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 ...
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...
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....
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...
Explore the stories behind the art with Google Art Project
Google is well known for always being innovative and with this art project, they prove to be always ahead of trends. The project launched in June 2014 and it features around 260 virtual exhibits from 34 countries including South Africa. At the moment there’s 51 items on the Google art website for South African art and the best part is that anyone can capture cool art and submit to the team. It also allows you to check out some of the coolest street art around the world. Here are a few cool things that Google Street art offers: explore cultural treasures in extraordinary detail and easily share with your friends discover millions of artworks, places and stories Discover hidden details with images in ultra high-resolution. See artworks and artifacts in extraordinary detail and experience the artwork far beyond what is visible to the naked eye. Click here for more information...
Socially Conscious Design – The New Narrative
Taking up design as a career choice is a daunting task. Regardless of how creative you may consider yourself to be, the reality is that the industry is filled with so much talent that isn’t necessarily absorbed by your traditional agencies. The socio-economic realities of our times drive most young designers to seek work rather than create it for themselves. But there’s a new generation of creatives, an army of visual storytellers that use their immediate surroundings and life experiences to market their skills, primarily using exhibition spaces and online spaces like Instagram, Behance and Facebook. If you ask me about current trends, I’d have to put myself in the shoes of so many of my peers, but here are few. Ruramai Mesikiwa – Her Sibahle campaign is a celebration of our individuality and African beauty through a poster series and the overarching message is one of self-love. This project is an extension of her perspective, a view from a (relatively) young African woman’s vantage point. Rendani Nemakhavani – 30 Days and a City is a collaborative multi-medium urban art project, curated by Rendani “Missblacdropp” Nemakhavhani in collaboration with Studio-X Johannesburg. This exhibition consists of a series of artists who were asked to document the city as they see it. Thus, it presents emerging representations of Johannesburg that challenge dystopian representations of everyday life in Johannesburg. Her work is a reflection of how she experiences Jozi and her illustrations reference things like hairstyles, phrases she’s heard, the mini-bus taxi lifestyle and street names. David Tshabalala – Run The World. During Womens Month, I illustrated 31 Women, 1 illustration per day, over the course of the entire month of August. These are a combination of women I’ve met and they’ve left me inspired after our conversations about projects that they are busy with. I follow them closely on digital platforms and I feed off their energy through their respective blogs and I enjoy the content they share and create. The project was birthed to exist exclusively on Instagram, honouring young women who carry a beacon of inspiration in their respective walks of life. Bringing the campaign to the public space by means of exhibition serves to physically share in the glory of the women profiled as well as paying homage to them. Modise Sepeng -Founded by graphic designer, art director and founder of Negritude Republic Modise BlackDice Sepeng and Creative director of Kala/Mine Productions, Banele P. Mtebele. “I Beg to differ” is a digital documentary that profiles extraordinary African creatives who are influential, inspirational, determined & persevere to live their dreams despite all the odds against them. Myself, Rendani Nemakhavani,...
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