As the official media partner, one small seed set out to Wunderbar Theatre for Short & Sweet, which seemed like the most dignified thing to do, beside polishing off a bottle of brandy to stave off the chill. The place feels beautiful… like something out of a World War Two movie, except with a cast of grandpa-sweatered hipsters instead of war-torn heroes. There is a certain intimacy that covers the theatre; the projector light bounces off eager faces and the smell of hot popcorn gives everyone that common ground of nostalgia. The crowd is looking to be as varied as the line-up of films. You’d find everyone here that’s typical of a film screening; the obnoxious guy in the front telling everyone to shut up, the equally obnoxious couple behind you talking about nothing in-particular and the rowdy people in the next row offering pre-show entertainment. Except there’s nothing typical about Short & Sweet.

From animation and dark comedy to music videos and conceptual pieces, the short films selected that night left the audience in a changing state of being. Each with its own ident (a short and sweet ad), the short films and sheer charm of the event left the dismal atmosphere outside happily forgotten. The mish-mash of hilariously nasty, over-the-top, enlightening and down-right engaging international and local short films (along with the free Cutty Sark Whiskey) were enjoyed by everyone present. One of the guests had this to say:

If nothing else, the selection of films was well curated – whoever is putting the line-up together is rather well-versed and realizes the profundity for the evocative power of short films. In the cramped space of a few minutes, there’s enough time to articulate, but not exhaust a concept or thought.

 
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

I always knew it would be a riot. Let’s be honest, there’s no room for good intentions when a public holiday is there to back you up the next day. Thursday night’s sequence of now-hazy incidents led to a fast-food ‘refuel, re-think and repress’ two days inside. But all was redeemed by Sunday morning; it was Easter after all. No egg hunts or tedious family lunches this   year, just one pale pair of idle hands, shitty TV and even shittier weather. Only one certainty remained: a fucking good reason to get out the flat, now. It was time to get Turkeyed. It was time to cause a riot.

Cold Turkey is a fortnightly dubstep event at the District 6 Café – an awesome little spot that hides a rustic multi-level outdoor space that’s wonderfully dirty even before the bass begins. It was my second Cold Turkey – somehow I’d blanked my entire way through the summer parties – so no looking forward to lazy, warm afternoons to ease my way into Monday’s glory. Thing is, like Cold Turkey, with some parties you realise it’s not about the promise of clear blue skies and rising temperatures; it’s simply about the music. About the beats that bring smiles, over-priced hangovers and, if you’re lucky, an innocent, intoxicated youth-like kiss. Amongst a bunch of wide-eyed new faces all stoked to be out in the rain, here I was, just another wet turkey about to get fried.

The feeling of summer was still around and amplified by the wub-wub behind the decks, the taste of some sweet, sweet green, and the steady flow of sometimes-cold Black Label quarts. Yep, this was the type of party where even though I never drink beer I found myself wondering why the hell not. You half expect the vodka and tequila to run out by nine, so when it does you’re not worried… I mean, there’s always Suitcases, and more beer.

Before long, after-hour phonecalls and new friends are being made, time speeds up and suddenly no one has smokes. What a goddamn scene. One all-too familiar, one I can’t seem to get enough of. The energy feels different though. I have an unusual appreciation to be amongst the unfamiliar. No fronts or agendas and no lingering, hostile expectations here. And no reason to sit on the edge. Inside the concrete graffiti walls I have discovered a ‘cassette culture’ – no boomboxes but the authenticity and collected excitement was raw and rolling in all directions, and then past curfew.

Maybe it was more than simply the music, there was something building that night that felt bigger than the beats. A feeling for sure, a movement even? Shit, who knows, maybe it was just the drugs? Or Easter weepings from above? Whatever the reason that made this party a special one, ultimately Cold Turkey represented what dubstep is really all about – letting go of your bullshit, feeling alive, and yes, causing a bit of a riot on the dancefloor.

words: sarah claire picton

images: cold turkey

Image: Melissa Williams

It isn’t easy to interview Markus Wormstorm or Spoek Mathambo. Don’t get me wrong; they’re both hella nice guys, and more than willing to talk about Sweat.X, their latest musical endeavour. But their minds work differently to those of the rest of the world, and it takes a while to get into their universe.

It’s a place of running in-jokes, big bootied women, jungles, stretch limos, BEE and dance-floor killers.

Sweat.X is a musical adventure into this universe. Markus provides the beats, Spoek does the words. There’s a distinctly funky sound, referencing everything from early electro and wild style hip hop, to Bauhaus and Fela Kuti. But, unlike a lot of the ‘we’re so self referential we’re eating ourselves’ sounds that we hear all too often, Sweat.X is totally South African, and, at the same time, totally unique.

‘Sweat.X is a mish-mash of our mixed-up worlds,’ says Spoek. ‘It’s N.W.A and Sesame Street.’ It’s also a great deal of fun. Not only are the lyrics tongue-in-cheek jabs at the party scene (there’s a character called Drunk Again Jane who features prominently on one track) they also take some wonderful musical liberties. Markus has taken Miriam Makeba’s famous Click Song, isolated the clicks, and used them instead of the traditional cowbell sound. Lark’s Inge Beckman provides vocals on another track – gone is the mermaid voice we’re used to hearing – she’s a full-throated, sexy streetwalker here. According to Markus, the aim with Sweat.X is to have a whole lot of fun, while ripping up dance floors the world over. ‘We’re gonna rock the show anywhere,’ he says. ‘We’ve got a simple set up, so

the plan is to go wherever we can, take the mic into the crowd at shows, and just see what happens.

Spoek Mathambo

‘We’re interested in playing peculiar places, breaking out of the mould in terms of touring and gigging,’ agrees Spoek. ‘I wanna have beer bottles thrown at me.’ This plan is as much about growing the music as having a party. ‘Most of the growth comes during and after shows,’ says Markus. ‘It’s a living organism, and always evolving.’ While they’re dead set on having fun, both performers are also completely realistic about the local scene, and understand that, in order to maintain the momentum behind Sweat.X, they need to speak to international labels and tour outside of the country. ‘The alternative scene in South Africa is elitist, and people get bored quickly,’ says Spoek. ‘There’s excitement, and then it fizzles, until something else comes along.’ In a scene where, all too often, people have to be told what is cool, it’s refreshing to come across a project that manages to stick to its guns and be irreverent at the same time. They may be taking the piss out of the scene, but Sweat.X also has plenty to say, without preaching. ‘Somewhere along the line, people decided that being earnest was a kak thing’ says Spoek. ‘I don’t get it.’ While they’ve never intended to change the world, the truth is that many of the songs exist on several levels – they’re dance floor shredders and make pointed social commentary at the same time. While Sweat.X is still a work in progress, the plan is to release a limited edition EP by the end of the year, and play parties in Joburg and Cape Town to support it. Until then, have a look at their Myspace page to hear their neohebrewhebitchupinyourdiskomakingyourfeetitch sounds for yourself.

Markus Wormstorm

Read the rest of issue 05

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