Live Under The Sun at Emmarentia Dam
This Sunday 2nd November get into the summer Jozi sun with a daytime concert in beautiful surrounds as you lay back and soak up Goldfish, Laurie Levine, Steady Rock and Abert Frost at the Johannesburg Botanic Gardens at Emmarentia Dam. Picnic baskets allowed, but no glass bottles – gates open at 12 and it’s R70 a ticket at the gate or R50 presale… kids under 12 for free. ...
New Music Review: Tamarsha v Imbube
Oh yes, it’s a live and kicking music review battle on Represent as our resident reviewer, the delicious Dawn Penny, puts two new South African releases up against each other… RnB meets HipHop… We did warn you muso’s, don’t mess with Dawn, she knows what she likes and of course readers, what she believes you’ll like and what’s worth spending your hard-earned dosh on… Read all about it: Tamarsha – I ain’t givin’ up vs Imbube – Hip Hop Theatre Tamarsha – 4 beats out of 10 Imbube – 7 beats out of 10 I’ve decided to introduce something new to my music reviews and that’s “Battle of the Beats”. This will basically consist of a head to head between two genres and our first one is Hip hop vs R&B. The songstress Tamarsha going against the gutter rappers, Imbube. My criteria for this battle is Talent, X-factor, Sound and Favourites. Let the battle begin… Tamarsha – I ain’t givin’ up Talent: Before receiving this CD to review, I had never heard of Tamarsha before. I must say off the bat, she is talented. I mean she has an amazing voice and takes the time to write her own lyrics, which is always refreshing of an artist. Tamarsha has a beautiful voice and sounds like she knows how to use it. With so many males dominating the R&B scene in South Africa, it’s quite refreshing to hear a female vocal in the mix. But then a beautiful voice is only a mere fraction of what makes an artist. X-Factor: Um, this is a hard one because either you have it or you don’t. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck in suckville with no passport to leave. If you do, you will remembered – or at the least be sung along to. I have no doubt that Tamarsha has talent, she just doesn’t move. She doesn’t stand out, she doesn’t have her sound but rather a quilt of Destiny’s Child, Keyshia Cole or any such artist – but the 90s sound of that. I think she just needs more experience and more time spent finding that thing that sets her apart from the next girl. Sound: The production on Tamarsha’s album is not quite something that’ll make the short list in demos sent to producing greats. It’s mediocre at best. I mean it’s not bad, it’s just not good. It’s a sound that’s been heard before and doesn’t do much for her X-factor strife. Oh, she does her own rendition of Humpty Dumpty, ‘cept there’s no story behind it, no depth to it, just Humpty sitting on that wall and...
Kwani Experience back in Europe
Seems like just the other day we let you know that one of our SA’s finest jazzy/hiphop grooving bands, Kwani Experience, was on their way to Holland, France and Belgium (via Zim!) to make friends; looks like the overseas connections are paying off as they pack their bags for a much more Northerly destination, Norway…BonVoyage … Represent! Acclaimed Jozi-band, Kwani Experience is off to Norway and is set to turn heads, hearts and minds upside down during a 10-day exchange program in Oslo, 15 to 24 October 2008. Bridge The Gap The popular band has been chosen by Off The Hook Production to front the project BRIDGE THE GAP, which will see the band collaborating with musicians, dancers and singers in Norway. Activities in Norway Kwani Experience will do workshops and performances in Oslo and also do rehearsals with dancers in a stage production called “Afro-Euro” which will later go on a tour in South Africa. Ambassadors with attitude – Kwani Experience is a great ambassador for the contemporary young pulse of South Africa, says Project Director, Brother Buntu. – They push boundaries and represent both traditions, fusion and experimentation. Kwani brings together the past, present and future through their eclectic style and appeal to young people with their “I-define-myself” attitude. Fearless musicians The 6-piece live-band brings together jazz, soul, hip-hop and African traditional sounds fused with a message of inspiration and rootedness. In South Africa they have been hailed as an innovative group of fearless musicians, providing the soundtrack for a soul-searching generation in “the new South Africa”. Their two releases, “The Mudaland Funk” (2005) and “Live After Birth” (2007) have become landmarks in contemporary South African music, and through their tours to many countries they have grown a large following around the world. Partnerships Kwani Experience will be hosted by Nordic Black Theatre in Norway and work and meet with many artists based in and around Oslo. The program is a partnership initiated and coordinated by Off The Hook Productions in South Africa, and the exchange is funded by MMINO. About the project and the stake holders: BRIDGE THE GAP Bridge The Gap is an exchange program between artists from South Africa and Norway. The program seeks to merge different expressions, genres and styles through workshops, collaborative performances and rehearsals. From 15 to 24 October, South African band Kwani Experience will be in Norway to do performances, workshops and collaborations with artists based in Oslo. Part of the program is dedicated to rehearsals for a co-production called “Afro-Euro” which will later tour in South Africa. The exchange is coordinated by Off The Hook Production in South Africa...
MAMAs nominees – MTV BASE
The website is gorgeous, the range of Pan-African musicians nominated cuts across genres and (stale) stereotypes (no longer relevant in today’s futureforward music industry) and the best part of all, you, the fan, get to vote for your favourite African artists online… SO GET CLICKING ASAP… We’re impressed with the first taste of the MTV Mama’s that will take place on the 22nd November 08 in Abuja, Nigeria… Our only confusing question is how the hell did Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Rihanna make this list??? Maybe it cuts across continents too… Here’s the official PR: MTV Networks Africa have announced the contenders for the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain (MAMA). The nominations for the inaugural pan-African music awards ceremony were revealed at a VIP soirée at Planet One, Lagos, Nigeria by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa and Norman Moyo, Chief Marketing Officer, Zain Nigeria, in the presence of nominees D’Banj, Wahu, DJ Cleo and Naeto C. Selected by an independent voting ‘academy’ of 150 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the nominations for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain showcase the wealth of musical talent that Africa has to offer, and provide the ultimate vehicle for young Africans to salute the African and international artists that rock their worlds. Heading the nominee list with 5 ‘nods’ from the MAMA nominations academy are Nigerian R&B duo P-Square (Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artist of the Year), closely followed by triple nominees D’Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artist of the Year categories. Wahu (Kenya) and Asa (Nigeria) share the honours as the most nominated female artists with two nominations each for Wahu (Best New Act, Best Female) and Asa (Best Female, Artist of the Year). Topping the country roll of honour with 18 individual nominations is South Africa, closely followed by Nigeria (16 nominations). Kenyan artists scored three nominations: Jua Cali for Best Male and Wahu for Best New Act & Best Female. Ghanaian artists were recognised in two categories: Best Live Performance (Samini) and Best New Act (Kwaw Kese), while Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Uganda all scored one nominee with recognition for Professor Jay (Tanzania), East Africa Bashment Crew (Uganda), Movaizhaleine (Gabon) and Dama do Bling (Mozambique). US, and European artists are represented in three categories with nods to Akon, Rihanna and Alicia Keys for Best R&B, while rappers The Game and Lil Wayne both feature in Best Hip Hop. Prominent in the Best Alternative category are British rockers Coldplay, competing...
Thesis Social Jam Session Vol3.
We introduced you to the fabulous Sowetan fashion stockist Thesis and the creative collective behind it a few months ago, they’re having a jam session this Sunday, and it looks to be rocking! Click on the flyer for more info: In the streets of Soweto a creative shell was cracked when a truly raw brand was born. This brand lays a point of view about the experiences, culture, ambiance and the beat of Soweto. Thesis is bringing a music report called Thesis Social Jam Sessions. Happening every first Sunday of the month, the jam sessions are described as a social connektion of creative’s and people that are like minded coming together under the roof of Thesis concept store to share in the sounds of true music ranging from Soul to Breaks’, Jazz to Hip Hop, Poetry to Comedy. Live elements rule the platform with new and unsigned (some signed) acts performing to woe the eclectic crowdz that gather to share in on this environment. Born out of true deprivation of what is good in our terms, the Thesis Social Jam Sessions were conceived. The Sessions are set out to include all forms of the arts in order for them to withhold in the current state of “corrupt” art forms and to be considered inclusive to all people with the love of the arts. The arts being talked about include music, photography, fashion design, graphic design, live performance, comedy, poetry and film. The reason for them to be named social sessions is because it’s a coming together of creative’s and like minded people to interact and communicate for the growth of a unified creative society in Soweto. Thesis as a fashion company and brand has already set up the platform through their fashion design and concept store, thus their association with the new brand…Thesis social Jam sessions. As previously proven worldwide, music is the unifier of all languages around the world, including Soweto. With the Thesis Social Jams Sessions, music is the foundation of the sessions with resident and guest dj’s playing an array of eclectic music ranging from 70’s soul to neo soul, hip-hop to trip-hop, jazz to acid jazz and roots reggae to dub steps. Thesis Social Jam Sessions provides a platform to unsigned and signed artists and live performers. The air that we breathe is “live” as we belie that live performance breeds a intensity in the crowd and performers alike with the mood that can not be replicated through recordings. With saying that, Thesis Social Jam Sessions are recorded and broadcast through pod-casts, so that the message, vibe and atmosphere filters down to the people and...
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