Represent Review: Alter Route Soweto
Soweto’s left-of-centre youth culture is alive and gathering… Banele Rewo and photographer Tiko Ngobeni hung out this past weekend with Soweto’s brightest young exceptions to the rule. (See our Alter Route Soweto photostory here): We love you….We love you…We love you sang Mothusi Thusi the vocalist, guitarist, flautist …actually, everythingist for the The Layders. This was after the 10 hour concoction of music, visuals, food in a cultural blend that can only be prepared in Soweto. There’s a pile of information available on Soweto for those interested, however nothing can articulate the tingling of senses experienced when Soweto’s multiple subcultures collide in art and expression. On the surface Alter Route Soweto is a gig meant to foster artistic expression within the young urbanites in the city and the peripherals. However one could not avoid noticing the dominance of subtle nuances – such as the drive for success through art, the importance of independence of thought and the buzzing entrepreneurship that defines an “Alter Route individual”. This is a person who believes in creating magic through design and clothing such as Thesis Clothing situated in Dube, Soweto, Thesis is the first choice of wear for an “alter Route individual”. Thesis had a “pop up” shop in one of the rooms of the Burnt House where the event took place and I am eagerly anticipating the next “pop up” anywhere. OB the Vegetarian Chef chopped up ingredients that stuck true to the theme of alter routing from the normal diet of cardboard meat served up at you favourite fast food restaurant. Veggies were served in everything even in the garage turned stage where the“Meat the Veggies” band heated us up to boiling point with their locally produced lounge music served with simmering smooth vocals. Alter Route Soweto is not a gig…it’s more than what the organizers describe as a “ multi-genre, multi-cultural and mix-flavoured brew of celebration for all”. It is more than appreciating a young black operated skateboarding label and apparel design from Krooked. It’s a movement that in the literal sense alters perceptions of Soweto, The City and ultimately the individual. See our Alter Route Soweto photostory here. Words: Banele Rewo Images: Tiko...
Call for Entry: Short films – Design Indaba Expo
Here’s your chance to get your short film seen by a global audience at the fabulous Design Indaba Expo (considered one of the top Design gatherings in the world by those in the know) taking place in Feb next year. Get your entries in by the end of October. All South African filmmakers, students and hobbyists are invited to submit their short films, music videos and animations for screening at the 2010 Design Indaba Expo. The curated film festival is open for viewing by all Design Indaba Expo visitors, from 26 to 28 February 2010, and is screened between the fashion shows at the fashion arena. Submissions must be less than 12 minutes in length and need to be in mini dv or high resolution QuickTime (uncompressed or pal). There is no fee for participation. Submission deadline: 31 October 2009 For more information and submissions please contact Kim Terblanche at kim@interactiveafrica.com or on 021 465...
Represent ♥’s The Phenomenal Handclap Band
We just can’t get enough of the musical collective “The Phenomenal Handclap Band”, a superb collective of musicians from the big apple…Very very more-ish. Our favourite track so far is the one below – Baby (watch video below). Listen and read here. Myspace here. Interview with Daniel Collas co-founder of the band...
Dada Masilo’s CARMEN in JHB in September
WOW, sounds like the South African Dance scene finally got it’s groove on, thanks to the groundbreaking work of the edgy young choreographer/Director Dada Masilo that’s filling up theatre seats – Go Go Go and support this new wave of dance this month: Thanks to support from the City of Johannesburg, local audiences will get to see the latest dance/theatre work by 24 year-old trailblazer, Dada Masilo. Her CARMEN, which dazzled audiences at the recent National Arts Festival, will be staged at The Dance Factory from September 10th to 13th, as part of the Arts Alive International Festival. During the past few years, Masilo has made a name for herself both as a dancer and as a choreographer. Trained in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Brussels, Masilo is a Contemporary dancer, who has a deep love for the classics – from Shakespeare to Tchaikovsky, from Ballet to Flamenco. As a dancer, she has impressed with her `signature speed` – the ability to move like greased lightening; and also to imbue her roles with a precocious theatricality. As choreographer, she has been amazingly daring, tackling the `big’ stories and boldly fusing dance techniques; musically, mixing the original scores with twentieth century composers and performers. In 2008, Masilo was the recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance. For that National Arts Festival, she created a ROMEO AND JULIET, based closely on Shakespeare’s text – but reflecting the youth of the title characters in her use of Bach and Vivaldi, performed by Vanessa Mae and Nigel Kennedy. The work drew large critical and audience support and was restaged for the Arts Alive International Festival 2008, where it failed to disappoint. In October, it goes to the Baxter Theatre Centre in Cape Town. CARMEN posed an even bigger challenge. Masilo says: I began with the idea of unraveling Carmen the woman – to search beneath the surface presented in the ballets and operas – to find the vulnerability beneath the cold, heartless exterior. In the process of research, there was so much to unravel: I searched for Bizet and found Shchedrin, I discovered many existing narratives. Ultimately, I have created a narrative which allows me and the dancers to do what we love most – to dance. The first phase of CARMEN, was UNRAVELLING CARMEN a thirty-minute work commissioned by the FNB Dance Umbrella with additional support from the National Arts Council. This work, for seven dancers, premiered last March. Adrienne Sichel in The Star wrote: Not unexpectedly, Dada Masilo’s commissioned Unraveling Carmen…goes for the artistic jugular.The white floor transforms not into a bullring, but a red rose-spattered arena of sex,...
K’Naan LIVE in JHB
Not only do we have two *esteemed* Joburg-based MC’s heading up this gig – Tumi and Zubz – in addition, soul-shaking DJ Khenzero will be joining them in rocking what looks to be one of the better HipHop line-ups we’ve seen this year in Johannesburg… However, to top it off, raise your hands in the air and go crazy for the main act, Somali’an born MC K’Naan, rhyming proof of African talent going all the way to the top globally. One show only: Saturday night 5 Sept, at Carfax – fans don’t hesitate, haters stay home, tickets from R130 get them here. Here’s more info: Internationally acclaimed Somali–born MC K’Naan will be bringing his dusty foot philosophy to South Africa for one show only on September 5. Carfax in Newtown will play host to the world renown K’Naan, alongside his South African counterparts Tumi and the Volume, Zubz, Music at Last and DJ Kenzhero. A modern folk hero and self-proclaimed troubadour, the Canadian MC is one of contemporary hip-hip’s most compelling voices, whose sly use of melody allows him to turn the harshest of stories into memorable musical moments. Like all scene-changing MCs, K’naan comes with an irresistible backstory and unmatched musical pedigree. Born in Mogadishu, K’Naan’s aunt was one of the country’s most famous singers while his grandfather was a respected poet. He grew up in the thick of Somalia’s civil war until his father, a refugee working as a cab driver in New York City—sent home enough money to fund his family’s escape. In a fittingly dramatic flourish, K’naan and his kin made it onto the last commercial flight out of the country, landing first in New York before relocating to Toronto, where K’naan began learning English with the help of hip-hop, rapping along phonetically to Rakim and Nas records and eventually attaining a highly musical fluency of his own. In 1999, K’Naan turned a speaking engagement before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees into a spot on Youssou N’Dour’s 2001 album Building Bridges. In 2005 he released The Dusty Foot Philosopher to critical acclaim, winning the 2006 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year. The following year, he won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the newcomer category for 2007.The album was re-released and re-packaged as a “Deluxe Edition” featuring new mixes and a bonus DVD in the United States by the emerging media company and record label iM (Interdependent Media, Inc.) in 2008. Over the past few years, he has worked with artists like Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, The Roots, Dead Prez, Pharoahe Monch and toured with Stephen and Damien...
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