jhblive.co.za : culture across the country

published on www.jhblive.co.za (Feb 2007)
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African Dope Means Business

African Dope is not a musician. And it is not a new blend of bergie bush, either.

African Dope is a forerunner in independent South African music, and the face of the new digital distribution revolution that will tsunami our shores shortly. Jezebel caught up with Roach while he was building a raft out of pixels and mp3s.

LIVE:What are the origins of African Dope?

Dope:African Dope started with Krushed n' Sorted; three of us djing (Roach, Fletcher, and Clint). And we were the voice of IDM in 97. The dance music scene was still very, very young here; it was a real mission to get hold of tunes. So we got hold of some very basic studio equipment, and we got together an album, and we launched this label to release the album

Did anybody else have an independent record label then?

At the time, in Cape Town, there was fuckall else happening.

It was the first album like that made in South Africa. Then we released a few other bands, and Sony cherry-picked the most commercially accessible of what we had to drop a compilation album on the Joburg market: African Dope Volume One.

How'd that go down in Joburg?

We won a SAMA award for it

Ah! The one that's keeping the kettle company?

Ya, exactly. It broke us through in Joburg; we started getting airplay on 5FM and Y and it was kind of worked, but it also didn't, because the industry at large got the sense that we were making more commercial music than we actually were and I think the media in particular has been quite disappointed. The lesson out of that for up-and-coming dudes is: never let the media dictate what you are. You tell the media what you are, and if they get it wrong - tell them; otherwise they will make you what they want. And then they'll discard you on the other side of it just as quickly.

Did you part release?

What we did with artists is the licence deal; they paid for the production and we took it to market under an exclusive licence, we only signed tracks. Our intention was always to be a label about a headspace, not a developer of artists.

So this is what we've learnt. We've finished phase one of African Dope. We set out to generate a sound, and a range and quality of music that we would be happy to take out into the world to make a name for ourselves. And that's what African Dope's Greatest Hits is about.

And we now start phase two.

Which is?

Bringing it back to what it's actually about. Using this brand - African Dope - as a showcase for leftfield, out-of-the-box-thinking, South African music.

So you've refined the musical vision.

Mm. We're going to be doing a lot more singles, remixes, a lot more stuff by Krushed 'n Sorted; exposing the scene around us. We're going to use what we've built to create a lifestyle brand based around the music.

And distribution? CDs to shops? Or are you moving towards digital distribution?

Firstly, the focus is very definitely global. It's now possible for an independent label/artist - if you work at converting your customers into fans that you can relate with and interact and build relationships with - to find enough people around the world that you don't have to rely on the South African media.

It's essentially personalizing the process of music distribution and consumption.

That's what Digital's about. It's taking the taste-making function away from corporately owned media with agendas and putting it in the hands of the fans and consumers, themselves. And we dig that.

What online marketing tools exist?

It's a whole suite of things that you're selling: a mobile format, a digital format, related merchandise, gigs. There's music recommendation services like last FM and social networking aspects like MySpace, and Isound. You can load up Digital Electronic Press Kits which makes it easy for promoters to see you, give away music for value advertising: free music for information or clicks. You may, ultimately, make more money through advertising and sponsorship. Really, Digital means there's a lot more revenue streams.

I believe what Faith Popcorn said : the theme of the first decade of the 21st century would be cocooning - as we become more technologically advanced, we'll be better able to do things at home that we used to go out for, except those things that require human interaction. Music is the fuel for that.

It's the bass line, isn't it?

Mm. And you'll see this massive growth, even though music is more digital in its finished form. The surge in support for live music is a direct result of a reaction to cocooning. What's really happened is that we're no longer in a record business; we're in a music business.

Scratches and chunes at

http://www.africandope.co.za

Published on www.jhblive.co.za (Feb 2007)
Read the original posting here

Alta Rezazadeh

If art is an expression of the subconscious, Alta's art is a contemporary microphone. Following on her Vega advertising education, she now conducts experiments in illustrative textures as a freelancer in London.

Her current work bridges traditional and new media techniques with a simplicity that proves that fusion needn't translate into con-fusion. Silhouette and negatives beautifully balanced with feminine details create flat images that dance, and moving images that rest. Effortless interfaces of graphic design elements and illustrative effects redefine portraiture and remix social ills. Borrowing institutionalised credibility from traditional methods like painting, she reveals viewers' assumptions of beauty and art; a portrait of a little boy is cute, until it becomes clear than he is underfed. Alta also cleverly counter-poses common icons to create a critical collage that expose stereotypes. You think strawberries and women are soft and sweet? Look again. What about toasters and wooden spoons that spell bra? Superb understatement prevails; but don't get too attached to what you see, because it's all about to change.

"In the new year I hope to have a complete turn around in my style again. I think it's healthy and very necessary for any designer not to get stuck in a mode so to speak, but constantly try evolve themselves."



January pickings

• Damien Rice - 9

• Lady Lea - Catch Me If You Can

• Simphiwe D ana - The One Love Movement

• Staind - The Singles 1996 - 2006

• Mr Selwyn - Zone 5
  

Damien Rice
9 (Gallo: 2006)

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Rice fans will be pleased to know little has changed with this album. His therapy must be working, though, because now he's using rude words that they can't say on the radio. To little effect, however, because when he does curse, it sounds more like he's singing about a long embedded splinter in his thumb than effecting a catharsis.

You'd be forgiven for humming your own tunes over his slow demise into misery. The songs stagger through the usual mix of melancholy and melodrama that have made him so well loved the world over. Lyrics lean on ironies and guilt and sometimes stand out in the metaphorical rain to proclaim … I am wet. And not in the right place. While it's true that we need artists of all ilks to express and expose themselves for our entertainment and vicarious emotional growth, there are limits. Rice is successfully teetering on them in this round with his sad guitar and devastated voice. And when he sings a line like "do you brush your teeth before you kiss" I'm inclined to shoot back with, 'no, I decide whether to swallow or to spit"

Somebody pass him a razor.

And me, a bucket.

Lady Lea
Catch me if you can (David Gresham Record Company: 2006)

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So what do you do when your stoep is newly inhabited by a bergie? Do you make friends? Start your own Jesus S(h)aves campaign by employing them to be keep an eye out and clean up after themslves? Or buy a hosepipe? I don’t know, but I was wondering this because there’s a bergie on our stoep, and listening to Catch Me If You Can sounds like a bunch of ‘em on the warpath with a beaten beatbox in the background.

Yes, it’s slick, high budget sound. It’s lively, and although it sounds utterly generic, it’s local, so at least we’re number crunching on the international dance scales. It’s Nintendo meets Barbie, with an industrial kick up the turnpike. In places some of the incessant, recycled tunes are quite.. uh.. uplifting. Endless loops of “Gotta get up” really stand out for me, proving the theory that less is more, but too much of too little is a little too much. The undemanding lyrics don’t do much more than urge you to love yourself once in a while, which is manageable in a sticky, dark club, and so probably perfect for the Lady Lea’s audience. For once, the graphic designers have done their job– Catch Me If You Can delivers the sound it promises on the cover. The almost punk , almost Pink blonde with boobs just screams dirty candy. And boy, that’s what you get with her hot and heavy house vibes. They’re good for teaching frustrated house husbands and wives and a bit of pole dancing…

If commercial dance is your thing, it should keep you going. Like a Duracell bunny on Ritalin.

Simphiwe Dana
The One Love Movement (Gallo 2006)

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Mmmm. This is so smooth you won’t notice yourself moving to it. It’s slow like honey and superbly sophisticated. The One Love Movement is a maturely mixed afro-jazz album that immediately appeals. As she continues to evolve musically, Nkosazana Dana is breaking new ground in fusion sound. Borrowing strains of Miriam Makeba and hints of Carlo Mombelli, she seamlessly blends the best of classic African jazz with flowing vocals for an easily digestible excellence. This album uses the poise and power of some brilliant local musos[:1] , and successfully samples some of our promising (less brilliant) ones like Pro Kid. The flair and delicacy in the combination of classic and indigenous instruments grounds the compositions in our soils but it is her voice that most stands out. Her refreshing vocal lilt is an instrument on its own that subtly guides the melodies to bring you something quite superb. It’s a voice that refuses to be yin or yang, while the isiXhosa lyrics allow intonations that give its silkiness an added edge. Combining this with careful and integrated phrasing keeps the composite sound relevant. Together they take the listener way beyond this-here-now.

This soulful singer is set to be a cultural icon and take contemporary music tastes to places it didn’t think it could go. We need more women like Simphiwe!

Staind
The singles 1996 → 2006 (Atlantic Recording Corporatoin / WEA international inc: 2006)

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Seems that the power of crunching guitars and enviably angry drums inspire some pretty rough and real emotions. For starters : “You push yourself on me / Force yourself on me / Free yourself through me / You better save yourself from me” is not a bad lashing of emotional reality. Couple it with quiet moments of wry introspection, and you’ve almost got the picture. Listening to a decade’s repertoire of Staind sounds I get the image of soft lips and jagged teeth biting (gently) into flesh. Without breaking the skin.

Vocalist Aaron Lewis leads the pack. His vocal theatrics are astounding. When he sings, he sounds like a mix of a hoarse Dave Matthews and Velve’s Trucker ; when he screams, he sounds… scary. And that’s what we want. It’s a cathartic sound that never loses its thread.

But the album does more than make a sweet noise. Quieter and more melodic tracks break the heat and balance the blood. The acoustic guitar is happy both solo and coupled with vocals, and is never lost in exquisite spills of sound with all instruments full force. An acoustic interpretation of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb acts as a good gauge of their creative discerning and their musical inspiration. The compilation of singles is evidently put together with their fans in mind with different track versions included for listening convenience. It’s the details like this that count. They know what they’re doing, and no doubt they’re going to be doing a lot more of it, keeping their excellent one liner in mind. “Life is about getting back up and brushing yourself off after the fall” (Aaron Lewis)

Mr Selwyn
Zone 5 (Gallo: 2006)

Read the Mr Selwyn review here

At last! Home-grown Hip Hop fusion the way we like it. This is real. You can feel the fellas in this. It’s a thumping blend of interpreted hip hop, clinging Kwaito crescendos and dirty dance. Running dialogue tips the musical scales over into MC territory. Even if you can’t keep up with the lyrics, you can move to it. It’s a sharp sound, with soft sax and piano samples in the background sprucing it up with a popular jazz feel much the same way that catching a glimpse of lace slip sticking out under a hem makes you smile. Moments of singing leave you begging for more, but it seems this man has a lot to say. Mr Selwyn is awake and he wont’ keep the things he knows to himself. His mind is open and his mouth is open and besides having guts, he’s also got a lot of friends. Borrowing village cred, he features fellow hopper Pro Kid which once again suggests the music industry seems to do a lot of borrowing when its not begging. It’s enough to make you think we’re all friends in this fishbowl. I wish. But while we are still learning to play nicely, take a few tips from Mr Selwyn while he keeps it going on. It’s worth shaking your ass and nodding your head to.

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all © Jess Henson, 2007