A chance meeting between Ruth Daniel of In Place of War (IPOW) and Malose Malahlela of Keleketla! saw the creation of a project that would result in legacy lasting beyond a week cross-border collaboration. Working with creativity and music in places of conflict or communities with conflict, IPOW organises music collaborations between famous international artists…
I both love and hate using cliches. Cliches are usually true and there’s a familiarity to them that resonates but they’re also lazy and unimaginative, which makes the ego in a writer go “I’m better than this.” That being said, there really is something to them. Like “Music transcends language.” It’s something that we all…
Cape Town’s Quit Safari is a record label run by the musicians it releases. Driven by a DIY attitude everything from mixing and mastering to artwork and music videos is created in house. Featuring artists leading the charge in Cape Town’s forward thinking, experimental electronic scene their roster includes the likes of Christian Tiger School,…
For the last 2 years, Same Sex Saturdays has been a home for Durban’s mostly black, and mostly gay youth. I say “mostly” because the event’s creator Andiswa Dlamini is set on making the space open to everyone, whilst catering to people like her. “I was sitting at Amsterdam one day and I realised that…
From his early days in Emandeni, to his later years in Eshowe and now finally Johannesburg, Mashayabhuqe considers himself a child of the new South Africa rather than rooted in a specific location. “Hence my Instagram handle @MrSouthAfrica because I have no one place I can claim as my home. Every place that I’ve been…
The Kinshasa based collective KOKOKO! have been gaining international exposure, with even Time Magazine giving coverage to a video introducing their work. Footage of frenetic Congolese night life is intercut with the group’s improvised performances. Most notably, they use objects from glass bottles to typewriters as instruments. But such lo-fi production is no gimmick, as…
Growing up in the village of Ha-Mojela in Mafeteng district Lesotho, the artist Teboho Mochaoa better known as Morena Leraba was exposed to a variety of music. From kwaito and South Africa’s traditional music to the alternative and rock music his older brother preferred, along with the sounds of Lesotho. “Famo and traditional Sesotho music…
Press play and we are immediately confronted by home video footage of an orangutan in a zoo. Suddenly “Kyoko-Hindu” appears in front of a digitized grid. We are then taken to a different scene, this time a home video of a newborn baby yawning, wrapped in a white towel. The frame quickly changes to the…
A multifaceted collaboration between musicians, dancers and writers, Many Half Hours crosses borders and transcends musical genres. Born out of a partnership between South Africa’s experimental music imprint Mushroom Hour Half Hour and Scotland’s The Gallow Gate gallery, the aim of Many Half Hours is to bring together a wide range of artists from different…
Gqom innovator, DJ Lag is about to strike again with his first, self-titled EP having only come out last year. DJ Lag is a pioneer who propelled the Durban Gqom sound straight into the capitals of the international electronic music industry. DJ Lag has performed across the country, including at the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival,…
The first press release I got about Thor Rixon was about his album “Tea Time Favourites”. In it, I was introduced to a dreadlocked white dude who made world music. Not exactly my cup of tea. That I clicked play and not delete was either because I wanted to slate it or I really trusted…
Beezi Flybynyt is a self-taught multimedia artist and experimental electronic DJ and producer from Johannesburg. He is also known as IAMWINDOWS 95 which speaks to his character as a vaporwave producer and digital artist. He is a collector of vinyls, cassettes, clothes and books based on psychology, metaphysics and theology. With his release of the…
