
Damn – that wind was blowing all day, and All Night!
Labels: goldfish, iaminawe, Robben Island
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, June 30, 2006
Goldfish rocked Cannes
Goldfish came to my attention when I saw them live in Cape Town early in 2005, and it was an awesome show. I knew that they were going to go places. But it was only after Lenny came back from WOMEX Newcastle 2005 with their debut CD Caught in the loop, that I knew they were going to take the market by storm!They recently returned from a quick tour to France and the UK to launch their Caught in the loop, started it all off with a performance at the Lions Festival in Cannes -
GOLDFISH: We were invited to perform in
GOLDFISH: What a set-up we had.
A FAT Sound rig on the main beach in Cannes, a nice stage, great lighting, a big screen… and 2000 people who had never heard of us before.
Dance floor was packed, jamming to the sounds of Goldfish for our two hour set, with lots of ‘merci beaucoup’ and ‘voulez vouz couchez avec moir….’ floating up from the sand below. Don’t know what they were on about. Our French ain’t so good!
After that it was off to England where Caught in the loop was launched the the UK public.
GOLDFISH: Arrive in
We are playing at a Club called Zulus in Fulham, and its like a reunion for long lost Goldfish fans…so many familiar faces from around the world. One guy deserves special mention(Alex McGee) had been at our gig at Baraza, followed us to our gig @88 in Jozi, and was at our gig in Fulham - all in the space of 10 days! That’s dedication.
The place was absolutely packed and they wouldn’t let us go- but after 2 encores we called it a night and cracked open a couple of cold ones jumped in the crowd and had a big group hug. We are coming back.
It was only a 10-day tour - we're demanding people, us South Africans, and David and Dominic had to rush back home to get on with performances all over the country - including at this years Durban July!Talk about a high-flying life style! Awesome stuff!
