HARD COPY – the music behind the story
We’re not even going to go into how good the local TV drama Hard Copy is – All you need to know is that we’re delighted that there’s a rerun on Sunday nights (which is the new Monday viewing) so if we don’t catch it in the week we are guaranteed to be prostrate at 10:30pm on a Sunday and will not miss it…
For those of us with a musical ear, you may have picked up the awesome <...
STRONG>soundtrack that only serves to enhance an already tight show… with a weird name like The Junior Musicians Yacht Club, we just had to find out more about the boys behind the music… Check out the interview with Joel Assaizky the main man:
So who is the ‘junior musicians yacht club’?
The band consists of myself, Erik Pilani and Farryl Roth.
Where did the name come from?
One day when the guys came to rehearse it just popped into my head and I said “welcome to the 3rd annual rehearsal of the junior musicians yacht club” and it just stuck. We like humour.
Who are the founders and how did it come about?
Myself and Farryl started messing around jamming with him on guitar and me running beats on reason or reaktor and we figured we had something special. We’d heard Erik play bass which is just mind-blowing. He’d worked with Farryl before, and we got him to join our project. The great thing is that Erik is this amazing genre defying muso, he can play anything from jazz to metal. Farryl writes great songs and I have this quirky ear, so the combination was powerful and highly unusual.
How old are you guys and how long have you been in the music industry for?
Farryl and I are 31. Erik is 28. What music industry? We’ve been playing since we were kids.
How did you guys get involved with Hard Copy?
A heady mixture of talent and nepotism. We came, we pitched, we wrote music.
What was your inspiration for the music you came up with for Hard Copy?
Jozi. The liveliness of the city. HC captures the city so well and we put that energy into our music. Joburg is re-emerging as this new city with a new vibe, and that comes out in our music too.
How does it work – do they give you a brief or do you present them with samples of existing music then they choose what they want to use?
Depends on the show. With HC we provided them with a library of music, each piece was written with a feeling or emotion in mind. Fear, excitement, love. They put the music to picture in the edit. On Mzansi we actually composed during the sound edit.
What do you think of Hard Copy?
I think it’s a very good, very brave program. It’s a definite step forward for SA television.
What software do you work on and how often do you use live musicians?
We use Logic and Reaktor. A lot of what we do is live, i.e. the guitars and bass and keyboards. We often program drums or effects using Reaktor and then put everything together in Logic. We play a good few instruments between us but we’ll get someone in if we need a certain voice, like we used Marcus Wyatt to play trumpet on the hardcopy theme.
Have you had a lot of people complimenting you – what kinda people?
We’ve had compliments from all round. Directors, TV people and other musicians. People who watch the shows also like the music. My mom thinks the HC music is “very catchy”. As far as the band goes, if you like music, you’ll like us.
What other projects have you done?
As I mentioned, we did the theme and score for Mzansi on SABC1, a couple of commercials, a project for SABC.
Individually we’ve done a lot too, Farryl produced and played all the instruments on Roxxy’s album – “Blue Skies”
Erik produced Zama Jobe’s album recently and that was nominated for 3 samas. I’ve done a bunch of ads and jingles. There’s a lot of group interchange that goes on in these solo projects.
What other projects are in the pipeline>?
The JMYC album is in pre-production. We’re still adding to our studio and gearing up.
I’m working on my solo project and collaborating with Niklas Zimmer on an album.
Erik is working on a solo album too.
I’ll be gigging with Aryan Kaganof at the Grahamstown Festival.
We’re canvassing for more television and film work everything we do on an individual basis feeds the group.
How do you feel about the music industry in SA>?
It’s difficult. We are besieged on all sides. My opinion is that it’s not very supportive. You have to do it on your own.
Do you guys ever perform as a band?
Yes, at our core we are a band.
Do you record artists in your studio – i.e. do you produce artists?
Yes. We’ve discovered an incredible new singer. Look out for her.(MORE INFO PLEASE – who is she?)
If there are any artists interested in working for you what should they do?
Contact us. JMYC
Where are you from and where are you based in Joburg?
We’re Joburgers. Our studio is in the wilderness of Parkhurst.
Where do the Juniors hang out in Joburg and why?
We go to other peoples gigs or watch each others various gigs. We like watching jazz. We do a lot of jam sessions in peoples houses. We’re working musicians.
Who or what inspires you?
People like Zim Ngqawana who are taking SA music to new realms. I’m inspired by people who put their everything into what they do.
THANKS SO MUCH BAFETU!!!
