Whats for dinner? J’Something has all the answers
Jul16

Whats for dinner? J’Something has all the answers

Knorr is continually striving to make simple home cooking an integral part of every South African family’s routine. Knorr, J’Something and a range of top South African celebrities will bring these simple and delicious recipes to busy Moms (and Dads!) across SA with a weekly TV show called Knorr Whatsfordinner? with J’Something. Catch it every Saturday at 7pm on SABC 3. Here’s what the SoulProviders team wanted to know from J’Something… Angie: What’s the worst dish you’ve ever eaten, and who cooked it? Did you eat all of it or try hide it? Not going to mention names, but I’ve had some horrible experiences. I once went to a friend’s house and it was a traditional cabbage poitjie, not my vibe at all but I had it. I took my time, I won’t lie.   Andy: What do you love most about cooking?                                                                                       Plating :). I love making food look appealing. I also just love cooking and zoning out, thinking about life around all my favorite flavours.   Lindelwa: How would you describe the experience of sharing an intimate space (kitchen) with strangers? It’s been an AMAZING experience, honestly! Just meeting all these incredible moms and women has been nothing short of incredible. There were so many different characters and ways of cooking. Cooking with these women has really had a huge impact on me. It made me appreciate the moments so much more.   Andy: If you could pick ONE, what would be your favourite, most versatile ingredient to cook with? Knorr Dry Cook in Sauce Spaghetti Bolognaise. That product is incredible!   Lindelwa: What’s the most interesting dish you’ve ever made that is a blend of South African and Portuguese cuisine? Umngqusho alla feijoada. Go watch the first episode of my first-ever cooking show Something’s Cooking on YouTube. It was DELICIOUS! Nos: Do you see yourself quitting music in the future to pursue your love of cooking? NEVER! I wouldn’t be able to cook if I couldn’t sing; singing is what makes my heart beat. Ingrid: What advice would you have for someone who doesn’t like cooking at all, to motivate him or her to get involved in the kitchen?   Make cooking an event, a moment. I always find that gets me more excited. So create a theme around it, and if you don’t cook, it’s going to be even more of a moment for your guests/family/friends. So, if it’s eating with Ingrid night your friends/family will be so excited and possibly nervous...

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An extraordinary musical experience brought to you by Nakhane Toure, Moonchild and Johnny Cradle
Jun19

An extraordinary musical experience brought to you by Nakhane Toure, Moonchild and Johnny Cradle

Over the years, the Eastern Cape has given us a number of great musicians. And now out of that comes the new breed; a bunch of musicians who are informed by their tradition, but who are not afraid to look outside. On the 26th of June, Monchhichi, on 23 Fox Street in Downtown Johannesburg, will be hosting three of these musicians: Nakhane Toure, Moonchild Sannelly and Johnny Cradle. SAMA winner for Best Alternative album, Nakhane Toure was born in Alice and raised predominately in Port Elizabeth. His debut album, Brave Confusion owes as much to traditional African music as it does to recent Alternative music, ‘60s soul and ‘70s jazz. He may have taken the name Touré in homage to his idol Ali Farka Touré, but he is as likely to cite Morrissey, Nina Simone, Black Flag or Radiohead as influences. And he’ll as often pluck the strings of an acoustic guitar as play electric rock riffs or slinky, Prince-style funk. Nakhane will also be performing a few songs from his upcoming second album. Moonchild Sannelly, the “Future-ghetto-funk”, blue headed girl was born in Port Elizabeth. Having being raised by a mother whose independence was ahead of her time, she possessed an unstoppable will with whatever she put her mind on. She studied fashion in Durban before turning her talents to music. Performing at myriad festivals in Kwa-Zulu Natal, she decided to relocate to Johannesburg where she started collaborating with the likes of Tshepang Ramoba (who eventually produced her debut album Rabulapha), Thandiswa Mazwai and Toya DeLazy. She has gone on to score chart hits with her singles ‘Rabubi’ and ‘Cut the Cake’. Johnny Cradle (known to his friends as Sakie) has been making waves with a genre he has dubbed Roots Electro. His bio stipulates his disdain for convention. In this otherworldly music he summons elements from a myriad of musical styles. Born and bred in the Eastern Cape, his minimalist style has brought him to the attention of established media like Okay Africa where he said that his music is “the journey of the DIY artist person of this day. I couldn’t afford tertiary education but have made a career in illustration with work for all the top banks and companies in the country. The I do it from my own pocket and knowledge write your music, play it, record it, shoot it, edit it and deliver it f#ck ‘em all do it attitude.”   EVENT DETAILS Date: 26th June 2015 Venue: Monchhichi Address: 23 Fox Street, Downtown JHB (opposite Magistrate’s Court) Time: Doors open at 20:00. First performance at 21:00 Entrance Fee: R100 (pre-sale tickets & before 22:00), R120...

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2015 Fête De La Musique official line up revealed.
Jun18

2015 Fête De La Musique official line up revealed.

The Fête de la Musique in Johannesburg is back with another bang. Established itself as one of the fastest growing festival brands in South Africa, the festival drew 5 000 people in 2012, 8 000 people in 2013 and 10 000 people in 2014. This year the event promises to be bigger and better as it moves to its new home at Newtown Junction in the heart of downtown Jo’burg. Various stakeholders from the greater Newtown Cultural Precinct area will be involved in multiple live performances and programming activities spread throughout the day, and all come together at the exciting Newtown Junction precinct. The Bassline, The Market Theatre, Artist Proof Studios, The Dance Corner, The Photo Lab, Sci Bono Centre and others organisations will participate in this annual and uniquely FREE celebration of music and culture. The 4th edition of Fête de La Musique promotes musical diversity and showcases a broad mix of music ranging from pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz, traditional and even to brass band music. Some of the international musical line-up, festival goers can expect on the day include: Jaojoby (Madagascar) is commonly recognised as the most popular singer in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands. Widely referred to as the “King of Salegy”, the grooviest and most popular music genre of the island. Benjamin Piat (France) presents his very personal Chanson Française, mixing up touching lyrics, captivating melodies and lively beats. Benjamin Piat is proud to present his brand new record “Boîte à Musique” with his debut South African show. Grèn Sémé (France/Reunion Island) succeeds in bringing their ‘Maloya’ sounds far beyond Reunion Island’s borders. Their music, deeply rooted in tradition, explores new horizons and new sounds. Fete de la Musique is thrilled to announce the following South African acts will be performing alongside the three amazing international artists already confirmed by festival organisers. Fete de la Musique favourites BCUC and Bongeziwe Mabandla will headline this year, alongside a slew of relative newcomers including Coal Train Band, Bambani Brass Band, Go Barefoot, Miss Bubu and The Meerkat Mob. The full programme will shortly be made available on http://www.fetedelamusiquejhb.co.za/ and www.facebook.com/fetedelamusiquejhb Quick Facts: Saturday 27 June 2015 Newtown Junction Precinct 10:00 am to 7:00 pm International and local artists Performances spread over 4 stages Safe parking with more than 2000 bays Speciality Food and Coffee trucks A Heineken Beer garden A Custom Skate park Custom arts & crafts, and photo exhibitions  ...

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Simphiwe Dana Celebrates 10 Years in Afro-Soul Music at Bassline
Apr29

Simphiwe Dana Celebrates 10 Years in Afro-Soul Music at Bassline

Entering the scene in 2004 with the release of her platinum-selling, award-winning debut album Zandisile, Simphiwe Dana has secured her place in the hearts of South African music lovers. During these 10 years in the entertainment industry she has collected no less than six South African Music Awards (SAMAs), two Metro FM Music Awards (Best Female Artist and Best Contemporary Jazz Album), one Avo Session Award in Europe (honoured alongside Elton John), a Metropolitan Eastern Cape Arts and Culture Award and a Pan-South African Language Award. Simphiwe Dana is the queen of essence and she once again proved herself with her stunning 10-year anniversary concert in collaboration with Kaya FM. The concert was held on Saturday 25 April at Bassline in Newtown, Johannesburg, the perfect setting for an artist of her calibre. Simphiwe’s music is best enjoyed in an intimate space. Simphiwe opened the show with “Zandisile” from her debut album and the crowd shouted with excitement. Simphiwe is magnificent on stage; her vocals are amazing and her music heals. It was impressive to discover that she’s a recording artist and a performing artist – she has mastered both crafts. She took us back with “One Movement to Biko Street” and “Kulture Noir” and then moved on to her latest offering, “Firebrand”. Seeing Simphiwe live makes you understand why she’s still relevant 10 years later: she’s remained consistent with her crafted stories that speak to the world she lives in, a world that we’re all part of. Simphiwe remains the epitome of black consciousness and that’s evident when you listen to her second album, One Movement to Biko Street. Another highlight of the show was seeing her interact with fans and it was breathtaking to see and hear the crowd sing along to every song. Needless to say, Simphiwe gave it her all. She stole everyone’s...

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Nando’s Fires Up Soweto!
Apr20

Nando’s Fires Up Soweto!

Thobeka Tyesi What used to be a casual takeaway restaurant has now become a leisure sit-in hot spot. Still maintaining the Mozambican/Portuguese theme with artwork and table set-up, last week Thursday (16 April 2015) marked the beginning of an era at the launch of the Nando’s Concept Restaurant. The launch took place at one of Soweto’s shopping centre, Maponya Mall where guests enjoyed a taste of hot, new spicey meals that the chain restaurant has added to the menu –this while experiencing live performances from the likes of Grammy Award male South African choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and musician Phila Mazibuko. Comedian Toll A$$ Mo was the master of ceremonies engaging with all invited guests adding a little humour to what was already a spectacular evening. Known for its creative copywriting and play on words, Nando’s added an interesting concept to the launch: Your ‘main chicks’ are in town #FiredUpSoweto. ‘Main chicks’ included Jozi’s hot chicks, TV personality Khanyi Mbau, actress Nomzamo Mbatha and Amanda Du Pont. Joined by Instagram #FiredUpSoweto winners, Khanyi Mbau and the ladies took a short left to Soweto visiting significant monuments such as the then Five Roses Bowl in Mofolo and the Mandela House on Vilakazi Street before making way to the launch. The crème de le crème and Jozi A-listers (young and old) were all there to enjoy this affair, from the likes of veteran Judith Sepuma, actress and TV presenter Thando Thabethe, and Mandla N. Prizes and goodie bags were distributed to guests, which included a R50 voucher from the restaurant. This is without a doubt ‘the place to dine at’, so add a little fire to your life and enjoy a relaxed, friendly service atmosphere with great food at the restaurant....

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Freshlyground to slay at 2015 MTN Bushfire
Apr09

Freshlyground to slay at 2015 MTN Bushfire

SoulProviders East will be REPRESENTing at this year’s annual MTN Bushfire Music Festival and we chatted to Freshlyground to find out what we can expect from them this year: You’ve performed at House on Fire in Swaziland, how was the reception and the crowd? It is not an exaggeration when I say that House in Fire is one of our favorite venues to play in the world. There is something particularly special about that space and the Swazi audiences are amazing! You’re one of the artists performing at MTN Bushfire this year, what are your expectations from the Swaziland fans? Their usual incredible fashion taste, beautiful faces, beautiful girls and boys and amazing energy – Swazi audiences always show us so much love What can the fans expect from Freshlyground? It has been a while since we have been at Bush Fire so we will definitely be bringing the Fire. We have also been working on some new material and we will be performing that for sure. Will you be playing  some new songs at Bushfire? Yes! You’ve been touring internationally for a long time now, how has that journey been and how did you grow as a band? It has been an incredible journey. We do not take for granted the great gift that is being able to travel the world and make a living through music, through doing what we love! We have seen so many countries and met so many wonderful people all over the world! How’s the music scene in S.A different from the international ones? I don’t know that I can really expertly speak on this. I think there is some great experimentation happening in the SA music scene but I think that is happening all over. I think the global music scene has become a hard place to navigate, and as more and more people are using the internet as the source from which they get their music, whether its downloads or streaming – musicians are having to be more inventive about how they get their music to their fans, and it is more and more about playing live. I think this is the situation everywhere – in some ways we are still lucky in SA as people do still buy music because our connectivity is not that great or widespread- so we still have ways of selling music, but that is definitely going to change in the next few years and as musicians we are really having to jump through hoops and get really clever about marketing and distribution of our product – and we have to continue to make our live...

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