Represent is loving: Ayo
We just can’t get enough of young German/Nigerian singer and guitarist Ayo – think chilled out sweet reggae and soulful acoustic rhythms that zoom you instantly to a beach somewhere hot and colourful, the slight Lauryn Hill accents giving Ayo’s voice a depth we love. “AYO is a German born artist, the offspring of a Nigerian father who had come to Germany to study in the 1970s, and sometimes worked as a DJ, and a mother who is a gypsy. AYOs rather unusual name means joy in Yoruba. Her rich cultural background is also reflected in her musical influences. She grew up amidst Pink Floyd and Fela Kuti, the Soul Children and Bob Marley, and many others.” Ayp’s Myspace here. Watch the video of her single “Down on my knees” below:...
At last we get to use our Chris Rock photo
It’s not the first time he’s been in SA, we were *so chuffed* to get up close to our favourite comedian at the opening of Oprah’s school last year… We also watched his movie “I think I love my wife” the other day and loved it… you got to admit it, Chris… Rocks. SO DON’T MISS HIS UPCOMING SHOW IN SA – The tours’ Facebook group tells us he’s back in Africa this June… “Comedy legend and multi – Emmy and Grammy Award winner, Chris Rock, tours South Africa for the first time as part of his “No Apologies” world tour. Described by Time Magazine as “The Funniest Man in America”, this show promises to be the highlight of the 2008 South African Comedy Calendar.” Dates: Cape Town 4 June Johannesburg 6 June – Carnival City Get to computicket fast. Good luck. Here’s a quote from his interview with Vanity Fair on his visit to SA in 2005: “Driving the streets of Johannesburg can be a little depressing. Everywhere you looked, there were H.I.V.-testing signs up. The traffic lights flashed green, yellow, and then a picture of a syringe. As we continued to drive through Johannesburg, I kept looking for a sign that would connect me to my African brethren—something that would indicate that we were all one. Finally I saw it: the biggest Kentucky Fried Chicken I’d ever seen. As I marveled at the Eighth Wonder of the World, I also remembered seeing K.F.C. when I went to Jamaica the previous year. There was also one when I went to Haiti. Their slogan should be “Wherever black people are, we’re not...
Youssef Nabil @ Art Extra
Catch Youssef Nabil – Sleep in my arms photography exhibition at Art Extra in Craighall. Opening Wednesday 9th April at 6pm.: Art Extra is pleased to present Sleep in my arms, a solo show of photographer Youssef Nabil. Presented for the first time in South Africa at Michael Stevenson in Cape Town in 2007, Sleep in my arms will be the first time Nabil’s work will be exhibited in Johannesburg. Born in Cairo in 1972, Youssef Nabil has always been fascinated with the glamour and style of early Egyptian cinema, the black and white photo-novels published at the time and the hand-coloured family portraits that still adorn most living rooms in Cairo. He started taking pictures after being rejected by the Institute of Cinema in Cairo and used his friends to stage scenes which he would ideally liked to have filmed. These early images set the stage for all his subsequent work which was further influenced by his close friendship with the legendary Egyptian-Armenian photographer Van Leo. Van Leo is celebrated for his glamorous studio portraits of famous Egyptian actresses of the 1950s and 60s and Nabil spent many hours watching him at work in his studio. While working as a photographers’ assistant in prominent studios New York and Paris in the 1990s, he started producing his staged, constructed and meticulously hand-coloured black and white portraits of celebrities, close friends and fellow artists such as John Waters, Shirin Neshat, Tracey Emin and Ghada Amer. Nabil tells ‘stories’ through his carefully constructed images. In his words: “I always like to tell stories through my work; the more simple the photo is, the more complicated the story becomes. What’s the point in making a photo if it doesn’t have something to say?” Nabil’s images have a cinematic quality and explore the interior and exterior worlds of drama, beauty, glamour, sexuality and identity. In his latest body of work titled Sleep in My Arms, Nabil gives us access to stories about his relationships with various male friends through his delicately coloured, quiet and intimate portraits. A voyeur by nature, Nabil places these young men in situations of his own imagining and sets up dreamlike moments that are imbued with a brooding sexuality. Youssef Nabil will be giving a walkabout on Wednesday 9th of April at 2pm 373 jan smuts avenue craighall johannesburg gallery hours: tuesday to friday 1030 – 1730 saturday 930 – 1500 t011.326.0034 f011.326.0041 email website Youssef Nabil, Ahmed in djellebah, New York 2004, Hand coloured silver gelatin print, 27 x 40 cm, Edition of 10 Courtesy of Michael...
BLANK in April
Blank has a blog, they also have various events planned for April… Wednesday 9 April – Friday 9 May ONS SKRIK VIR NIKS – Studio 2666 (group exhibition) The first group show by the 12 artists from Studio 266. Be afraid. Visit the blog for more info: www.studio2666.blogspot.com Friday 11 April (18h00) THE END – Closing event for Jeremy Purén. Don’t miss the closing of this off-beat shenanigan! The watermelons are hitting the (proverbial) fan(s), Wednesday 16 April – Friday 19 April Daniel Glaser/ Magdalena Kunz Daniel and Magdalena is a Swiss artist-couple working in photographic media – currently the BLANK/Pro Helvetia artists-in-residence. Voices, the new project by Swiss artists Daniel Glaser and Magdalena Kunz, is a verbal geography that gives a voice to people to talk about their hopes and fears. At blank Glaser/Kunz will show a Talking Head, one of their video sculptures. For more info: www.blankprojects.blogspot.com blank projects 198 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town Tel: 072 198 9221 Email: blankprojects@gmail.com by...
For the makers of Mixtapes
To all naysayers who thought mixtapes were a thing of the past, na na na na nah. We present the fabulous Muxtape. “A simple way to create mixtapes” Need we say more? Read all about Muxtape at...
Represent is Loving: Muhsinah
We have our money on US singer, producer and DJ “Muhsinah”. Three words for this fresh-faced newcomer: Ethereal. Unusual. Offbeat. We’ll let you do the rest of the discovering. We recommend “Wonders” from her just released “day.break 2.0”. Listen. MySpace. or Watch. Muhsinah will apparently go on tour to the UK in April. Lucky things. MUHSINAH Pronounced [mu•sē•nə] – Singer, producer, vigilante, lover, dreamer. Having landed on the musical radar like some kind of a phantom battleship, this Washington D.C. native continues to fires away at us, sinking nay-sayers and making a name for herself at a rate which some might consider alarming. Appearing on a slew of independent releases this year, Muhsinah has earned each and every title that’s been thrown her way- engineer/producer/composer/singer/songwriter/arranger/inspiration and the like. Contrary to popular misconception, Muhsinah was not dropped off on this planet by some enigmatic cosmic force; she hitched a ride on her own star. Incontrovertibly born a slave to the rhythm, this classically trained pianist has spent countless hours honing her skills, banging on velocity sensitive pads and brushing the dust from neatly stacked records; well worn relics, left behind from her mother’s days as a dj. With influences spanning from classical to psychedelic, jazz to world and back, the freshly transplanted Brooklyn resident has gained a newfound appreciation for space and the sound within the space. day.break – The official debut from the 24 year old phenom, is a culmination of these sounds. Entirely self-produced, day.break is in a sense a heartfelt homage to her inspirations, filled with thoughtful compositions and inspired wordplay. Often times, snatching inspiration right out of the air, Muhsinah employs whatever sonic element she sees fit to complete her hip hop braised, soul compositions which appear to fall perfectly on the tastier side of experimental. “A.M.” is our introduction to day.break. With it’s swirling harp solo, reminiscent of jazz great Alice Coltrane, Muhsinah’s layers her signature reverse vocal like a golden short-stack luring us to a dream-like state where are handed this breakfast in bed… which is swiftly snatched from under our chins by a morning alarm. We are awakened to “Reconstrut”, taken from day.break bonus track, “Reconstruction”, a remix of “Construction” from Muhsinah’s self-released – The Oscillations EP of 2005. It is at this point that Muhsinah’s growth as an artist should be marked, as she exhibits her ability to reinvision “classic hip hop” as “progressive future soul”. Leaving behind the key elements the made “Construction” a song adored by fans across the board, she manages to float ethereal vocals over rotund basslines and Rhodes-like roads in a way that makes the new version...
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