ISSUE 20 FEATURES:

• PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL MEYERSFELD
• ARTIST KILMANY-JO LIVERSAGE: ORDA
• GERMAN TOY DESIGNERS, COARSE: FUTURISITC FRENEMIES
• ARCHITECTURE: STARCHITECTURE
• PHOTOGRAPHER: BRIAN MCCARTY’S PLAYFUL THERAPY
• WELCOME TO THE FUTURE-RETRO
• TOMORROWLAND: INTERVIEW WITH FUTURIST MIKE WALSH
• THE TELEVISION WILL BE REVOLUTIONISED, EVEN MORE
• MUSIC AND THE FUTURE
• MUSIC: OLD SKOOL VS NU SKOOL
• POP FACTS: FUTURE VS RETRO
• LIFESTYLE: C-MAX ROLLER DERBY LEAGUE
• CONVERSE: OPTIMISTIC REBELS
• ELECTRONIC MUSIC: HELLO (AGAIN) TECHNO
• RETRO ROCK & ROLL: CORTINA WHIPLASH
• ARE YOU THE NEW BANKSY?
• URBAN LADIES WEAR: RETRO ROGUE
• NY FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER TOMAAS: PLASTIC IS THE NEW BLACK
• POST-TRIASSIC INSTRUMENTAL: BATELEUR
• EIGHTIES POP SURVIVALISTS: DURAN DURAN
• AFRO-FUTURISTIC MUSIC: SPOEK MATHAMBO & MSHINI WAM

An interview conducted a while back. Enjoy…

Sarah Claire: So Spoek, tell me a bit about yourself.

Spoek Mathambo: I’m an Ndebele prince, rapper, dancer, DJ, dreamer, illustrator and graphic artist. I live between Johannesburg and Malmö Sweden. I work as various art/music collectives… Namely: MSHINI WAM, SWEAT X, PLAYDOE and DJ as HIVIV. You can get my township-tech sothocore world bass mixes on the net. My favourite one is called ‘Devil House Mafias 2.’

What are you all about?

I am about absolutely nothing specific. More than being an identity based on content, I am interested in the world.

What inspires you?

Everything. The latest thing that has inspired me is Red, the homeless G-funk beat box and Gou Miyagi the Japanese skateboarder. I usually document everything that inspires me on my blog ZOMBO (http://2faced1.com/zombo). For a long time I made a specific point of making Africa my central inspiration…but I think I am trying to transcend petty nationalism and ‘isms.’

What’s the first album you ever bought?

The ‘Above The Rim’ original soundtrack featuring H-Town, Lady of Rage and Tupac.

Do you even bother buying albums?

Yes… It’s f%*king important to my life! I spent my entire teenage period developing my concept of ownership based on my records and CDs.

What’s your all-time favourite track?

Tough to say… changes ever day…today it’s Doneao – Be Mine.

Describe Sweat X in a sentence.

Markus and Spoek having fun.

What’s next… ?

More world tours, more boobs…onward and up.

Your partner-in-beats, Markus – what three things come to mind?

Literary genius, Musical genius, lying son of a bitch!

Favourite festival?

Valtifest in Amsterdam…Oslo live in Norway. Sibot and I played a great festival in Metz in France. Le Printemps de Bourges in France was great… It was amazing to watch The Brian Jonestown Massacre. They also had a huge SA contingent with BLK JKS, Gazelle, 340ml, Die Antwoord and PLAYDOE.

Is improvisation important to you?

A show with no improvisation is a schitt show for us. Routine is schitt.

Why do you dress so funny?

Your mother dresses funny.

What about bringing out a clothing label? What would you call it?

I am currently doing some collaboration designs with label called Doe out of Cape Town. I work on prints under the name Zombo and am working on some knitwear pieces at present.

If you could MC alongside someone – anyone – who would it be?

Iggy Pop, Sun Ra, Prince, Fela Kuti.

What’s the most insane thing you’ve ever done?

Eaten a box of cigarettes.

What’s next for Spoek?

“%^&%@$”And I will be breeding…little Spoeks.

So from myself and Spoek, “don’t be a f#*king dinosaur…use the Internet and talk to your counterparts all over the world.”

Check out the latest album review of Spoek Mathambo’s Mshini Wam in the latest issue of one small seed, issue 22 – the “Hi, my name is Joburg” edition – or right HERE on onesmallseed.com!

Reviewer: Batandwa Alperstein

Spoek Mathambo brings a fresh new flavour with his debut album, Mshini Wam. The beats and lyrics share the same characteristics: simple, cryptic and infectious. Tribal drums meet grinding synths to create an atmosphere of grungy downtown Jozi streets. There is a powerful irony in the special blend of sophisticated cheesiness that Spoek has invented as The King of Township Tech. Mshini Wam has elements of social commentary; but nothing is conclusive, rather the listener is left pondering. In a way, the Richard The Third-produced ‘War on Words’ encapsulates the essence of the album – a questioning of the things that constrict us. However, on tracks like ‘Don’t Mean To Be Rude’ (featuring Zaki Ibrahim) the message is explicit: ‘I got something all you haters can kiss.’ The local and global mixture of sounds leaves the taste of chakalaka and couscous in the listener’s mouth and the irresistible desire to get down and jive.

spoekmathambo.com

For more current music reviews check out the latest issue of one small seed: South Africa’s pop culture quarterly. Order your copy here.

Joburg- A city in consistent fluidity. Meet Aryan Kaganof, a maven of all things creative. Aryan possesses a rare tenacity for raw experimentation. He’s a visual being, with a macabre insight into the human psyche. Suspended naked, blood smeared and silhouetted by hostile global images, his work reminds us of the fragility of human kind. A subjective voyeur and an inventor who cannot be found on a Sunday morning. He’s prolific and he’s watching YOU. Check out www.kaganof.com.

Hello Bruce Cowie. A Jozi boy through and through, this creative ambassador has been “doing his thing” in the design industry for over 11 years. Founder of Design Is A Good Idea, Bruce celebrates all of life’s marvellous obscurities. Noticing & promoting interesting things that others tend to miss, he illustrates how find extraordinary beauty and colourful flamboyancy can be found if we just look a little closer, for a little longer.

Frivolities aside, Chris Saunders is just another man with a camera. Alongside Murray Turpin (m18j92t), Nick Nesbitt (Kidu) and Clinton Jordaan he’s part of Team Uncool. Chris believes in the power of a collective energy. He’s about revolutionizing conventional ways of thinking, making great sandwiches, and hustling like Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone.

Joburg isn’t dressed pretty. Shit goes down. It’s about embracing the intense energy. A real place for real people. No matter who you are, where you’re from or where you’re going, remember that “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is You’er than You.”! So, from us and Dr Seuss adios amigos, we’ll be seeing you soon.