Posts Tagged ‘music’

As my penance for arriving past the hour of fashionably late, I was condemned to the sit in the noisiest and liveliest row of the New Space Theatre. The curse did not seem too much to bear, as soon the lyrical sass and musical whims drew all eyes and ears into itself. Mr Cat and the Jackal.

Mr Cat and the Jackal take you on a musical journey beyond explanation as you disembark on a shift of musical conscience. More simply put it is a space where music meets music and people actually come to play…

It might sound like a strange concept, applauding musicians for actually playing music (After all, isn’t that what all musicians do?) but in a world filled with lemmings, sound-a-likes, and wannabees it is simply refreshing to hear an innovative way of creating a musical experience.

Chatting to the converted souls who now pledge a following in fanship, it’s interesting to find out how they first came to experience the music. One girl claims to have heard them playing in a shopping centre and was so intrigued, she phoned the in store radio to find out who played the song. Another had first met Mr Cat and the Jackal at Catu Irish Bar (an event organised by Overtone) and since then has been eagerly following all their Cape Town activities….

Watching Mr Cat and the Jackal at play is a treat within itself. The new show “Sins and Sirens” is an cleverly crafted musical dialogue that will have walk you through a ‘never never land’ experience and bring you back to the world of the living.

“The musically multi-dimensional mavericks, Mr Cat & the Jackal, have sculpted and theorised their third theme to suit the stage more theatrically in their new in Cape Town and surrounds.The group have created their own instruments, genre and finally a new form of musical. Little by little, step by step, this ensemble will mesmerise you into believing their tales and philosophies before taking you aboard ancient adventures that will all too soon be over, just like your first glass of wine. This multi faceted show is highly recommended to anyone with a rich taste in music.”

To all the souls that have been converted and all the souls they have yet to meet as they start their journey, stay posted to find the official decree of where the band shall be.

“Prepare to be amazed.”

Lena Ski

Extreme Weather.Extreme Sports.Extreme Music.

It does not get more extreme then this.

To all the daredevils who came out in the 42c heat SALUTE – and I’m not just talking about the guys on wheels. While the rest of you played it safe this weekend, ZONE 7 was pumping with flick flaks, black flips, tail whips, dirt in your face, and death defying maneuvers are simply “Epic”.”Wild”.”Crazy” and “Sizzling”.

The excitement and amazement quickly took the place of the heatwave as no one dared to even blink. I’m pretty sure people even forgot to breath. With so much going on in every single direction I don’t blame them.

Cape Town has a newbie sensation sweeping across the land and by the looks of it it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Ok, so it isn’t that new but Pro X sure is… Last year they tried it out on the backdrop of the V and A Waterfront.
This year things just got a whole lot bigger. FMX, BMX, SKATE, WAKE, MTB TRIALS, SUPERCROSS, TRIALS, and a MUSIC FEST. Now that’s wicked!

The much talked about demos had the crowd cheering. Who would have thought you could do that on a bike? I mean seriously. Hello. That’s just mind bloggingly head scratching. Chatting to the bikers afterwards I was suprised to find out they didn’t have an answer to that either. “You just make it up as you go along”. Right…

FMX was by far the main attraction. So much so that people were fighting each other for seats. The top 4 SA Champs blew everyone away with ease(and dust clouds) as they worked the ramps and skies. Now these guys are totally Hot.

The coolest cats of the lot were the wakeboarders. Yet before things really kicked off the pool was taken over by bikinis and topless guys who just could not handle the heat.Pity the wake was short lived… could have done with the splash.

As the sun settled over the horizon and finally released the us from the sweltering heat …The bands took to the the stage and got the crowd buring all over again. Nice One. Big Cheers to The Little Kings, Hog Hoggigy Hog, Van Coke Cartel and all the other bands and DJ’s who refused to let the crowd off thier feet.

As the weekend wraped you’re left wondering – can we go again???

PS Don’t try this at home.

Lena Ski

It seems surprising that a cramped little upstairs room at Cape Town’s longstanding late-night Long Street eatery, Mr Pickwicks, can accommodate the kind of high-energy live performance hybrid dance music that fans of Goldfish, Coda, Iridium Project and Flash Republic are presently switching on to. But, with typically irrational disregard for conventional behaviour, dynamic three-piece live dance outfit Pravda23 has scaled down its successful dance/art stageshow to accommodate only 60 brave and fortunate people every week. Welcome to Saturdays in October with Pravda23.

Every Saturday in October, Pravda23 will be plugging in and banging out an inimitable live music party upstairs at Mr Pickwicks at 9pm. Cover charge is R30 (for your first Saturday: free for all Saturdays in October thereafter!). T-shirts, CDs, comic art, badges and stickers are on sale. Various art projects take place every week on the open-air balcony overlooking Long Street, and materials are provided.

Pravda23 is a musical outfit from Cape Town, South Africa. Taking cues from groove music across a number of genres, Pravda23 is led by multi-instrumentalist and musical director John Bartmann, and features a variety of session artists, including acclaimed scratch DJ Knucklez, and classical guitarist and pianist James Harris. Their music is a cross section of danceable electronic beats and live performance, often featuring live violin, keyboard, guitar, turntables, djembe drums, knives, forks, tables, stomping feet, and various other percussive instruments.

Bartmann began his music career at the age of three, playing from his older sister’s piano books, taking violin lessons at the age of 10, teaching himself guitar, drums and African drums and returning to violin twelve years later after receiving an amazing response to live violin electronica from the South African crowds. He has been composing hybrid electronic music since 2004. Nick Knucklez has been DJing since 2003 and performs live djembe, didgeridoo, scratching and FX from behind the decks. All music is free to download and enjoy from www.pravda23.com.

Pravda23 can be compared to artists such as Röyksopp, Telépopmusik, Nôze, Daft Punk, Goldfrapp, Moby, Massive Attack, Underworld, The Bays, Robert Miles, Plaid, Zero7, Telefon Tel Aviv, Air, Portishead, Leftfield, and St Germain, amongst others. Sparse vocals, dense basslines and powerful synthesizer stabs, arrhythmic trip-hop violin pizzicato, glitchy patches of intelligent dance music programming and haunting violin overlays. A magnificent hybrid of live and programmed audio, performed enthusiastically and released for free download on www.pravda23.com regularly.

LINKAGE LOVE

HOMEPAGE: www.pravda23.com | update your music
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/Pravda23/8574138309
MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/pravda23
OVERTONE: www.overtone.co.za/pravda23

UPCOMING SHOWS

Oct 3rd @ Mr Pickwicks, Cape Town, 9pm
Oct 10th @ Mr Pickwicks, Cape Town, 9pm
Oct 17th @ Mr Pickwicks, Cape Town, 9pm
Oct 24th @ Mr Pickwicks, Cape Town, 9pm
Oct 31st @ Mr Pickwicks, Cape Town, 9pm

www.pravda23.com | update your music

Emerging from the Road To V-Fest competition in 2008 for the best unsigned band in SA as runner-up and having released their much anticipated second album, The Adventures of Captain Stu, in February 2009, these Cape Town boys are back in Durban for their official album launch that side of the track! Be sure to catch them at a venue near you as they bring you an urban twist of music with a tightly executed, energetic and eclectic blend of ska, funk, rock and reggae – their first performances as a new exciting 5-piece:

11th of September – Vmacs Roadhouse
(with Manuvah to Land)
Venue: Vmacs Roadhouse, Pinetown, Durban
Time: 20h00
Entrance: R30

12h of September – Willowvale
(with Fire Through The Window & Fruit and Veggies)
Venue: Willowvale Hotel, Durban
Time: 20h00
Entrance: R40 / R100 with album

13th of September – Thunder Road Cafe
(with The Carboot Vendors)
Venue: Thunder Road Cafe, Durban
Time: 20h00
Entrance: FREE

We chatted to Verona Walls about supporting Haste The Day on their South African tour.