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

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

 
We caught up with various artists who performed at CTEMF and chatted to Dave Ireton, one of the organisers, to find out what they had to say looking back at the event – one which has surely been a milestone in South Africa’s electronic music scene history.


 
Fabio Di Cosmo aka DJ Cosmo from Digital Rocket(Listen!)
 

© Digital Rockit

The CTEMF exceeded my expectations in many ways, and although Sunday was not as busy as previous days, I was still amazed that on the third day the crowd had such a high level of energy.

Deep-house seemed to be the order of the day. Although I was only there for Black Coffee and Bruno Morphet, they both delivered quality sets with Bruno definitely delivering some of the deepest music of the festival. In the evening when we (Digital Rockit) played, the crowd was well into it and it went down really well, it was such a pleasure to play to them. I was very impressed with Regan’s underground quality techno and thought Goldfish killed it.

I thought the layout and location of the festival was pure genius, the sloped floor leading down towards the stage and backstage area were brilliant, the sound was amazing, the bars were always clean and quick and the weather just perfect.

Here’s to CTEMF 2013.
 
 
 
Floyd Lavine:

© Floyd Lavine

My CTEMF experience was one I will never forget, being able to say I was there from the beginning will one day be my ‘claim to fame when telling my gran kidz.’ I was booked to play on Sunday for CTEMF, I was rather nervous about my performance, firstly because it was great honour to be part of the first ever electronic music festival and secondly because I only had a little bit of sleep before my set which was at 13h00. When I arrived on Sunday it was rather empty so I was kind of relieved as my nerves were starting to get a hold of me. Many of the stage managers were very cool and professional, they made sure I was well looked after and made me feel at ease, which allowed me to focus on my set.

For me the most important part about CTEMF was how professional the whole event was run. Truly a worldclass event that I believe will grow, and in future become the cornerstone of the Cape Town music calendar.

I am very proud to have been one of the artists chosen.
 
 
 
Audiophile021 and Richard the Third:

Audiophile021

 
Do you think it was a good decision to have held the festival over three days?

Audiophile021:The three-day festival was a good idea as you cannot showcase the diversity of genres in only one day.

You need the time for the festival to grow – to morph. Numbers are not the most important thing. This is the first time we have hosted something like this in SA; CTEMF really set a standard, and people should be aware of that. (Audiophile021)

Richard the Third:It could only be done over three days. That’s the essence of a city festival like Sonar or Detroit Music Festival, that you go and party and come home and go out the next day. Also it was necessary to have at least three days to accommodate the line-up of artists that reflect SA electronic music; 1 day would have just scratched the surface.

Richard the Third

You spoke to a whole lot of industry people and artists in the Red Bull workshops that led up to the CTEMF – which workshops were most informative for you, and any words you’d like to reiterate for artists that could not attend?

Audiophile021: The lectures leading up to CTEMF were all free for the public to absorb information and network with people they would never usually get a chance to meet. I mean when you’re starting off, how do you get a chance to really sit down and get to know these people? When you have Dominique Gawlowski from Griet – an artist and management events company – sitting on a couch telling you about how signing artists and her experiences, well, it’s fantastic. We do these talks often but dedicated three days of talks, getting to grips about the industry and for artists to find out things themselves was a great idea – and a really good marketing strategy.

You can never underestimate the value of lectures.(Audiophile021)

Richard the Third: That’s not something I can easily answer! Because I hosted all the Red Bull sessions, they were all equally informative and fascinating packed with information.

I guess if there is one overall point to come out of the workshops is that artists need to balance being as independent as possible in the modern music world, at least initially in their career, and always remain focused on the music that they love making and playing. (Richard the Third)

 

CTEMF

How was your set?

Audiophile021: Yeah, it was a good one – I played beats that I looked and searched hard for – that, without sounding cheesy, felt a connection to. I had a good one.

The sound system was fucking incredible. (Audiophile021)

Richard the Third: For my set, personally I found the crowd really open. Got to play a nice range of bassy, housy stuff and harder edged stuff which I can’t normally play at other venues.

 
Any suggestions – being someone in the industry – for CTEMF 2013?

Nothing for the organisers, rather more for the people of Cape Town.That they should embrace partying during the day. (Audiophile021)

I mean to stop the mentality of ‘let’s go see a 10pm movie and then head over to the festival’. The festival was the perfect day setting, views over granger bay – cream of the crop artists playing during the day. You don’t need drugs to have a good party!

Richard the Third: Nope Everything was perfect.

CTEMF

CTEMF

Your opinion concerning the venue of CTEMF and over all organisation of event?

Richard the Third: Very well organised, there were no hiccups from my side. The venue is great for it being a festival that attracts an international audience as it’s well-located and has a great view of the ocean and mountain. Nothing like raving with the smell of the sea in the air!

Did you watch any other sets, if so, who was your favourite?

Felix Laband and Fletcher were amazing, playing their own stuff mixed over with quirky South African voice samples and Kid Fonque played a really diverse and varied set which I enjoyed a lot, but overall I felt like everyone brought their A-Game.(Richard the Third)

 

CTEMF

CTEMF, Mr Sakitumi & The Grrrl

We are very happy with the way the festival ran, we did not have one issue all weekend, our team was incredible… bars ran smoothly, the door never had a hiccup, the production was incredible, no noise complaints and best of all, positive reviews! We are so excited to get working on CTEMF 2013, there are some areas we feel we can improve on! Personally my favourite acts were… Kalahari Surfer, Markus Wormstorm, Felix Laband, Mr Sakitumi & The Grrrl, El Gordo, Monique Pascall, Black Coffee, Bruno Morphet, Dean Fuel, Regan, Goldfish and Ivan Turanjanin but that’s because I’m a bit of a techno-head I guess. Everyone was brilliant!

Big thanks to all the people of who came along and were part of the first Cape Town electronic music festival, and a big thanks to all our partners without you guys this festival would never had happened!

CTEMF, artist: AKA

CTEMF

Well, that’s it for now. From the team at one small seed, thanks to the above peeps for taking the time to speak with us and big ups to Dave Ireton and Duncan Ringrose (the other main organiser behind the CTEMF) for making this event happen and keep us informed about the next one guys.

Some links to check out!
If you haven’t yet browsed through our EleKTRONiK Dialogue category on onesmallseed.com, then here’s a few links to some of our video interviews with artists who played at the CTEMF.

Niskerone

Tommy Gun

Bruce Willis??

Felix Laband

Blush n Bass

Keep posted for upcoming interviews with Audiophile021, Protoculture and Haezer! Keep posted to our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @onesmallseedSAfor updates!.

CTEMF

If you didn’t know that Rocking the Daisies was this past weekend, then you are probably over 70 and have a house filled with cats, kak ‘collectible’ porcelain and questionable odours. Attracting over 10 000 people every year, RTD 2011 was no different and one small seed contributor Cameron Duncan hit it, and hit it hard…

It was about 9pm on Friday night when the seed team finally arrived at Cloof Wine Estate. The plan was to arrive a lot earlier, but some dubious directions meant that we ended up in Pella (not once, but twice) and were lucky to escape with our lives. Believe me when I say that that place is best avoided, especially at nightfall. Having successfully negotiated gangster’s paradise, with a zest for life that only a near death experience provides, we finally arrived to the sound of bass reverberating across the field and a sea of tents and cars. Luckily the Chinese have got tents down to a fine art so it only took about five minutes to put ours up, make some wardrobe additions and mix up something strong with the bottle stores (fourth) finest vodka. Daisies, here we come…

The festival had been in full swing since early Friday afternoon and we had barely left the VIP/Media campsite when we encountered those who (clearly) arrived a lot earlier than us. One young woman was so fantastically out of it (read: fucked) that she could do nothing more than lean against the fence and mutter to herself as her head lolled back and forth. A short while later and we passed a group of guys practically carrying a mate of theirs who slurred out “I have no more money left!”.  Rookies! Don’t they know a three day festival is a marathon, not a sprint? It was going to be one interesting weekend.

Before heading across the makeshift bridge to the festival proper, we got acquainted with the camping section and did some mingling with our festival brethren. After checking one of our crew in to Lumo City, we had a sneaky puff with the brains behind the Lumo Sumo concept, Tim, Ricky and John. All three are rad guys and very passionate about their blossoming company. It does of course help that a large number of their clients happened to be attractive American exchange students, with a healthy appetite for some South African loving. The camping section resembled a refugee camp in that it was a sea of tents almost as far as the eye could see. It was almost like a makeshift town had sprung up over a couple of days, complete with ablution areas, restaurants and even a ‘Daisy Den’ for the ladies. I wouldn’t be surprised if the tent dwellers had elected some sort of tent king who ruled over the land with a crown of pegs, such was the vastness of the campsite.

The seed crew was pleasantly ‘on it’ and needed some music in the system! We headed across the bridge with the masses and took in the festival for the first time. At the end of the bridge, that connected tent land to music land, was a Converse stall called ‘The Right To Tune’. The concept behind this was basically two folk singers following people with a guitar and a tambourine and tuning them in impromptu songs. Yeah, I don’t get it either. The sounds of Jack Parow blared from the Main Stage as the Zef proponent gave the crowd what they had come to expect from the man – tongue in cheek humour, fat beats and an energetic stage presence. It works, and hundreds of Bellville’s finest were lapping it up!

Mix n Blend – Kitten Mincer

Mix ‘n Blend were an act I was really looking forward to seeing and were up next after Meneer Parow. I could barely contain my excitement when the band arrived on stage, but sadly the sound did not do them any justice. We stayed for the first song and just couldn’t take it anymore – the bass was nowhere near enough, the levels were too soft and it just generally sounded flat. A travesty for such a talented group of people! I sincerely hope it was rectified shortly thereafter.

El Gordo

After the poor sound at the main stage, we hankered after some real bass so made our way to the Electronic stage. Brilliantly put together by Kilowatt AV, sShadoworkss and Red Bull Studio Cape Town, the dome was heaving to the sounds of El Gordo. Freshly back from London, where he is studying at one of the world’s premier music production schools, El G delivered his trademark sounds of the indefinable. Techno infused with electro, with a dash of nu-disco and a dollop of breakbeat, reverberated through the massive tent as bodies writhed in delight. The man is a musical genius and I’m sure he is destined for huge success on the global stage.

Mustard Pimp – ZHM

Next up was the first international of the festival – Mustard Pimp / Dim Mak. I was pretty disappointed to be honest. I have caught a couple acts under the Dim Mak label in the past, namely label boss Steve Aoki and Belgian wunderkind GTronic, and Mustard Pimp was nothing like them. My memory was admittedly hazy at this point, but it seemed to be a set of electro house of the older persuasion. I could be way off, but I know what I like and I didn’t like that. We made some rounds and chatted to some people whilst we awaited SA’s own superstar – Haezer. As has become customary at SA’s major festivals, Haezer was again the biggest draw card. Despite the global decline in popularity of thrash electro (as dubstep greedily gobbles up club slots), he still continues to pull in massive crowds. The tent was chock-a-block during his set and he delivered his high energy, thrash/punk electro set with aplomb. There was not a dry pit in the house. Completely devoid of all bodily fluid, I decided to call it a night after his set and brace myself for day two.

Heazer – Dominator

It was around 7am when I first gained what can only be described as semi-consciousness. I was barely dry from Haezer’s set when sweat had already begun pooling around my body as the Darling (or Carling, right SAB-Miller?) sun beat down on my ill-equipped tent. I hastily opened the front flaps and rushed outside before my internal organs slow roasted any further. Saturday was set to be hot as hell! It seemed that I was not the only one scampering for relief as throngs of bikini clad lovelies made their way to the dam for the day. A quick side note: as a male of our fine species, there are not enough adjectives to accurately describe the magnificentness that is the female contingent at the Daisies. Bikinis and short (almost micro) shorts were the weapons of choice of Cape Town’s lovely ladies and I would just like to take this moment to thank each and every single one of you. Truly. From the bottom of my heart (and pants). But on with the story…

The heat meant that the dam was the only place to be on Saturday and the Mainstay beach bar quickly filled up with Daisy goers keen to soak up the rays close to the water, with a refreshing beverage in hand. Michael Kennedy and the brothers Skene (Ian and Malcolm respectively) provided the beats to accompany what was turning out to be an amazing summer’s day. My only criticism is that the Mainstay beach bar’s lineup did not feature in any of the main mediums of the festival. It definitely warranted a mention! Some of the best music of the festival was heard on the banks of the dam as revelers got a lot of two things: 1) into a serious party mood and 2) a much higher chance of skin cancer later in life. Man was it hot!

By around midday, the heat of the sun had formed a formidable mix with the abundance of alcohol (and the like) and people were in no state to visit in-laws (so to speak). The excess vitamin D was taking its toll in a big way. I sought refuge in the shade of the Red Bull recharge zone where people were passed out on both bean bags and other people.  The Red Bull recharge zone is a brilliant idea as it means you can catch your breathe while your phone catches some charge. It was also right opposite the Electronic stage so the beats were crystal clear. Marshall was laying it on proper while I got talking to one of the many American exchange students at the festival. The tasty little San Fran native told me that it was either this or Burning Man. I made some shitty joke about how there were tons of burning men around and left it at that.

Peachy Keen was on at the Main Stage so I stopped to have a listen. The band is fronted by two chicks heavily influenced by the style of the 50’s and tattooed the fuck up (unsurprising as they are sponsored by Sins of Style). Their energy is infectious and it’s pretty evident that they love what they do. They play what can only be described as homage to classic rock. Throw in some trumpet, and you have the makings of a good time. I feel for them though as their slot was at the hottest part of the day, so people were not exactly going ape shit on the dance floor. This lead to one of the front ladies calling for some movement and exclaiming “we’re a rock n roll band – we’re here for a reason”. They played a lively cover of Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Take Me Out’ that roused a few sporting types, but alas, the heat was taking it’s toll on the masses who clung to what little shade was available. Click here to listen to their track ‘Shot a Man Down’

After grabbing a Hudson’s Burger in the amazing food court tent (which boasted better food than most malls around the country – especially Bloemfontein) I headed back to the Main Stage to catch Iscreamstix at 13.00. I had heard of the band a while ago when they were still know as I-Scream and the Chocolate Stix but only really sat up and took notice when I heard ‘Skitso’ on national radio. I was not disappointed! The make up of the band reflects in the style of music they play – diverse range of influences with a unique sound and serious feel good factor. The Daisy newcomers looked very at home on the big stage and drew quite a crowd – say what you will about 5fm, but it does do it’s fair share for local music. Iscreamstix are so damn cool because they are obviously having the biggest jol, and that comes across in their tunes and their stage presence. You can’t help but smile as your foot taps to their catchy beats. Highly patriotic and proudly South African, they don’t try be something they’re not. There’s no rapping in American accents, or phrases like ‘damn, shorty fine’. Instead, they use colloquial South Africanisms and a good couple of our national languages. Their track ‘Cow Bell’ (which I imagine could be the next single) is a glitch hop beast and got people up out the shade and onto the floor. The feel good factor of their music is undeniable and summed up by the chorus “Dancing is easy. You’re moving your body; we’re moving our bodies together”. Watch out for these guys – big things!

At this stage of proceedings, sun stroke was becoming a very real concern so I sought the shade of the Red Bull stage. On the way I passed the Bos Ice Tea wrestling ring where beloved comedians Corne and Twakkie were challenging members of the audience. The pair was dressed in ridiculously tight gym pants that left (regrettably) very little to the imagination. Their trousers were stuffed with massive faux penises that bobbled up and down as they wrestled. “Who will wrestle us?” said Twakkie. One man put up his hand in the crowd and Corne looked over at him and said “You? I can beat you wif my moustache”. This sort of exchange went on for about 15 minutes when I remembered my shade mission. Indiginus was next up on the Red Bull stage and his slide didgeridoo was unmistakable as I made my way to the dome. There was a group of people playing tap-tap football on the dance floor and they really summed up the great diversity of Daisy goers – a Rasta, a Xhosa guy, a khaki clad hippie and a peroxide blonde hipster chick all jammed footie together like it aint no thang. For me, this is the best thing about the Daisies. Young, old, black, white, cool, uncool, and everyone in between, make the festival the most diverse in Cape Town. While Indiginus played, Red Bull Studios honcho Steve Elsworth (Audiophile021) looked on like a proud dad as the stage production ran like clock work with impressive stage wide visuals and brilliant acoustics.

Thus far, all the Daisy patrons had been in really good spirits but, unfortunately, you always get some wanker from Claremont who finds his way there. This particular ‘gentleman’ was stumbling shirtless through the crowd and shouting “who wants to fight me?” All passersby politely declined his offer and he showed his frustration by taking his member out and urinating on a table in front of a squad of bewildered Norwegian tourists. I assured them that we shun this sort of thing too and got the hell out of there before this dude got another brainwave. Some people are just fuck ups I guess. I put the SACS/Bishops/Rondebosch knob out of my head and headed to my tent for a well deserved rest, in order to be fresh(er) for night two.

Killer Robot @ The Assembly, Cape Town, South Africa 4 June 2010 by Killer Robot

The second night in the Red Bull dome was techno heavy, which is right up my alley. No disrespect to any of the acts, but I’m all about the driving bass of minimal techno and tech house. It’s such a shame that Cape Town no longer has a regular techno night since stalwarts Killer Robot called time on their Friday residency at Fiction. Cape Town has become almost saturated with drum n bass, dubstep and electro so it’s always refreshing to hear something different. Killer Robot were exemplarily as always and passed the baton to their highly capable (and really rather stunning) sShadoworkss colleague, Anthea Scholtz. Anthea is one of those DJ’s that you will never be disappointed by. Not relying on any gimmicks or exaggerated movements on stage, she coolly and calculatingly serves up banger after banger. Anthea provided the perfect introduction to the Detroit based Kevin Saunderson. As could be expected from someone who hails from Motor City, the home of techno, Kevin took Daisy goers on a journey through the sounds of the underground. Grooving techno was reigning supreme and people were loving it! I thought it could get no better, but it did. Digital Rockit were next and, for me anyway, delivered the performance of the festival. All three members were clad in identical black hoodies with mesh over their face, and could only be differentiated by three different colours of luminous stitching around their faces and down their sides. The audiovisuals were insane and the music out of this world. It was truly of international standard, so big ups to the three piece from Joburg.

By the time 5am eventually rolled around, I wearily made my way back to the tent to catch an hour or twos sleep before the Rugby quarterfinal. The vibe was amazing as thousands of party people all sat to support our boys in Green and Gold. There was a real feeling of camaraderie and national pride, which made the whole thing pretty special. I overheard a couple saying that the rugby was the whole reason they came to the Daisies and it was not hard to see why. The National Anthem was sung with gusto as everyone stood to attention. That was sadly as good as it got. The shit result meant that a lot of people were left with a distinct lack of gees and there was a mass exodus after the final whistle. The seed crew were feeling disheartened too so we made our way to the tent and packed up what had been our home for the last two days. We snaked our way through the gate with thousands of others and bid farewell to the amazing setup behind us.

Rocking the Daisies 2011 was real. There were some good bands, some shit bands, some rad djs and some not so rad djs. The music was almost secondary though as the real treat was embracing the African sun with all of her diverse children. While the acts may not always be the biggest draw card, the vibe certainly is.

Written by: Cameron Duncan
Photography: Nic Berti