Protoculture’s story is one of perseverance and elevation. After headlining festivals on the local psytrance scene each season, the Cape Town-based DJ/Producer continued his reign on to super clubs in London, Tokyo, Sau Paulo and Moscow. one small seed caught up with him at his home and at Cape Town’s own super club, Trinity.
 
 

| Elektronik Dialogues | Protoculture: the interview from one small seed on Vimeo.

 

 
Nate Raubenheimer aka Protoculture jumps right in, explaining his namesake and how he found his calling into the electronic scene – which quickly evolved after meeting likeminded individuals whilst studying audio engineering at City Varsity. After doing three albums with Nano Records, Protoculture spent nine years focussing on psytrance. He is by no means a stranger to the scene. As a DJ/producer, Protoculture explains the symbiotic relationship between the two and how they feed off each other, before admitting that his first love would have to be working in the studio.
 

I found after years of doing this, that you need to DJ to know what works in the studio, and you need to be in the studio to have music to play as a DJ

Protoculture feels that there shouldn’t be any boundaries concerning genre, and continues to produce beats and rhythms that cater to the EDM (electronic dance music) scene. ‘The scene that has pushed the likes of Goldfish and Black Coffee has got a healthy future,’ says Protoculture who at the same time worries that the scene might expand and become too mainstream.
 

There’s nothing wrong with mainstream, but the more it becomes popular the more people jump on the band wagon, the more producers you get which are not generally very good. And so a lot of the music becomes diluted after a while

With the evident growth in electronic culture, let’s hope that the scene pays homage to the greats that started the uprising. Protoculture is, and should remain a household name. Vote for him on the top 100 lists of DJ’s at DJ Mag.com
 

Images by : Deborah Roussouw

Completely infected by his energy and passion for bass, we caught up with Cape Town-based drum ’n bass DJ – Niskerone – to chat about his love for the music and the respect he has for other local DJ’s. Length: 08:00
 
Mark’s beats can really only be appreciated 100% when one sees him play live – which is why we headed to The Assembly and The Waiting Room to witness his d ‘n b up close.

From Cape Town to Jo’burg and London to Barcelona – Niskerone’s live sets move small and large crowds alike. The guy who started the now-famous It Came from the Jungle parties, Mark Stevens has shared the stage with top artists including David Guetta, Rusko, Boys Noize, Steve Aoki and many others.

Niskerone - 5FM Mix for DJ Fresh (December 2011)

Niskerone - DRS Virus Switzerland Studio Mix (2010)

Photograph: © Adriaan Louw

With the colours of the Bo-Kaap in our periphery, one small seed caught up with local electronic DJ – Tommy Gun – to talk about indie-electro music, the Cape Town music scene, and what inspired his unique rock-influenced electro style. We also had the chance to see the man at work at Trinity night club where he moved the crowd to his funky, vocal electro beats mixed with some heavy bass-lines.
 

 
After kicking off the day with a drink at the Wale Rose Lifestyle restaurant, we moved on to snoop through LPs at the local music store Mabu Vinyl in Kloof Street and drive around the city in Tommy’s 1970 Green Rocket. For Thomas de Moyencourt it’s about fun and catchy nu-disco beats mixed with dancey bass-lines; it’s about him being able to do what he loves.

 
Tommy Gun – November 2011 by Tommy.Gun

Photograph: © James Seigel

Tommy Gun – Fun In The Sun by Tommy.Gun
 
Tommy Gun’s beats could be described as Leftfield Indie, Nu-Disco and Electro: non-commercial, yet accessible… Check out his SoundCloud page. A regular at Cape Town’s best live-music venues The Assembly and Trinity, he spent 2011 playing around the country at festivals such as Oppikoppi, Rocking the Daisies and Synergy Live. Thomas has also shared the stage alongside top international artists such as Deadmau5, Datarock and Designer Drugs; as well as local artists like Desmond & The Tutus, Die Heuwels Fantasies, Jack Parrow and Gazelle.
 
Last words? Here’s something from the man himself:

I’m super amp’d about the April re-opening of a freshly-renovated Fiction and the revival of the weekly Untamed Youth parties.

We have to agree, Tuesdays haven’t been the same since. Stay up to date with Untamed Youth new HERE.

images: Adriaan Louw, Jamies Siegel

Tyron Kuypers, aka DJ Bruce Willis??, discusses the evolution of the electronic music scene in Cape Town. Since founding the popular Arcade event with Danna Gordon in 2006 to showcase a new electro music genre they were introduced to via the internet and from other musicians returning from overseas travels, Tyron’s style has come full circle back to his drum ‘n bass roots.

Since the bittersweet conclusion of the Arcade brand in 2010, which during its three year reign celebrated the marriage of electro with drum ‘n bass and focused on the party as an all-encompassing perceptual experience with ornate decorative themes, Tyron has moved on to some exciting new initiatives. Brick City is a platform he launched in 2009 with Graham Kennedy for up and coming artists to play live sets, and has propelled the careers of many successful Cape Town DJs.

Tyron dubs Cape Town as a creative universal hub, acknowledging tourism growth, the 2014 World Design Capital award, and the rise in social media and marketing as factors that have pushed the scene forward.  When it comes to the rich development of local electronic music, we think Bruce Willis?? has earned himself a fair credit as well.

one small seed in conjunction with Olmeca Editión Black Tequila present a new edition to one small seed magazine: The Elektronic Dialogues; offering our readers an intimate showcase of the diversity in our local and international electronic music scene. In Issue 24 – our latest issue in stores now! – we brings you Blush n Bass and Felix Laband, and to follow is the full interview with Felix Laband.

1977 was the year that electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk released Trans-Europe Express. And the year that Felix Laband was born. Like his German counterparts, the Kwa-Zulu Natal-born electronic producer/artist employs a distinctive sound that fuels his X Generation. Bringing in classical music, jazz and old TV recordings, his hauntingly nostalgic soundscape is a minimalist mish-mash laced with themes of politics, pornography and pop culture. Laband takes a break from working on his new album deaf safari after a six-year hiatus and shares some fuel with one small seed.

Who is DJ Snakehips? Are you still playing gigs as Felix?
DJ Snakehips is just an opportunity for me to play anything I want instead of my own material. I am really into all sorts of music, especially crazy band music from the ‘50s and ‘60s and the music I grew up on: the dark stuff from the ‘80s. I also love kwaito and jazz and ‘60s French big beat and modern classical music. And all the Talking Heads-era music. I don’t just listen to electronic music.

Tell me about your new work.
It’s an honest attempt to try and capture the world we live in and expose it in all its beauty and flaws. In my previous work, I tried to create a world that was very far from reality. I wanted to create a space wherein the listener could disappear and find a piece of their own imagination. I didn’t want to dictate the listener’s experience. I wanted to be the LSD and they could have their own trip. But with this album, I wanted to express my feelings about things as I am generally very disturbed by contemporary society and need to comment now.

Describe your sound and style.
My sound is a mix of electronics and raw natural sounds with lots of juxtaposed samples that I’ve been recording over the years. Politicians, preachers, talk show hosts, porn stars. This album returns to some more traditional ‘80s style verse and chorus arrangements. My love of kwaito and local house is also a strong influence and this album will feature vocals for the first time. There’s some beautiful music and some in-your-face reality that may not please everybody.

How do you represent politics in your music and visuals?
For the last six years, I’ve been keeping a visual diary of my experiences in South Africa. The mass media today has eaten our souls and left us a blind, frivolous generation. We are spoonfed all these crap ‘reality’ shows and vulgar celebrities… and we swallow. Americans seem completely hoodwinked about the evil things they do, like invading countries for oil, and South Africans praise corrupt politicians who lead them Pied Piper-style to their own destruction. Pornography is a huge part of our society and two mouse clicks away, but is never spoken of. This new media bill is the beginning of the End, but all we care about is Paris Hilton. My art helps me to express all the things I want to comment on that my music can’t express. I will soon start working very closely with the two different media.

How has the ‘Scene’ changed over the last ten years?
I think the scene today is about to get very exciting because everybody is able to produce music now and there are so many kids doing so. The competition will be fierce and the truly talented will win the battle. Hopefully people will stop putting up with shit.

What is success to you?
A couple of things. Firstly, it is about being able to live comfortably doing what I love, being able to travel and meet other artists that inspire me. And secondly, it’s about leaving behind music that has the power to change people’s lives, help them identify who they are and inspire them to be creative with integrity and passion.

How’s it been getting back into music after your break?
That break was very important to me as everything exploded when I was quite young and it has given me the opportunity to really think about who I am and what it is that I want to do creatively. I started reading more and that has inspired me on a more political level. But I have also found that the older I get, the more critical I am of my work and it has been really hard for me to finish deaf safari. But playing again has definitely helped with my confidence as the reception has generally been great so far.

What are your plans?
I’m playing quite a lot in the near future. Just watch the press. After I release the album, I plan to tour Europe for a while. I would also love to work with Professor or L’vovo Derrango.

What was it like to come from a small town in Kwa-Zulu Natal and achieve local and international recognition in the electro music industry?
I always knew that this would be my life, so it has felt very natural.

‘Click HERE for a preview of the latest issue of one small seed, Issue 24 “Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound”

Artwork: Felix La Band

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

one small seed in conjunction with Olmeca Editión Black Tequila present a new edition to one small seed magazine: The Electronic Dialogues; offering our readers an intimate showcase of the diversity in our local and international electronic music scene. In Issue 24 – our latest issue in stores now! – we brings you Blush n Bass and Felix Laband, and to follow is the full interview with the Blush n Bass duo: Taryn Pickett and Candice Heynes.

Candice Heyns and Taryn Pickett sit outside the Waiting Room on Cape Town’s Long Street, armed with glasses of wine and trading stories of the night before. They make up the duo Blush n Bass, well known for its hard-hitting and somewhat rare mix of indie and electro that features some of the latest sounds from the UK electro scene.

The duo first teamed up after Candice skipped off on a romantic weekend away instead of planning a set for her gig at Sapphire – so she nervously asked Taryn to play a few tracks with her. ‘The rest is history,’ she explains. ‘People just seemed to like it and from that day we started getting booked.’

The duo first teamed up after Candice skipped off on a romantic weekend away instead of planning a set for her gig at Sapphire – so she nervously asked Taryn to play a few tracks with her. ‘The rest is history,’ she explains. ‘People just seemed to like it and from that day we started getting booked.’

Two girls playing hard electro music stand out in a music scene where most female DJs favour more progressive house and techno. Opening for the Capetonian electronic Producer/DJ HAEZER in 2010 saw their sound evolve and move away from pretty vocals and softer electro tracks to a harder in-your-face style. Their addiction to downloaded music and Taryn’s yearly sojourns in London lets them ‘stay ahead of the scene – setting the pace instead of following it.’ And the best part of playing in a pair? ‘Drinking tequilas together instead of standing there by ourselves.’ Candice laughs.

Not what you’d expect from two women that look like they’ve just walked off a photo shoot. They are quick to dispel any perception that sexuality adds to their appeal. Candice explains: ‘We definitely try and downplay the whole sexy thing. We see ourselves as the same as any guy DJ. If they see a difference, we just don’t really respond or react to it. For example, we dressed up as nuns for Halloween instead of people who were probably dressed up as nurses.’

‘And not sexy nuns,’ Taryn adds.

Rocking the Daisies set 2011 by Blush N Bass

The two feed off each other’s and the crowd’s energy, preferring spontaneous sets over planned ones. ‘It’s so much more fun,’ Taryn explains. Their repertoire also includes individual tracks mixed under their separate names, Candice Heyns and Miss Pickett, with Taryn favouring tech house, deep house and industrial sound and Candice, who grew up on electro, mixing with a constant four-by-four beat and beautiful vocals.

As if headlining festivals in South Africa and north of the Limpopo weren’t enough, they host a monthly Blush n Bass show on 2oceansVibe radio, with Candice, who first caught the radio bug after a 5fm Radio interview, playing a weekly show solo for the rest of the month. The music is an eclectic mix, from lounge music to trip–hop, indie and electro.

While they plan on keeping Blush n Bass going, they’re also looking to expand internationally and do more mash–ups and remixes of tracks. They’d also like to start producing their own music. Candice confirms the plan: ‘To get our music out there. We don’t just want to play other people’s music all the time.’

‘Click HERE for a preview of the latest issue of one small seed, Issue 24 “Listen to my Colour and Look at my Sound”

What’s Your Story? | Mr Sakitumi from one small seed on Vimeo.

In this episode we step inside Red Bull Studio in Cape Town with the multi talented Live Hiptronica/Beats/Breaks/Improvised/Producer — Mr Sakitumi.

Screenshot

First rising to prominence as a member of Max Normal, with Waddy Jones (Ninja from Die Antwoord) and Sibot, Mr Sakitumi has become a mainstay in the South African electronica scene. one small seed got him talking about everything from past projects and audiovisuals to the origin of his name.

Screenshot

Video courtesy: sean ou tim (aka Mr Sakitumi)

Special thanks to: dominique gawlowski from GRIET, rachelle crous from RC Publicity

Location: redbull studios

Music:‘King of the swingers’
Krushed and sorted
‘pakmanimals’
Mr. sakitumi

Produced: one small seed production

Shot: jaco lambrechts – Frans botma

Interview by Sarah Claire Picton
Edited: frans botma