Album Review: Spoek Mathambo – Mshini Wam (2010)
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...
Syrian Rock Metal Band Q&A Continued…
I also read that many heavy metal fans are accused of being Satanists by the Syrian intelligence. I often feel that when I want to change someone’s perception of something for the better arguing my viewpoint doesn’t help a lot – it only creates more contempt. What is your approach? In the Arab world in...
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXPLAINED
Written by Daniel van Flymen in December 2010, this is a piece is about the current wave of digital-lomo-photography. Daniel shares “I find it interesting for a number of reasons, all of which have their dis/advantages…”
Picture This iPhone/iPad App
one small seed is proud to announce the launch of the application for Picture This, our photography publication, for iPad and iPhone. Picture This has 12 digital magazine editions to date, each comprising over 100 pages of breathtaking photography created by one small seed network members. Picture This published its first print edition in late...
AJ FOSIK: IN THE TEETH OF STUPEFYING ODDS
Sarah Jayne Fell talks to AJ Fosik about God, acid trips and impending doom, as well as his latest body of work, which fits somewhere roughly in between.
JACOB DAHLGREN: CONCEPTUAL ART
Jacob Dahlgren is a painter, sculptor and conceptual artist who mostly works with what everyday life has to offer and unconventional materials. Jacob finds abstraction in everything he sees, and employs the objects to create dynamic interactive installations and performances. When put together in his artworks, the individual objects lose their designated function, their original...
The Plasticity of Pretty
The surreal characters that inhabit Brian Walker’s creations would be right at home in a dark fantasy-comedy film, like Death Becomes Her meets The Addams Family, but with a better makeover. Looking to peel away the façade, Sarah Jayne Fell hunts down the Australian digital artist to uncover whether there are any meaty hidden layers...
Themba Mngomezulu: Will the Real Darkie Please Stand Up?
You might think that someone without a plan is unimaginative and disorganised, but it’s quite the opposite when it comes to the man behind Darkie clothing designs. He takes life as it comes and the word ‘spontaneous’ probably sums him up best. But who is Themba Mngomezulu?
SILLY RABBIT 2010 COLLECTION BY ZAYAAN MAJIET
INTERVIEW WITH ZAYAAN MAJIET BY AMY ABRAHAMS Amy Abrahams: You have to tell me about the name Silly Rabbit, where did it come from? Zayaan Majiet: Silly Rabbit was a name that just popped up and kind of stuck. Kill Bill Vol.1 is my all time favourite movie, and there is a scene about...
THE WILD EYES
Cape Town’s musical vagabonds, The Wild Eyes, are back to captivate you with their raw, honest and electrifying sound. Colourful, crafty and energetic, they take you on an audio rampage of the unexpected. They’re not a “white boys who can dance” kind of band, so P L E A S E do not mention Indie-Electro-Rock....
Shiny, Happy, People… The people of Joburg
Not often do you meet a person who emits an energy that continues to resonate through you. Well Spoek Mathambo is that guy. An Ndebele Prince, a DJ, graphic artist and recently Mshini Wam – Spoek transcends all those petty nationalisms. Berlin. Germany. Miami. New York. He travels the world, making friends and breaking stereotypes, breeding...
ARTIST PROFILE: SOME GROW YOUNG
Joburg-based collective Some Grow Young are slowly infiltrating the mind-rhythms of the people with their fresh, intelligent brand of exploration and storytelling. Their music unravels the vivid balance of pain and beauty, along with thought-provoking anecdotes masterfully told through tales from a mystical world… Tell us a bit more about your musical backgrounds and where it all started. Musically, our...
Design Is A Good Idea
According to their Facebook page, Design is a good idea “is an international design resource, which also operates as a graphic/interior/product design studio and showroom based in Johannesburg.” I caught up with Bruce Cowie – the ‘Evangelist at Design is a good idea’ – about the company, himself and all other things design. Check it...
