TOKiMONSTA, image: Spectrum Magazine

Kelly: What goes into doing your sets?
TOKiMONSTA: I want to enjoy my time on stage, so essentially what I want to do is play my music as well as play the music that makes me happy – and a lot of that is playing stuff I grew up with. I feel as though maybe some of the people that will listen to my music don’t listen to all the things I have grown up with. Some people listen to me because they like electronic music, but they didn’t grow up with hip-hop or vice versa. I come from this old school hip-hop mentality. I want it to be fun for the crowd but I want it to be fun for me too because I’m the one that has to play it all the time. As selfish as that might sound, I don’t mean it to be selfish.

What kind of a kid were you growing up?
I never really fitted in and I was a little self conscious because I didn’t. I grew up in suburbia where a lot of kids listened to pop/rock like Green Day or Blink 182. When I was really young, they didn’t venture too far from that. But I was into west coast rap, like Westside Connection, N.W.A. and Ice Cube. Smashing Pumpkins too. When I discovered electronic music, I liked listening too Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. In the neighborhood where I grew up, it was predominantly Caucasian or Asian, middle to upper class. Most people were more conventional and I never felt I fitted in until the internet arrived. That always made me feel included.

When it comes to the internet, you always find your niche.

How did you discover more electronic music?
Raving when I was younger. It was kind of a trend so I started raving in the early 2000s. That was my introduction into electronic music. At that time, it was predominantly trance and Detroit techno, like Carl Craig. I liked drum ‘n’ bass and jungle because it had these hip-hop elements as well. From there, it’s about blossoming and searching for all that music on your own.

TOKiMONSTA Test

TOKiMONSTA, image: Nikko Lamere

What inspired you to produce your own music?
I grew up playing the piano so I had a sense of music – but even with the piano,I didn’t enjoy everything I played because although liked classical music but I didn’t enjoy everything. Playing piano felt forced, despite there being some parts I really enjoyed. When I discovered that I could make music on my own by being a bedroom producer, it was a way for me to incorporate some of the things I grew up with melodically and with things I listened to. Going from hip-hop or DJ Shadow and stuff like that.

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, how do you stay classy during all of it?
Keeping my integrity. The biggest thing right now with a lot of the females in electronic music or just DJs, is that although there are many with integrity there are also a lot that plenty of attention which is based more on their physical appearance. Perhaps the only reason I maintain the integrity is that it’s never been about physical appearance. I never wear for example bikini tops. I would never do that regardless, but I appreciate music and I appreciate making music. I always want people to realize that whether I’m a female or not, my music should stand on its own. When someone says ‘I had no idea you were a girl’, I’m like ‘good, it shouldn’t matter’.

TOKiMONSTA ft. MNDR – Go With it from High5Collective on Vimeo.

You just came out with a new album Half Shadows. Talk about it.
It was a good year, a couple years in the making. I guess it had been a while since I released anything official. I had all this music I wanted to put out. That’s essentially what I did. I always continue to make music regardless of whether or not it’s going to come out on a label or if it will be an official release or end up on SoundCloud. With this album, I just had this collection of songs that suited a period of my life, it just had this running theme. In terms of the album itself, it’s meant to flow like a story.

I hope when people listen to Half Shadows, they listen to it from start to end because it’s meant to transition in a very specific way.

How do you feel that you tell a story through your music?
I like this idea of there being a beginning, a middle, and an end. Not all the time, because if you stick to a certain formulae it can be hindering and too traditional. In any story there’s these ups and downs and then it moves towards an ending. With all of my music, I don’t want to get to the best part right at the beginning. I don’t want the drop to be at the beginning. Not that I really do drops, but I want people to listen to the whole thing because it always gets more epic towards the end. That’s the way I’ve always made my music. And that’s kind of like a story.

TOKiMONSTA on:

Web
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

“Half Shadows” album artwork, image: Christopher Chan

words: Kelly ‘K-Fresh’ Frazier
images: Spectrum Magazine, Christopher Chan, Nikko Lamere, biggreenbeats.com (Purple banner)

Image: Sgrow

What were your major influences for this EP?

Our major influence for this EP was basically the merging of our musical backgrounds and aesthetics. Kristoffer plays electronics, and had been dabbling into the electronic improvisation scene for some time, in addition to creating organic beat based music, playing in different bands and as a solo act. Vilde played classical piano for several years before realizing that singing and writing songs of her own was what she should do. But even though she had a strong musical expression as a solo act, she wasn’t too fond of the ‘wrapping’. A girl singing sad songs by the piano was just something she’d seen a thousand times before, and it doesn’t really represent what she herself likes to listen to. So Vilde asked Kristoffer to contribute on ‘Mind Control’, and we were both so pleased with the results that we wrote more songs together, and started playing a lot of concerts. After two years of that, we decided it was time to record something, as to make it seem more real, or professional, that this is what we are and what we do, or trying to do anyway. On a strict sound level, we find a lot of inspiration in field recordings, sampling, ambient/noise music, techno, shoe gaze, jazz and pop. And in the soundtracks to Finnish/Japanese/Dutch Moomin 1990 TV series.
 

Sgrow – Mind Control live @ Revolver 16.03.13 from Kristoffer Lislegaard on Vimeo.

 
Were there any goals or expectations you had in mind for it?
We really just wanted to take the next step, and to be picked up by a respected label and actually become a published act seemed like the logical way to get more exposure and to get to play a lot more concerts, hopefully outside Norway as well. It was also a way to part with songs we’d been sitting on for a while, so that we could move on to new things. We recorded the whole thing without knowing if anyone would like it as much as we do, and if we ever would reach those goals, but we found that it might be more simple if we actually had the finished product, so that the people we would pitch it to could really get a representative idea of what Sgrow is about. Luckily, Karmakosmetix Music eventually picked us up, a label we’d had our eyes on from the start. Feels really good!
 
How long was the recording process for the EP?
We thought we were prepared going into the recording process, and had originally imagined it would take a month, maybe two. It ended up taking six months, and in retrospect that really was a good thing, although we were a bit anxious to just get it done during the process. The songs grew so much during this time, and we learned so much about our own music. What works live, does not necessarily work as well on a record, and it was kind of nice to sit back and be critical of our own material, and as a result hear it improve in front of us.

Image: Sgrow

You are beginning to play large festivals in Europe, which is really exciting, are there any other exciting things on deck for Sgrow?
We have a few exciting projects and concerts going on, but unfortunately nothing we can reveal right now. What we can reveal is that we are currently writing new material for a full-length album that is set to be released in Spring 2014. We think that is as exciting as it can be!

Where did the name Sgrow come from?
That is actually a really nerdy story. We were producing a new song, and working on some details with a few bars in a loop. The lyrics over that loop were ‘is growing’, but the ‘i’ was cut away, so we sat and listened to ‘sgrowing, sgrowing, sgrowing, sgrowing’ for hours while perfecting the sounds in those bars.

Those sounds, which were glitch-y, plucky, manipulated noises that Kristoffer made with his guitar, we started to refer to as Sgrow-sounds and we use them in a lot of our songs. After not figuring out what we should call ourselves, we decided to just go with Sgrow, as it describes our characteristic use of particular sounds.

Image: Sgrow

If you were to look at the core of Sgrow what do you think you hold as key elements of your band?
When we make our music, we’re not trying to adapt to a specific genre, but rather incorporate all kinds of elements from different kinds of music that we like. We try to blend the electronic with the organic, and we use a lot of manipulated audio that we record ourselves, for example chopped guitars, manipulated vocals, atmospheric field recordings, recordings under water with the use of a hydrophone (underwater microphone) – we basically collect all sounds that intrigues us. The last contribution to our collection was the sound of an old elevator in Venice. When it comes to Vilde’s vocals, she’s attracted to the imperfect, the spontaneous and the heartfelt, rather than technical virtuosity. Her lyrics are also truly a key element of what makes Sgrow.

You describe yourself as ‘charmingly unpolished,’ are there any other singular words or phrases that you think can sum up Sgrow?
Organic, warm, dynamic, eclectic, detail-oriented, honest, deep, catchy, and playful.

You discuss it on your website but it is also very self apparent in your videos that for performances the visuals play a strong role. What brought that decision about?
Since we’re only two people on stage, it was a natural step towards expanding our selves so to speak, or to make better use of the space given. We also find that it helps to intensify our artistic expression, and makes it more interesting to watch, especially since the visuals work interactively with the music. We would like to note that for us it serves as a supplement, rather than something to hide behind.

SGROW – Heartstrings live in our living room from Kristoffer Lislegaard on Vimeo.

Are there other elements of your live performances that you believe set you apart from other electronic acts? It seems that it must be a challenge to have a strong presence when your instruments require you to be behind a table.
We’ve given a lot of thought to that aspect. In electronic music it is so easy to just press play and be fine with that. The problem is that it’s totally uninteresting to watch, at least in our opinion. We both come from backgrounds that make it natural for us to want to actually play as much as possible, and so we’ve made that our mission. Of course there’s challenges to it if we’re to maintain our sound and our musical expression, but we do as much as we possibly can. It would be so much easier if we were to travel around with just the two laptops, but we’ve prioritized to scatter everything over a 30 kg flight case worth of midi controllers, mixers, samplers and effects pedals, in addition to drum pads and the guitar. We’ve mapped out as much of the sounds as possible, tilted the controllers towards the audience so that they actually can see what triggers what, and everything is played to the degree it can be. Hence the ‘charmingly unpolished’, if you miss a button by half a second, people will hear it. But we’ve received a lot of positive feedback on the fact that it is nice to feel a human aspect in a type of music that’s usually really strict and mechanic.

Looking towards the future are there any goals and challenges you want to take on as a duo?
We would of course want to make and release a lot more music, and go on tour in Norway and Europe to begin with. That would be a dream come true! Other things that would be fun are to take on some remix-assignments, make music for film or theatre and maybe collaborate with someone on something.

We also want to evolve our live show further. It would be really exciting to make our visuals more extensive and intricate, involving several surfaces and being even more interactive. Finally, we both need to get our drivers licences if we’re to continue to drag all that equipment around.
 

SGROW – Heartstrings by KristofferLH
 

To find out more about Sgrow check out their Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud pages.
 
Images: Sgrow
 
Words: Emma Remington

For this week’s #bottomrightcorner, we handed it over to none other than the Manyoba BOY$! Made up of Lesotho-born Big Space and British expat Jumping Back Slash, Manyoba BOY$ are the most swanking South African underground house and techno producers around; they got white meat and dark meat like a chicken and together they bring the Manyobane$$! We asked them to choose five of their favourite tracks, and so without further ado… Presenting the Manyoba BOY$’ #bottomrightcorner!

Bob James – ‘Nautilus‘
 

 
Bob James is a jazz keyboardist and producer who is recognised as one of the pioneers of smooth jazz. His silky tunes have awarded him two Grammy trophies and a lifelong legacy among jazz’s elite. He was also member of Fourplay – a jazz supergroup that spent numerous weeks at the top of Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart when their debut self-titled album released in 1991.

James’ tracks have had a profound resonance in hip-hop circles, with numerous rappers sampling his work. For example ‘Nautilus’, taken from the album One, can be heard echoing through the heavy beats of Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Follow the Leader’, Run-D.M.C.’s ‘Beats to the Rhyme’, and Ghostface Killah’s ‘Daytona 500’.

Alaska – ‘Alaska‘
 

 
Alaska embody South African music culture in the kwaito rhymes they’ve spilled through local airways over the last ten years. The five-piece group is made up of Lucky Mlakana, Thabo Tsotetsi, Les Ma-ada, Andrew Moloisane, and Sphiwe Pica. Their music brims with socially conscious lyricism which resonates in a variety of African languages – isiXhosa, Sesotho, isiZulu and Sepedi to name a few. The group originated in Soweto, and the track ‘Alaska’ is taken from their first album, Cool As Hell.

Kenny Larkin – ‘Northern Lights‘
 

 
Kenny Larkin is a ’90s techno banger. The Detroit producer has been described as ‘massively influential’ on the rise of techno in both Europe and America. To many who run in techno circles, Larkin is a household name. In the early 2000s he embarked on a career in comedy – fitting as he sometimes goes by the moniker, Dark Comedy – but 2012 saw him return to the dance floor sounds.

‘Northern Lights’ is a track that was produced in 1995. The song is a cool, laid-back, house-like showcase of techno in the ’90s. For all the youngsters who missed the ’90s age, take a listen.

Virgo Four – ‘Let the Music Play‘
 

 
Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis are Virgo Four. The duo, also known as Ace & the Sandman, salute their hometown, Chicago, in their Chicago house sounds. Chicago house is much like the smooth dance beats of electro house, except that it’s based and created in The Windy City. Their career was short-lived with only three records released, but Virgo Four’s music helped reverberate the beat of house through the streets of Chi-Town. ‘Let The Music Play’ is a silky, jazzy sample of Virgo Four’s electric old-school flavour.

Wu-Tang Clan – ‘It’s Yourz‘
 

‘Machine gun rap for all my niggas in the back’ – the first words of It’s Yourz’ say it all. Wu-Tang Clan are street rap invigorators who powered through American hip-hop airways throughout the ’90s. The crew is made up of a dizzying group of talent in RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late ‘Ol Dirty Bastard. They are widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential acts to hit the hip-hop scene and have garnered both critical and mainstream success.

The New York-bred group became famous for their story-telling rhymes which challenged social injustice, promoted Black Conscious, and defended the hustle of those running on the periphery. Their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), placed them at the zenith of hip-hop triumph, with tracks like ‘C.R.E.A.M’ championing their arrival to the rap world.

‘It’s Yourz’ reflects the group’s focus on the harshness of the world by highlighting that regardless how insignificant man may feel; the world still belongs to us.

LINKS:

Manyoba BOY$ – Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter
Big Space – Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter
Jumping Back Slash – Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter

words: Raeesa Pather
images: Manyoba BOY$

Audiophile 021 – Triola EP

soundcloud.com/audiophile021/

With Triola, Cape Town-based DJ/Producer, Audiophile 021, offers a meandering journey full of rich and textured sounds. The EP was released on the 25th of June on the Triplefire Music label.

The XX – ‘Angels’

clashmusic.com

In case you missed it, The XX were the biggest new thing in London when they burst onto the scene back in 2009. Their debut album was all soft beats and groovy melodies over which Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim would whisper sweet nothings to each other. Since then the young members have been doing their own thing, most notably beat-master Jamie XX’s remix album of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here. This new track features the nocturnal lovesickness that was the motif of their debut and precedes the September 10th release of their new album, Coexist.

The Antlers – ‘Drift Drive’

pigeonsandplanes.com

2009’s dark and lo-fi Hospice was the breakout album for the Brooklyn-based trio, which they followed up with Burst Apart, one of the best albums of last year. The new single conveys the feeling of aquatic sedation that seems to be the theme behind their new 4-song EP, Undersea, which will be coming out on the 24th of July.
 
 
 
 

Meursault – ‘Flittin’’

sndcdn.com

‘Flitting’ is the new single from Meursault’s third album. They make the sort of heartbroken melodies leaning towards the folk side of indie rock that makes a lazy comparison to Frightened Rabbit easy and quite accurate. There’s a coarse honesty and melancholy in this song that cuts into you like a hot gulp of of whisky. Their new album, Something For The Weakened, was released on the 16th.
 
 
 
 

Errors – ‘Relics’

aaamusic.co.uk

Have Some Faith In Magic was an early contender for my favourite album of this year and in the months since its January release there hasn’t really been anything to knock it from its perch. Now we have the montivagant ‘Relics’ as a precursor to their new mini-album New Relics, with an ETA scheduled for October.
 
 
 
 

Dirty Projectors – ‘Gun Has No Trigger’

2020k.wordpress.com

The last LP by Brooklyn-based indie band Dirty Projectors, 2009’s Bitte Orca, showcased the band’s eccentric and experimental leanings. After a collaborative EP with Bjork in 2010 their new album, Swing Lo Magellan, is coming out on the 9th. The new LP finds them at their most accessible yet still offering an array of interesting sounds. ‘Gun Has No Trigger’ is the first single.
 
 
 
 

The Stone Roses – ‘I wanna Be Adored’

lyrdb.com

The reformation of Manchester legends The Stone Roses has been big news for nostalgic fans  and backwards-looking music magazines. However, to someone like me who was born in the same year as their famous 1989 debut a big reunion like this looks like more ageing rockstars are willing to kill their legacy and pick its bones clean. Cynicism aside, this reunion is something that means a lot to thousands of fans and makes this as good a time as any to remind ourselves why, more than fifteen years after they first disbanded, they are still adored.
 
 
 
 

Ill Skillz –  Skillz That Pay Da Billz 2

ill-literate-skill.bandcamp.com

Cape Town hip-hop trio Ill Skillz exhibit the ego, pride and partisan attitude of hip-hop, but with an explicitly South African heritage. Their 8-track album Skillz That Pay Da Billz 2 is available as a free download from their bandcamp page.
 
 
 
 

Big Space – Brown Bag E.P

facebook.com/pages/Big-Space

Big Space is from Cape Town. Aside from beats, he also shares some words on his SoundCloud: ‘I could just name drop all the famous people I’ve worked with who are waaay more famous than me but that would just be stupid. I make house music but I don’t make house music. I don’t think a lot of people like my personality but its okay… I love everyone. I also have an adopted cat and an E.P. coming out this summer on BOMBAADA records’ ALSO, I WILL STILL FUCK SHIT UP. CHENIN NON BLANC BABY! BOURGIE BOYZ!’ (Big Space, SoundCloud)
 
 
 
 

The Wave Pictures – ‘Eskimo Kiss’

imgur.com

The Wave Pictures make guitar music that’s familiar yet invigorating. The prolific London three-piece follow up last year’s excellent Beer In The Breakers with their new album Long Black Cars, from which ‘Eskimo Kiss’ is the first single.
 
 
 
 

Joey Bada$$ – 1999

pigeonsandplanes.com

1999 is the debut project from Brooklyn’s 17-yr-old Joey Bada$$. This 15-track mixtape features members of his Pro Era crew – a collective of 18 rappers, producers, graphic designers and studio engineers – such as Capital STEEZ, who makes an appearance on track four – ‘Survival Tactics’. From A$AP to BadASS, NYC keeps rolling out that old school hip-hop grit
 
 

Killer Mike – ‘Big Beast’ (Feat. Bun B, T.I., and Trouble)

musicya.net

The rapper Killer Mike (born Michael Render) released his sixth studio album called R.A.P. Music, produced by Definitive Jux’s El-P (Jaime Meline) and released by William Street Records. Spin mag’s Christopher Weingarten says it perfectly: ‘A child of the ’80s and a student of the Internet, Killer Mike is as exciting and wildly unclassifiable as hip-hop gets: New York noise and country shit, nods to when rap was punk and crunk was pop, Ice Cube before he needed hooks, David Banner before he needed to whisper, and Willie D before he needed anybody.’

Images from: soundcloud.com/audiophile021/; facebook.com/pages/Big-Space; aaamusic.co.uk; sndcdn.com; clashmusic.com; pigeonsandplanes.com; wordpress.com; lyrdb.com; imgur.com; ill-literate-skill.bandcamp.com; pigeonsandplanes.com; musicya.net

You have been putting out records for almost 20 years now. How do you stay relevant in such a fickle industry?
If I’m not making music, I still try to DJ or put out music on Ovum Recordings. It’s music that is full of integrity and music that has relevance, that will stand the test of time. That’s an important thing. It’s a fickle industry. I see a lot of my friends make a record and disappear, or a lot of people get involved in the scene and like where do they go? They just want to get into it for the limousines, magazines, and the blow jobs. That’s fine, but its just I got into for a completely different story.

The integrity that I have for myself for creating a style of music that I feel comfortable putting out. I don’t go to trends.

I just do my thing. From a techno DJ or a house DJ, I’m fortunate that a Louis Vega or a Richie Hawtin will play the same track that I do. That’s a cool feeling.

Do you ever feel an extra pressure to be known by the newer generations coming up?
I see it as an older guy as well when the new kids come along and they are getting the autographs. One, two people come up to me and fifteen people go up to them. My ego is like ‘Hey, What’s up?’. I’m a firm believer in quality over quantity. The right people know who I am, rather than everybody. I can walk around and still be Josh Wink. Just Josh. I treasure that. I treasure being in the media then not being in the media. I don’t feel horrible when I’m not in there. Sometimes I don’t want to be in there because I just like being normal. So it’s a nice balance that I have that I’ve tried to understand throughout my career.

What’s next for you?
I’m a new father of seven months so I’m really trying to understand the balance in life and how to be human again and be an individual rather than just being a parent. I’m really hoping to be inspired and make an opus from the love and inspiration for my son. I haven’t had a chance to be in the studio because I’ve been too busy doing father things. I really hope to do it soon. I started getting involved in getting the late night, after he goes to bed, go to the studio and work for three hours. If I’m not releasing the music, then we are still releasing really cool music on Ovum.

Fatherhood can be an amazing thing, or so I’m told from my friends.
It’s deep. It’s really scary how you can love something so much. Seriously. I say with conviction and sincerity. It’s really intense. I had no idea it would be like this. It’s awesome. The first three months are the hardest thing in the world. I’ve stayed up my whole life professionally. Nothing compared to the sleep deprivation of the beginning.

I felt like a terrorist being interrogated when they strip your ego by taking your sleep away.

That’s how we felt. It was hard and I took four months off to be a father and to be around and be proactive. I love the job and I’m a little bit older. I’m 42 so it’s an interesting thing as an older father as well too. I really hope to get in the studio and make music and be inspired and give something to my son to listen to. I brought him in the studio and hit play and he started crying. I think he was just in the studio, and it was warm, it was just a dead sound, then a sound suddenly came on. I was like ‘Oh no! I just started a new track and my son hates it!’. I look forward to the next step.

Interview by one small seed’s Detroit contributor Kelly Frazier.

Signed to sSHADOWORKSs, Steve Elsworth aka Audiophile021 is an unquantifiable music powerhouse. one small seed spends a bit of time with Steve, from his base at the Red Bull Studios to playing live at The Assembly on the 11 May 2012 and at the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival on the 31 March 2012. Turn up the volume – here’s a taste of Audiophile021. (Length 02:37)

The head sound engineer of Red Bull Studios Cape Town by trade, he spends most of his life enveloped in chords and rhythm. A DJ and producer – he perfectly marries solid production steeped in pure quality and original style, all the while making and playing tracks that rock a crowd to the floor boards. Initially rooted in rock and metal, Audiophile021 quickly began flirting with electronic music, and his love affair with crunchy basslines and body-thumping drums rapidly grew into obsessive passion.

Picture by Adriaan Louw Taken At The Assembly

Audiophile021 – The Frown – Metallic Kiss (Audiophile 021 Remix)

Picture By Adriaan Louw Taken At The Assembly

 
Photos: Adriaan Louw

Source: sShadworksS, SoundCloud, Facebook

250 people wind through the leafy suburb of Bishopscourt in Cape Town on a Thursday night looking for the address on their invites. They park their cars and walk past enormous houses dwarfed only by the exterior walls. The walls open up and in the gap one of the houses stands looking like a construction team downed their tools months, years ago and never returned. There is gravel out front instead of grass and lanterns light the way to the front door that was designed for a family of giants.

We are ushered in by security and suddenly the construction gives way to the skeleton of a house made for presidents and dictators. Columns that reach past the outer atmosphere nod to the sounds we are about to hear, the reason we 250 are here. Tonight is the launch of Markus Wormstorm’s new 13-track album Not I, but a friend. Writer, composer, fantasy artist, tonight sees the man with 15 years behind him of making successful electronic music in this country, for music sake, for commercial sake, for creativity’s sake, collect a group together to take part in something utterly new. Tonight is a collaboration, but as conductor and musical seer Markus is the landlord of this plot, we his eager listeners.

Photograph: (c) Rowan Pybus

With the reputation he has, Wormstorm could fill this deserted mansion 10 times over. But tonight is a special ‘invite only’, one-hour showcase performance for his chosen group of CT players, hell even the drummer from Queen is here. 30 minutes after arriving and milling around, sounds start emanating from the grass in front of what in a normal size house would be called the porch. Five black clad musicians take to the staged area, eyes do not meet audience, and it is as if a bubble of seriousness keeps them apart. Instruments are tuned; a violin, a clarinet, a standing double bass, and from the muddle of tones, Inge Beckman from Lark begins to recite words just too soft to hear and Markus, complete with facial hair straight out of Kevin Smith’s Clerks, begins to layer and add beats and the music swells and comes together. We have lift off; the launch has begun.

Photograph: (c) Sydelle Willow Smith

Photograph: (c) Sydelle Willow Smith

People are quiet, watching as much as listening, much like in a theatre. Three songs in and the atmospheric beats hold the balance between the players. People are overheard wishing Inge’s words were louder, clearer, as she hints at stories of beasts, of queens and of thieves. But using her as an instrument is maybe the cleverest part of the orchestration. If the front woman from Lark, maybe the most powerful female singer this country has ever seen in terms of both vocals and stage presence, was in the front of the stage, singing with full force, we would be watching ‘The Inge Show’. Instead, weaving her tales behind the snake charming clarinet, her voice adds tone and depth to the group, never overshadowing it. And Markus beats his head, drives his vision, onwards.
 

 

Not I, but a friend: Track Listing:

01 ‘Lillian’ Ft Magdaleen Minnaar

02 ‘Cine’ Ft DouIVtwo

03 ‘Eve’s Twin’

04 ‘The Bridge’ Ft Magdaleen Minnaar

05 ‘Uiltjie’

06 ‘Red Queen’

07 ‘Wit’

08 ‘Visitor’ Ft DouIVtwo

09 ‘Sleep Ali’

10 ‘Beautiful Malema’

11 ‘Thief’ Ft Inge Beckmann

12 ‘Vir’

Photograph: (c) Rowan Pybus

The album we are all hearing for the first time is called Not I, but a friend, for Wormstorm’s own journey, the shift from one phase in life to the next, the growth it takes to get there, the newness of self expression upon arrival, and the inspiration we surround ourselves with for the trip, the people and the eclectic sounds they bring. 1000 copies of the album, with art by Elise Wessels [whose current work ‘Beast in Mind’ was also showcased in one of the empty lounges in the mansion], have been printed and there is a free download option available with an accompanying music video by Jannes Hendrikz.

A film by the multi award winning Jannes Hendrikz (see shythesun.tv) with music by Markus Wormstorm
 

Photograph: (c) Rowan Pybus

With song titles like ‘Dissent Itself’, ‘Street/ kid/ glue/spell’ and ‘Beautiful Malema’, the album has much depth and texture to sink ones teeth into, whilst easily soaring along other tracks like ‘The Bridge’ and ‘Lillian’. The album strength lies in the collaboration between Wormstorm’s beats and the imaginative instrumentalists that use their tones to create cinescapes, more movie score than club tracks. With Ariella Caira [cello], Justin Carter and Maria Du Toit [clarinet], Magda De Vries [marimba], Frank Mallows [vibraphone], Magdalene Minaar [voice/ viola/ violin], Mareli Stolp [piano] adding the voices of their instruments to the mix, the album rises above what is expected in the genre, and jumps daringly into the darkness of the unknown.

I wanted to do something that is sophisticated without being pretentious.

Photograph: (c) Sydelle Willow Smith

Photograph: (c) Rowan Pybus

Photograph: (c) Rowan Pybus

Back to the moment we are in. People spilling off the stairs and onto the grass… it is the eeriness and the fantasy element that elevate this beyond. Kyla Rose Smith on violin adds a tone of haunting beauty, Brydon Boltons fingers cut through the air around his double bass like melted butter, the vocals and Markus’ man-possessed orchestration behind the decks, cause the sound and melody to rise like steam.

‘Deep within my fortress… I am’, the vocals state and we follow them in.

Photograph: (c) Rowan Pybus

Like a memory retold in a dream, this abandoned mansion, us serenaded by a troupe of story tellers from a surreal universe. Half an hour later it is all over. The stairs become lost in the standing ovation and for a full half hour after, people huddle in groups under the 3-storey columns reaching into the starred sky and discuss the art performance they saw tonight. They puzzle it out and try to understand what they were just a part of. The bar closes and people wander off, challenged, and rewarded.

As film director Bryan Little from Fly on the wall summed it up:

That was truly bizarre. I digged it.

And what does Markus have to say post-launch?

For the upcoming months my team and I will continue to stage invite only events throughout the city. I want to explore the relationship between architecture and sound. I want my audience to follow me into these unexplored spaces.  (Markus Wormstorm)

Take a look behind the scenes of Markus Wormstorms’ rehearsals at the Red Bull Studio’s in Cape Town. Also make sure you check out Issue 23 of one small seed – “Cult of Self” – for an interview with Markus.

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

(c) Makhulu Productions at Red Bull Studios

Words: Leigh Vermaak

Images courtesy of: Red Bull Studios. Photographs by: (c) Rowan Pybus, (c) Makhulu Productions, (c) Sydelle Willow Smith

Juan Pierre Coleman is a rambunctious music man, master of all things creative and perhaps one of the hardest, most focused individuals you will come across. An analogue junkie, he has scourged the Cape Town electronic music scene with joyous abandon, composing musical banter and bristling, electronic dialogues.

Employing relentless fervour, he resonates with high-octane energy from his Woodstock studio, a space where day tends to flow unnoticed in to night. Juan is also an academic of the arts. He has mastered the tools of design, demonstrating, for nearly 12 years, an uncanny grasp of a kaleidoscope of design skills. But, this is about the music, so let’s stick to that. For now.

Known as JDL Quake, Juan is a beat maven who has been in the industry for 17 years. Originally from the Free State, he’s been living west coast since the late ’90s; adapting, evolving and managing to remain humble. He’s played alongside Scratch from The Roots, Luke Vibert from Ninja Tunes, Cut La Roc, General Midi, Krafty Kuts and Cypress Hill. Amongst, and one of, the big players, he stays true to himself and his beat-love. A guy to be respected.

Quake’s a sucker for slutty synths, playful scratching, turntablism and experimental mixing. And we’re a sucker for his beats. Musically malleable and versatile, Quake’s sets incorporate hip-hop, drum ‘n bass, breakbeat and funk. They’re as esoteric as they are intense, and as surprising as they are lucid. Ten minutes with this guy and you’ll be restless with creative desire, impassioned and rat-a-tat-tatting with taut, suspense-ridden drive.

In 2010 Juan started a radio show with DJ Microstripe called the XXXL BASS Show and for the last few years he’s been running 24audio with that crafty finesse we’ve come to love him for. After co-ordinating the DMC champs for many years, Juan handed over the reigns to the African Hip Hop Indaba in 2011. Juan’s been spending a lot of time in studio and on the decks; focussing on the study of scratching, learning more styles and perfecting old ones.

Sarah Claire Picton caught up with JDL Quake to find out a bit more about his latest in-studio and behind-decks endeavours

The DMC years for you, tell me about those.

I loved doing the DMC events, it was something very close to my heart. Tony Prince from DMC International was very kind to me and the DJs here by allowing us to host it officially in South Africa. It was a lot of hard work as I had to co-ordinate everything, speak to sponsors, work out budgets, and write proposals – all the not so nice work that was keeping me awake at night. Since we didn’t have huge budgets we had to do a lot of the running ourselves. But we had some amazing prize sponsors! The one year we had R65 000 worth of prizes. So that was cool for publicity!

What’s happening now that the African Hip Hop Indaba has taken over?

The Hip Hop Indaba crew run the African Battle of the Year (Graffiti and B-boy battles). There won’t be regional qualifying rounds anymore – they will in future be running an elimination round on the night of their events in Cape Town and sending the South African Champions overseas to represent South Africa

Post-DMC, what new things you been up to in the studio?

‘Well since I have been stronger on my right hand I have always concentrated on platter movements and minimal cuts with my weaker left hand and now I have moved over to the left on the record, with the stronger hand on the fader which cuts the sound on and off or changes the volume. So I can cut up the sound faster and more accurately basically…’
 

Kentaro doing tiger paw styles
 
‘I have been looking at developing some new styles. I for instance am working on an up-fader cutting style which allows you to cut different velocities and since my up-faders are usually set to a slow velocity curve I can create some awesome effects that sound like a wah-wah pedal. It is very similar to the up-fader delay style fade outs that some guys like Q-bert do or DJ Kentaros ‘Tiger Paw’ style (two hands on one up fader)’

City Lights – I Know The Truth (JDL Quake Drumstep Version) 192kbps FREE Download by JDLQuake  
The move to digital?

It’s been tough for me moving to digital. I have tried Serato and Traktor and Dj controllers but nothing has seemed to match vinyl for me as yet. I still own 5000+ records and yeah well… I will probably keep scratching for a long time still. It’s something I’m strangely addicted to. I have been trying to make the move to digital. It adds so many more possibilities to be creative. It’s just a matter of spending time and learning and developing new techniques and styles on that format. It’s a huge problem that 95% my music on analogue though but I am getting there!

 
Sound Squad promo

Tell me about Sound Squad events
 
Sound Squad, hehe, another love project. But you know it changed a lot of things when we started doing Sound Squad events there were none multi genre outdoor electronic events! I kind of feel like we paved the way… showed people the potential there was guys like Resonance started taking other electronic genres seriously and now they have a second floor catering for that. We wanted to come back with a big Sound Squad V

What happened with that?

We were building up to it but I had in the interim closed my Record Shop and was in the process of a lot of change in my life. So we never made it happen. We are always toying with the idea of doing another one. These days there are a lot of multi genre out door electronic events. They are all over… So competition is heavy now. We had fun, we went all out. It was all about the finer details. Our venues were tops, we always made a mish to get the best venues! But such huge events are a huge stress to organise. Wow its so much work, especially if you want to do it professionally.
 

Sweat X performs live at Sound Squad Revolutions New Years festival 2006/07. Cape Town, South Africa
The reaction?
 
We have people to this day coming to us saying ‘that was the best event I have ever been to in my life’ and having happened so long ago and going up against what not, that means a shit load – especially since we walked away from it without making much. But, yeah, major missions to make it happen. There was definitely a need for the Sound Squad thing to happen at the time I feel it served its purpose and I am happy it still lives on in the memories of some of those who attended.

Is there not a need for it now?

Like I said, we are always playing with the idea. Should we do this, should we do that? The Sound Squad are taking a deep breathe. Some production company in Johannesburg started doing New Years Revolutions as well. So we are probably not going to do that again. I cannot say too much about our plans as yet – but there are always awesome ideas on the table, very interesting and different ones. So be assured that when we come back, it will once again be something nobody has done before!

 
JDL Quake – Deep Dark Africa Vintage Vinyl Dubstep Mix by JDLQuake  
2012; what’s on the cards?

I am heading into 2012 with a very motivated and positive head…There are tons of projects in the pipeline. To feel my worth on this earth I feel the need to push boundaries and create new things. This is part of the reason 24audio is now moving into software development and away from retail. Oh yeah, and I am working on a new jdl quake website… it will be up at www.jdlquake.com in the very near future

JDL Quake slashes any misconception of South Africa’s electronic music scene lagging behind our overseas partners-in-beats. With blazing passion and unparalleled enthusiasm, Juan Coleman will continue to inspire and push the industry; in Cape Town, throughout South Africa and without a doubt, internationally.

Photography: Desmond Louw

 
 

It was hot outside and the beautiful 20-something’s that made up most of the crowd were not ashamed to show off their skin. The bottle store does not have as many six packs as were exposed on shirtless guys this weekend. The woman all rocked flat stomachs and sun-kissed skin. It was a spectacle: slightly intimidating for the lesser-confident wanderers. A man asked a couple that walked by him, ‘can I just kiss one, or both, of you?’ His friends chuckled and the couple smiled. There were many gorgeous individuals at Love & Light.

 
The event was only a 40 minute drive from Cape Town city center and, being only one day, would leave plenty of time for indoor Sunday-recovery time. After parking it was a mere stones’ throw, maybe an arrow’s launch walk to the music. The bass thumped in our insides as we approached. It was noon and we had considered ourselves the early birds throughout the drive. This was not the case. The music, the grooves and the positive vibrations were all in full swing when we arrived. The name of the game was mellowness and self expression, the metaphorical game. Like most trance parties, this party was void of any fist fights; that would have been totally out of place. Instead we encountered men and women alike grooving out as if no one was watching. The people, the artists were living in the moment. Dance moves carried on the waves of the beats, infecting most of the crowd, creating a distinct, shared harmony. Some swam and others grooved in the shade.

A partially enclosed tent and nearby trees protected the audience from the sun. The sweat of the crowd did not infect us; well placed misters calmed our nerves and cooled our foreheads. There was nothing to do at the Love and Light festival besides soak up beats, the rays an all the feel-good energy. The first DJ we saw performing, The Fog Show, rocked out with a live violinist. After that, Lox chilled it with his dreadlocks and attuned reading of the crowd. Each successive performer built up the energy by a gigabyte; each read our emotions.
 

Felguk – Do You Like Bass (Neelix Rmx) by neelix

After time on our feet and the knowledge that this 10-hour event, not including the afterparty that was hosted at Trinity, was a marathon and not a sprint we headed to the reservoir, separated from the stage by brambles. There we encountered floating dolphins, blow-up beach balls and warm but refreshing water. Speakers pumped next to the water, making the swimming game part of the festival action. If one needed a moment of silence all you needed to do was hold your breath and take a dunk. A lifeguard was on duty, or at least someone sporting a ‘Lifegaurd’ tee.
 

Symphonix DJ Set by Symphonix

Frequent trips to the car to ‘stay hydrated’ kept my buzz going. In addition, Red Bull had a tent and there were two full service bars, one on the water’s edge, the other under the tent near the stage, at our disposal. All the vibes were good. A pretty blonde waved to the swimmers from the window of a cop car that drove up into my periphery. They had kindly given her a ride, sparing her the thirty second stroll. She jumped off the police truck and joined the party. The cops had no one to bust that I could see. Who needs fear or confrontation when there is love and light? Pardon the cliché.
 


 
Neelix played a thumping set that I don’t think the crowd responded perfectly well to. But Connecto got everyone going again and shade begun to arch onto the scene. Overall the festival was a success, liberating and filled to the brim with eye candy. Symphonix tore it up and unfortunately I didn’t last to see Killer Robot. It had been a long day.
 



 
Photos: Paul Ward
www.diaryofward.com
 
Words: Jason Shark

one small seed made it to RAMFest 2011 in Cape Town, but barely made it out alive! Check out the footage to see what went down at South Africa’s only REAL Alternative Music festival.

RAMfest – The Cape’s Ultimate Rock Festival – spanned 3 venues this year for the first time, bringing Real Alternative Music (spells RAM, get it?) to South Africa’s metropoles. The main 3-day fest was held once again in the Cape, at the idyllic Nekkies Resort in Worcester, also home to  hippie-fests like Earth Dance. Following that, two more day-long festivals were held at the Wavehouse in Umhlanga in KZN and at Riversands Farm in Fourways in Jozi (who knew there were farms in Johannesburg!).

RAMfest 5 brought music fans more genres to enjoy than ever before, a bigger dancefloor, and hosted three equally awesome stages. There was the main carnivalesque rock stage, a grungy tented metal stage by Metal4Africa and the glowing Electronic Pyramid by Griet Events & Artist Management – all back to back with killer tracks.

The main stage hosted two international headliners: Welsh rock band Funeral for a Friend and American punk rockers Alkaline Trio… who, to be perfectly honest, were a load of shite if you’re not a 12-year-old boy.

But with the host of amazing South African acts to pick from, no one really minded the well-timed beer breaks. Without a doubt, the South African stars on the lineup stole the show, as RAMfest fans witnessed stellar worldclass performances by bands like Die Antwoord, Van Coke Kartel (below), Gazelle, Zebra & Giraffe and more

One of my personal highlights of the festival was a very warmly welcomed return of Pretoria band Not My Dog.

Just prior to RAMfset in early March, Not My Dog reunited with their original vocalist, Hanu de Jong of The Narrow, and have graced the stage together for the first time in around ten years, bringing back their notorious brand of hard rock that South Africans back in the day grew to love. Back when ‘Toxicity’ was at number one, a Black Label cost R5 and you painted your nails black… Well, I did anyway.

Back to RAMfest, Hanu and the gang put on an epic show, and if you happened to miss them, make sure you check them out out and about on their month-or-so-long SA tour.

Other big names on the main stage that can’t not be mentioned were the angel-voiced (and faced, come to think of it) Isochronous, indie band Desmond and the Tutus, the awe-inspiring, internationally acclaimed Blk Jks, Cape Town kids Ashtray Electric, Tumi (of the Volume), Sowetan rockers Ree-Burth (one of whom I got a nice little snap of below) and Cape Town electronic act Mix N Blend.

Artists on the metal stage included Sabretooth, The Dead Will Tell, Enmity, Mind Assault, Contrast The Water, Knave, Haggis & Bong and Juggernaught.

Think electric saws, Slipknot t-shirts, loads of sweaty, greasy headbanging and that move the kids call ‘the windmill’.

Down at the electronic stage were French act Tom Deluxx plus South African favourites Haezer, B-Team, Double Adapter, Niskerone, Toby2Shoes, Jam Jarr, P.H.Fat, Counterstrike, FunaFuji, Sedge Warbler and more. See the pic below for why it was called The Electronic Pyramid.

In addition to the great lineup, festivalgoers had fun in the sun in the river, splashing in the pool, browsing through the market, jamming in the Mercury tent, chilling at the cocktail bar and beer garden, and tripping mildly on space cookies. Plus there was a host of live entertainment in the form of fire spinners, dancers, stilt-walkers and half-naked performance artists all dressed to fit the festival’s really well-designed carnival branding.

(Carnival meets Chinese circus more like it – I’m pretty sure I even saw a fire dragon. If you think I was tripping, see below.)

(That’s totally a fire dragon.)

One thing is for sure, RAMfest5 really outdid itself, bringing South Africans a truly first-rate rock fest. For those who made it out alive, who knows what next year’s festival will hold?