The Venue, image: Luca Barausse

You would have been hard pressed to find a more perfect night for the annual event to fall on. With light showers the day before the sky above the city was startlingly crisp and the building around the hall seemed to sparkle as if they themselves were on show. And to a large extend they were. Because Interpret Durban is – after all – about the city and the people who call it home. The very name of the event asks you to get involved, to share your take of eThekwini.

In terms of venues it would be a tall order to upstage Durban City Hall within the confines of the province, and the old girl sure did put on a show. She was dressed to the nine with drapings of fairy flights, washes of coloured LED’s, a red carpet and even had her own accompaniment of Hollywood premiere style spot lights firing off into the night sky. It was a evening set for a celebration, and Durban City Hall, the weather and organisers (Intertwine and Street Scene) seemed in no mood to disappoint.

Main auditorium (pre-show), image: Luca Barausse

Matt from the Accidentals, image: Luca Barausse

A host of live acts entertained the crowds in attendance from 5pm through to the early hours of the morning and included Crazy White Boy, Felix Laband, Veranda Panda and the Accidental to name a few. Alongside the musical acts were magicians, stilt walkers and jugglers mingling through the audience bringing to life the Concrete Circus theme of the event. Coupled with the exquisite art on show from film through to photography, graphic design and a ‘think outside the box’ Open Art component there was no shortage of things to feast the senses on. Durbanites can get themselves down about their city from time to time being the smaller sister to JHB and CT, but on nights like Saturday, when those in attendance stopped for a moment to take in the view from the Mayors Balcony and out over the surrounding city in all her night time splendour, there wasn’t a heavy heart to be found.

Durban was all smiles. And she deserved to be so.

images: Luca Barausse

Interpret Durban on:

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Felix Laband, image: Luca Barausse

Crazy White Boy, image: Luca Barausse

Image: Heinz-Peter Bader

Bright colours and exuberant headdresses filled the streets of Pörtschach for eight days as the competition commenced. Over 40 countries were represented, making the event the biggest international bodypainting event in history. Some of the world champions include Italy’s Matteo Afranotti for the brush/sponge category, USA’s Scott Fray for airbrush, and Belgium’s Houyam Hajiaoui among many others.

Image: Heinz-Peter Bader

This year, the festival featured a giant party where guests were encouraged to bring out their most creative, flashy and freaky sides for a night of creativity, fun and partying. The competition ended just a few short days ago on , 7 July 2013, but projections for an even bigger turnout for next year are already in works.

Image: Heinz-Peter Bader

Image: Heinz-Peter Bader

Image: Alexander Klein

Image: Heinz-Peter Bader

Image: Alexander Klein

Image: Alexander Klein

Image: Heinz-Peter Bader

Images courtesy of:telegraph.co.uk

THE HIVES

The Hives will no doubt satisfy long-standing fans with music ranging from their early albums Barely Legal (1997) and Veni Vidi Vicious (2000) to Tyrannosaurus Hives (2004), The Black and White Album (2007) and their most recent Lex Hives (2012).

Catapulting them to international rock status with hits like ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’, ‘Main Offender’, ‘Supply And Demand’ and ‘Die’, ‘Alright!’ off of Your New Favourite Band (a compilation of songs from Barely Legal, VVV and the A.k.a I-D-I-O-T EP). The Hives made lovers of garage-rock sit up and take notice. Tyrannosaurus Hives gave birth to tracks ‘Walk Idiot Walk’, ‘Two-Timing Touch & Broken Bones’ and ‘A Little More For Little You'; and The Black and White Album shook the airwaves with its hit single ‘Tick Tick Boom’!

Knowing they still had so much awesomeness to share with the world, the 12-track compilation Lex Hives was released in 2012 on The Hives’ own label, Disques Hives. Lead single ‘Go Right Ahead’ moved the band into glam-punk territory and was met with rave reviews and huge airplay.

SKUNK ANANSIE

Reunited after an eight-year hiatus, Skunk Anansie have ‘come home’, says lead singer Skin. Along with band members Ace (guitar), Cass Lewis (bass) and Mark Richardson (drums), Skunk Anansie have rekindled the feeling and soul of their previous work to continue the distinctive and dynamic sound that has made them the award-winning music force they are today. Skunk Anansie will get feet stomping and crowds jumping with their versatile range of hits from multi-platinum albums Paranoid And Sunburnt (1995), Stoosh (1996) and Post Orgasmic Chill (1999). Fans will remember singles like ‘Brazen’ (Weep), ‘Hedonism’ (Just Because You Feel Good), ‘Weak’ and ‘Secretly’.

Newer music off their albums Wonderlustre (2010) and Black Traffic (2012) combines Skunk Anansie’s trademark raw rock riffs, deep funk, frenetic drum-work and lush vocals with more confidence and maturity. Singles ‘My Ugly Boy’, and the gothic, slow-burning ‘My Love Will Fall’ have reinforced their status as one of rock’s most innovative, passionate and soulful bands.

Skunk Anansie will also be releasing their first-ever live acoustic album; the as-yet-untitled collection will be released in September this year, just in time for Vodacom in the City and Rocking the Daisieshttp://rockingthedaisies.com/

STAY POSTED FOR COMPETITIONS!

Relevant links:

In the City
Rocking the Daisies

To be a clear reflection of the island’s multicultural background, which is embedded in a ‘Let’s all live happily together’ model. (Electropicales motto)

VJ Zero and Blindoff

DJs/Producers feat. at Electropicales

Reunion FYI:

Reunion is a European island huddled under the shadow of France. In fact, flying to France is considered a local flight, the currency is euros, and there’s an ever-growing community of relocated Frenchies who have realised that 26 degrees in winter is something they prefer. Alongside its distinctly French culture, Reunion has a thriving skateboard scene, the world’s 3rd most active volcano; an ever-present exhibition of street art; and over countless music and art festivals each year. Often overshadowed by its neighbour, Mauritius, I was informed by locals that many foreigners are not even aware of this culturally-rich island, and perhaps even less about one of its most prized music festivals, Electropicales.

Electropicales: A 3-part series

We’ve taken it upon ourselves to be the foreigners that bring Electropicales to the rest of the world in a three-part series that brings the festival to life: Part 1 gives a day-to-day breakdown of the festival with our highlights; Part 2 is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the men and women backing Reunion’s ever-growing yet somewhat ambiguous art scene, with a specific emphasis on the artists who coloured the festival and others who paint the streets of Reunion. Part 3 will be a number of interviews with some of the festival’s big-name artists, including Jeff Mills, Jazzanova, Culoe De Song, Niveau Zéro, SFR, Alex Rolland, Guillaume Lebourg, VJ Zero, Gorge-One, JACE and Blindoff. The Part 3 interviews will be put up online over a period of time — so keep posted to onesmallseed.com, our Twitter and our Facebook!
 

Teat Champ Fleuri, image: © Gwael Desbont

Koudlam, image: © Gwael Desbont

Thursday

 
Venue/s: Teat Champ Fleuri and Pot’Irons

Full Line-up:

Hiroaki Umeda
Koudlam
Django
Sal Paradise
Culoe De Song
 
 

art/performance highlights:
 
 
Hiroaki Umeda

Hiroaki Umeda, image: © Gwael Desbont

Diversely talented as a choreographer and performer, composer and video artist, Tokyo-based Hiroaki Umeda has developed his work into a visual sound environment with minimalist styling and radical imagination. Between projections and bright explosions of hallucinatory colours, Umeda uses videos and electronic music to transform dance and the human body. His work is an artistic pursuit that embarks on the discovery of a new hybrid art. The opening night of the festival saw Umeda deliver a 20-minute live cinematic thrill-ride that left the audience hypnotized and slightly unhinged. The only way to describe it is through comparison: think of the opening sequence of Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void and the mind-invasion that took place in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, Clockwork Orange. All in all the performance was a show that I’m not entirely sure I would commit myself to any time soon.

Guillaume Lebourg

Guillaume Lebourg, image: © Gwael Desbont

Guillaume Lebourg is a self-taught artist who has pioneered a variety of techniques to generate different perceptions of an object, a place, and a situation. His use of unlikely materials is a challenge to the world and its crisis, questioning the structure and actions of society. As an artist, Lebourg has grounded his work with a message that offers audiences a new view of the world.

Guillaume’s exhibition premiered on the opening night of the festival, where he showcased larger-than-life artworks made up of wood, pen, paint and other materials. The simplicity in its form leaves room for the art’s underlying political theme. Messages like ‘Fuck art as decoration’ and ‘Think different’ leave little room for misinterpretation and, for Guillaume, art should be a statement rather than just aesthetically pleasing. Ultimately, it is cultivating discussion which Guillaume is most interested in executing through his art.

Aside from the exhibition, Guillaume was pivotal in the overall design of the festival: the artist was the ‘scenograph’ of the event and the man behind the incredible stage setups on Friday and Saturday. The inspiration for this multi-level arena was drawn from the infamous Joy Divsion Unknown Pleasure cover. The original conception revolved around themes of landscape, science, space and sound to create a multi-modal spine-tingling experience.

NOTE: More on Guillaume in Part 2 (stay posted!)
 
 

music highlights:

Culoe De Song

Culoe de Song, image: © Gwael Desbont

Since his arrival in the South African house scene in 2007, Culoe De Song has captivated music-lovers with his afrocentric and soulful beats. With a first name that means ‘Our Song’, one could say that Culolethu Zulu aka Culoe De Song was destined to make music. It all started in Durban when he was 16 and learning how to play vinyls with his long-time friend DJ Kabila, who introduced him to Black Coffee. Fast-forward a few years and this humble producer became a solid fixture in Black Coffee’s Soulistic Music family — a move that has helped Culoe transform into an international artist. With projects commissioned by Red Bull Music Academy and Germany’s Innervisions, he remains one of South Africa’s premier house icons and a global symbol of SA’s African-branded house. Taking the last set on Thursday night, Culoe was faced with an overwhelming and highly diverse mix of people — all were welcome in the entrance-fee-free festivities. Culoe filled the dance-floor with his distinct soulful, tribal rhythms that permeated into the crowd creating a potent energy that connected people in an atmosphere of loving, living and longing for more. Needless to say, the dynamic DJ was a proud showcase of SA’s talent.

NOTE: Interview with Culoe De Song coming soon!

Missill, image: © GWAEL DESBONT

Friday

 
Venue/s: Sports complex field

Full Line-up:

Matt Waro
Ziloub
Level Zero
Missill
SFR DJ
VJ Zero
Hakim Moindjie – Gorg One – Jace
 
 

art/performance highlights:
 
Hakim Moindjie – Gorg One – Jace

Gorge-One, image: © GWAEL DESBON

Featured on both Friday and Saturday night, the three graffiti artists — Hakim Moindjie, Gorg One and Jace — conducted live graffiti that followed the theme of the festival: ‘Landscapes’

Note: A more in-depth look at their work, including some interview snippets and footage, will come in Part 2.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
VJ Zero and Blindoff’s Visual Mapping

VJ Zero and Blindoff

VJ Zero worked alongside Blindoff for two days during the festival, being responsible for the VJing and various visual mapping. Before his foray into the world of digital art, Blindoff worked as an ecologist with a specialisation in insects. He became inspired by Lille’s underground art scene and has since architectured the performance displays of Jeff Mills, Birdy Nam Nam and Carl Cox to name a few. VJ Zero and Blindoff worked collaboratively, using their imaginative skills to create a visual artwork that harmonised the music performances and showcased the often-overlooked world of digital art.

More on this in Part 2, stay tuned!

music highlights:
 
Matt Waro

Matt Waro, image: © Gwael Desbont

This young DJ and producer has already made his mark on the local electronic scene through being one of the first artists to have brought the Moombahton to Reunion. He took the stage first for the Friday night line-up, and was — despite his age — one of the best performers at the festival. Experimenting in various electro styles — from progressive house-based melodies to trap blends of hip hop combined with electronic sounds — this is one jack of all trades we’ll be keeping our eyes on this year.

Niveau Zéro

Niveau Zero, image: © Gwael Desbont

Moving from dubstep to breakcore, and hip-hop to metal, Niveau Zero is one of the most prominent artists in the French underground scene. He emerged with ‘Electro Revelation’ in Bourges in 2008 and has since signed a series of collaborations in the form of Drum Beating, Aucan, Balkansky, and Dubsidia. Zero’s second album Jasmine was released last October on the Berlin label Ad Noiseam. His technical skill and impressive music knowledge cultivated in a set that was uncompromising and full of force. Niveau Zero also stunned audiences with his explosive live performance that proved to be one of the show-stoppers of the festival. While many electro artists struggle to create absorbing performances, Zero displayed an energy and confidence that left festival-goers enthralled.

NOTE: Interview with Niveau Zéro coming soon!

SFR DJ

SFR, image: Gwael Desbont

Upon arrival, we realised that SFR was a local mobile company, making DJ SFR a household name! He played the last set for Friday night and it was a closing that set up the weekend for an outrageously exhilarating musical feast. For those of you that aren’t familiar with SFR, he has played electrifying sets across South Africa and has toured Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Holland, Switzerland and the UK on numerous occasions since 2007. His experience on these global stages was brought to the forefront at Reunion. The DJ gave audiences a teasing peak at what the weekend would bring, while delivering a set that had people calling for more. Having just released a new single on N-type’s Wheel & Deal Records, things can only get bigger for this South African talent.

NOTE: Interview with SFR DJ coming soon!
 

Âme, image: © Gwael Desbont

image: © Gwael Desbont

Saturday

 
Venue: Palaxa and Sports Complex

Full Line-up:

Alejandro Paz
Jessy
Alex Rolland
Prommer & Barck
Soul
Jeff Mills
Hakim Moindjie – Gorg One – Jace
 
 

music highlights:

Alejandro Paz

Alejandro Paz, image: © Gwael Desbont

Definitely one of our favourites during the festival was the performance from Chilean producer-DJ, Alejandro Paz. Paz has collaborated with bands like Genéricos and The District Union as well as remixed artists such as Javiera Mena, DJs Pareja and Auntie Flo. He is currently working alongside Avril Ceballos to produce ‘Ladrones’ – a radio show for Radio Cómeme. His most recent work includes his hit single ‘Callejero’ on Scotland’s Huntleys & Palmers label and his invigorating EP called Free released on Cómeme. He headlined the festival by taking over Palaxa’s intimate space. With the sun still shining bright, the charming DJ was welcomed by the crowd as a long lost friend. Paz’s performance stood out from the rest as the innovative talent performed tracks that mixed DJing techniques with his live vocals — it wasn’t rapping, or talking, or singing… But a bit of all! It created a new element of electro performance that I had never experienced before. Listen to the track above to get an idea of what I’m talking about. A one-man act that had the sound of a band… Awesome! http://www.musicacomeme.com/

Alex Rolland

Alex Rolland, image: © Gwael Desbont

Alex Rolland grew into the electro scene from the fresh, nostalgic tunes of the early ’90s. Immersed in the art of sound, he took to the musical lab and began experimenting with the chemical sounds of Detroit and Chicago. While finding his rhythm, he had the opportunity to keep close to the specialists of the genre: Eric Rug, Swag, Soldiers of Twilight, Ellen Alien and Jeff Mills to name a few. Unlike most artists, Rolland never chose between (deep) house and techno, and instead produced a sound that carries elements of both subgenres in an explosive mix of sonic dynamite. His spectrum of sounds and the emotions he evokes have inspired dancefloors across the globe.

The guy with the Scottish accent is also an avid air guitar player and one of the friendliest people you will ever meet! His approachable personality is a rarity in the DJ universe, shaping his music into something that can be enjoyed beyond the dancefloor. He also played a helluva fun set that sent us back to a time when all that mattered in music, was the music itself — feeling it, moving to it and leaving a place for it in your heart — rather than holding yourself down to its formalities or searching for acknowledgement by intellectualising yourself. Alex Rolland made music an experience for everyone, leaving behind the constraints of rationality, and tuning people to an airwave of pure, rhythmic musicality!

NOTE: Interview with Alex Roland online soon!

Jeff Mills

Jeff Mills. image: © Gwael Desbont

The festival’s highlight was definitely Jeff Mills; the music maven who is famed for using four turntables in his set. Mills began his career in music over two decades ago as a guest DJ on radio shows, and he has since risen the ranks of the techno hierarchy to become known as one of America’s most established techno creators. Hailing from Detroit, the DJ first made waves as a founding member of Underground Resistance – a Motor City music project. Since those early days Mills has moved to New York, created his own label (Axis), scored a contemporary soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s famed Metropolis, and taken over venues like London’s Royal Albert Hall, and the Vienna International Film Festival. From Detroit city to Paris, Jeff Mills has conquered the world of techno. We featured an interview with Mills in Issue 25, and were very fortunate to have the chance to speak to him in person, getting a glimpse into his extraordinary mind. Soft-spoken and focussed, this former architecture student is highly passionate and knowledgeable about exploring themes involving space and time, man vs. machine and the underlying ‘spirituality of techno’.

NOTE: Interview with Jeff Mills online soon!
 

Marion (Radio Nova), Quentin (Tsugi) and Laure (PR)

Sébastien Broquet (artistic director), Thomas Bordese (Chair), Jeff Mills, Bernard Feuillade (President of Dionysian XV)

Sunday

Venue: Barachois

Full Line-up:

Titus
1 Al-
Dani Llonga
Wave
Reworks
Jazzanova (DJ set)
 
 

art/performance highlights:
 
Student Graffiti

Student, image: © Gwael Desbont

Partnering up with Electropicales was the École Supérieure d’Art de la Réunion and on the Sunday the public was exposed to large live graffiti artwork by six of the art school’s students. Various other mapping and visual art by the students took place during the festival, with their involvement being directed by two teachers from the school, Florent Konne and Yohann Quelan de Saint Pern.

NOTE: Interview with Florent Konne and Yohann Quelan de Saint Pern and art students online soon!
 
 
music highlights:
 
Reworks

Reworks, image: Gwael Desbont

This young protégé of Sound Nights once again brought new sounds to shake up the Reunion electronica landscape. His deep house styles are laced with percussion rhythms and catchy melodies. A self-proclaimed geek and graphic designer, Reworks is known for his powerful and hypnotic live performances. After running the master-class session of Electropicales he joined the stage for a sunset showcase.

Jazzanova (DJ set)

Alex Barck, image: © Gwael Desbont

Jazzanova has taken over the electronica circuit for over fifteen years with their fresh mixes injecting funk and jazz into electro beats and vice versa. The eclectic collective met while roaming the Berlin nightlife in the mid-nineties, and began a journey of musical discovery and re-invention. Producing, composing, arranging, remixing, and DJing… Jazzanova does it all, and their musical input has helped define a new era of electronica.

Flanked by the darkening Indian ocean, the last day of the festival was appreciated not just by electronic-lovers, but the entire island. Alex Barck‘s remix of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ could not have been a better choice for the last day of the festival: it filled the air with nostalgia, smiles and celebration. Jazzanova was the ultimate finale to an electrifying experience, demonstrating some skills and tricks that had me truly appreciating the art of DJing. The end of the set was not just the closing of the festival, but an ode to the electro landscape and all the artists that work in dialogue to create an ever-evolving musical genre.

NOTE: Interview with Alex Barck online soon!

Keep posted for Part 2!
 
IMPORTANT LINKS:

Electropicales Website
Electropicales Facebook
Electropicales Twitter

images: Gwael Desbont
artist bio source: Electropicales.com
words: Sarah Claire Picton

Journalists and Artists

image: capetownolx.co za

With the convenience and affordability that mobile IM has created, we all have a burning need to feel constantly connected and share every experience with our friends. This means we need a diverse space that is not limited to a particular smartphone platform. Something that offers more than just instant messaging, because face to face video calls and live chats should be just as simple. And some things can only be described through a gif.

Like this:

WeChat is the latest social communications platform that boasts more than 300 million people. It offers more features than its competitors and allows you to customise your experience in great detail. Being able to create boundaries and control who sees what, means you are in charge of your privacy. The personalised pages allow you to share ‘moments’ with niche groups, just like your music genres. Adding someone to your WeChat contact list is as simple as shaking salt onto your popcorn (there really is a ‘shake your phone to add your friends’ feature).

How to enter

Downloading WeChat is free, so you’ve already won. But because we all like a little extra, we are giving away an incredible weekend package to Rocking The Daisies. All you have to do is:

• Download WeChat here.
• Add us on WeChat, our ID is —> OneSmallSeed
• For an extra entry, Tweet this post using the hashtag #WeChatZA

Tweet

It’s that simple!

The Prize

1 Double Pass to Rocking The Daisies PLUS accommodation with linen, private toilets and your very own chill area. Oh… and breakfast! The winner will be announced Friday 14 June via WeChat!

Good luck!

image: channel24.co za

image: ormsconnect.co.za

images: ormsconnect.co.za, channel24.co za, capetownolx.co za