Up and coming Cape Town indie rock band Champion Trees release their memorable first single, Californ-i-a, of a much anticipated debut album, “NOW 3000”.

A breezy, bossa-nova-infused song about Americanisation, “Californ-i-a” announces the arrival of Champion Trees to the Cape Town music scene. Lyrically, the song demonstrates a sharp, incisive knack for the observation of suburban life, sung to a melody which exhibits the band’s pop sensibility. A rich chord progression backed by a grooving rhythm section drives the song forward, with occasional lead guitar flourishes brightening things up.

Champion Trees was formed in 2018 when cousins Francis Christie and Lex Pienaar met guitarist Troy Nijland and drummer Langa Dubazana at the University of Cape Town. Finding inspiration from local heroes like Beatenberg, as well as 90s indie acts such as Pavement, Silver Jews and Belle & Sebastian, the band started jamming out songs. With COVID-19 bringing a period of pause, their songwriter Francis Christie twas able to  flesh out a backlog of unfinished ideas. By the end of 2020 he had an album’s worth of songs and in early 2021, with Cape Town starting to liven up, Champion Trees reconvened for a week’s worth of rehearsals in which new music was arranged and readied for recording. The band traveled to Nature’s Valley with recording engineer Marcel van der Veen (of Stellenbosch band Uncle Spike) where a small home studio space was set up. And after a few days of intense recording sessions, where van der Veen’s DIY approach, their songs were brought to life. 

The fun Champion Trees have had in the process of creating this music really translates into a refreshing, enjoyable listening experience. The band have put their best foot forward here with a striking first offering, and are one to watch in coming months as the rest of the album rolls out. 

Head to these links to experience  “Californ-i-a”
Soundcloud
YouTube