‘Contemporary Visions’ – WOOLWORTHS PRESENTS #STYLEBYSA WITH KENEILWE MOTHOA AND LUBABALO MXALISA

Aug 6, 2024 | Fashion, Community

Woolworths’ collaborative campaign series, #STYLEBYSA, continues its vision to connect us with some of South Africa’s leading creative forces. With conceptual brilliance and portrayals of the power inherent in personal style, #STYLEBYSA is a reshaped iteration of the series ‘Style By SA’ that was launched in 2014: which redefined the possibility between a celebrated local brand and South African creatives, through authenticity and collaboration. 

We are so ready to bid farewell to this very wet and cold winter season. While we’re grateful for the nurturing power of rain – it’s time to start thinking about our vision for the warmer months that beckon. The latest edition of #STYLEBYSA is a love letter to the endurance of denim as a fabric able to transcend seasons, as we enter August’s liminal space between winter and spring – and denim works hard to keep us warm, to help us dress playfully or refined, depending on our mood – and no matter the decade or trend cycle, denim is perennially cool and functional. 

Joining #STYLEBYSA to envision the denim’s versatility is the brilliant and dynamic duo Keneilwe Mothoa and Lubabalo Mxalisa, the founders of ‘Neimil’ — a celebrated design brand focused on objects and homeware, fashion and textiles, that are bespoke to a new vision for Afro-futurist, contemporary design. Informed by minimal and clean lines with twists of organic shapes, and led by design philosophies of craft, Neimil is a distinct blend of multiple creative contexts inherent in South Africa, the continent at large and the 21st century.

Photography by Shann Daniels

For their self-styled campaign, Keneilwe and Lubabalo demonstrate that denim is the perfect canvas to build clean looks, while dispelling that ‘too much denim’ is never a thing. From Keneilwe’s masterful layering of denim skirts over jeans to Lubabalo’s mix of denim different shades and textures —  the duo’s approach highlights the fabric’s adaptability for both menswear and womenswear, making it a staple for expressing individuality and personal style. When asked about the most versatile pieces in their wardrobes, Lubabalo says, “definitely denim, because denim is for all seasons,” and Keneilwe adds, “yes, and a basic white shirt!”

As designers who work seamlessly between interiors and fashion, Lubabalo notes that “we have always just kept it simple,” when it comes to translating their personal style to their homes, while Keneilwe shares that “every once in a while we switch it up and add bits and pieces of characters from our personal style into the home.” The Neimil approach reflects a holistic view of design, where the boundaries between different creative disciplines are fluid, unrestrained and  interconnected.

Photography by Shann Daniels

Style is personal, and the experience of interacting with those who inspire us creatively as they dress and express their individuality is irreplaceable; #STYLEBYSA is about real people interpreting W Fashion through their own lens. Denim season is here and we’re thinking Canadian tuxedos, Keneilwe’s signature jeans and skirts, and all kinds of classic combinations punctuated by mixing and matching our accessories with denim hardware. Keneilwe and Lubabalo are leaders in shaping design philosophies for contemporary South Africa – and when partnered with Woolies? Suffice to say, we’re obsessed. 

 

SHOP KENEILWE’S #STYLEBYSA EDIT HERE

SHOP LUBABALO’S #STYLEBYSA EDIT HERE

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Frank Casino returns with single “Long Life”

Aug 2, 2024 | New Release, Music

After a long hiatus from the music scene, South Africa’s vibrant talent, Frank Casino, makes an exhilarating return. Known for his impressive cadence, evolving artistry, and unwavering passion, he has established himself as one of South Africa’s notable musical exports. Throughout his career, Frank has collaborated with global brands on various Pop-Culture-Merging campaigns, showcasing his influence and versatility.

Born Nhlanhla Tshabalala, Frank Casino is a dynamic South African rapper and producer. He gained significant recognition through his guest appearance on the chart-topping hit “Mayo” by DJ Speedsta, which also featured Shane Eagle, Yung Swiss, and Tellaman. Following this success, Frank released his major single “Whole Thing,” which was later remixed by Riky Rick.

With a unique blend of talent and tenacity, Frank Casino is ready to captivate audiences once again, proving that his time away has only fueled his passion for creating remarkable music.

 

In his new single “Long Life,” Frank Casino offers a reflective perspective on his life experiences. The track features a mellow, atmospheric sound that seamlessly blends elements of soul, jazz, R&B, and pop. Thando Zide’s distinctive voice gracefully guides us into the bridge, where Frank eloquently shares his sentiment: “I haven’t been in cues in a long time.” Joined by collaborator PH on the chorus, they convey Frank’s readiness to embark on a new journey, leaving the past behind and blowing kisses to his former life. Through this heartfelt melody, they reassure themselves that everything will be alright—a powerful declaration of resilience and determination that underscores their unwavering commitment to success and self-assurance.

Frank Casino will be taking his eagerly awaiting fans on a journey to a much-awaited album, in which he will once again assemble SA hip-hop royalty and producer talent to create a powerful return.

Listen to “Long Life” here

Press release courtesy of Sheila Afari PR

SOYUZ feat. Asha Puthli & Sven Wunder release “Spring Has Sprung”

Aug 2, 2024 | New Release, Music

The band SOYUZ, cult artist Asha Puthli and Swedish maestro Sven Wunder have joined forces for an exclusive production made especially for the Mr Bongo Record Club 7 compilation, which has now been shared as a stand-alone single too.

At the age of 79, Asha has embarked on her first-ever world tour, returning to the stage after over 40 years. The track that would go on to become this collaborative piece, started out in Minsk just a month before the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine and SOYUZ’s emigration to Poland. Spending time in the studio playing around with different instruments and recording ideas, SOYUZ’s Alex Chumak wrote the initially piano-driven track, influenced by Azerbaijani pianist and composer Vagif Mustafazadeh, with hints of Holger Czukay weaved within.

As longtime fans of Asha’s music, SOYUZ were incredibly excited about the prospect of a collaboration. Asha loved the demo, so the band recorded a proper studio session, sending it to her in Miami where she returned it with her mystical vocals, that as Alex explains “were like a revelation – strange and beautiful at the same time!”.

 

To conclude, Alex met the producer and composer Sven Wunder from Stockholm, whilst playing Sessa’s live band. After playing him the Asha track, Sven wrote a string arrangement that was recorded with the Stockholm Studio Orchestra and conducted by Erik Arvinder.

Lifting the track even further, subtle percussion by Anders Scherp and Anders af Klintberg delicately dusts the grooves. At just over two minutes it’s short, but oh-so-sweet, beautifully encapsulating Asha’s character and personality – playful, wise and serene, whilst also perfectly capturing SOYUZ’s cinematic, song-writing prowess and Sven Wunder’s distinctive style.

Listen to “Spring Has Sprung” here

Press Release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Lucky Sun returns with a two-track release “Remember / Warm Breeze”

Aug 2, 2024 | New Release, Music

UK electronic producer Lucky Sun (aka Tom Lown) returns this August with a chilled and deep, beach-friendly 2 track single package titled “Remember / Warm Breeze”.

Released last summer, Lucky Sun’s single “Falling Fool” featuring Jaidene Veda received high praise including plays at Cafe Del Mar, Ibiza and on BBC Radio 1.

The first track on this new release, “Remember”, glides in with filtered strings over a subtly broken beat, moving into a more deep/percussive groove. In the chorus, the Rhodes chords take us even higher and even features some subtle acid sounds.

The second track “Warm Breeze”, has a slightly retro feel that would fit perfectly beachside, with a groovy synth bass sitting over the timeless piano chords and melody.

 

Listen to “Remember / Warm Breeze” here

Press Release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

SASH founder, Sakhile Cebekhulu on Visual Arts and Fashion As Storytelling Tools

Aug 1, 2024 | Interviews, Fashion

There’s a secret in fashion that all the best brands – led by the best designers – weren’t fashion designers to begin with. Virgil Abloh was an architect, Raf Simons was an industrial designer and furniture maker (until he came across Martin Margiela’s work, which changed everything) and Miuccia Prada was building a career in political science before she took over her family business – the rest, as they say, is history. There’s something incredibly potent about the work of fashion designers when the pursuit of the medium is born from an alternate point of view, and the evidence suggests that a truly rich and dynamic fashion design approach is the consequence of so much outside of the actual clothing: the clothing becomes the manifestation of a deeper searching and understanding of the world. 

Sakhile ‘Sash’ Cebekhulu’s creative journey has been a tense interplay between his path as a visual artist, and his deep love for fashion. His brand SASH South Africa has been murmuring on the scene since 2016, predated by his career as an accomplished artist and painter – and it’s been three years since Sakhile made the commitment to focus on SASH full time, as its designer, creative director and founder. Simultaneous to this, Sakhile is a part of UNKNWNPROJCTS – an ongoing research project with some of his friends, that focuses on upcycling in the South African context for a more sustainable fashion future. As a son of Joburg, Sakhile’s design approach is a constant homage to the country of his heart, with storytelling as his primary tool (alongside his hard-won technical ability, forged at the University of Johannesburg as a fashion design graduate). I spoke to Sakhile as SASH’s latest collection, Phola Park ‘Sunday Best’ is released, a secondary addition to the major success of Phola Park that dropped in March, featuring in-house design mesh textile, showcasing Black families in an oil-painted scene. As Sakhile details, this notion of the African renaissance is the heartline of his work – whether as an artist, a fashion designer or a storyteller. 

On his origin, Sakhile shares that, “I was pretty good at visual arts in high school. So, when it came time to register for varsity – it was obvious that I would pursue something in visual arts. I had this interest in clothing and fashion at the same time, and I ended up doing fashion design at the University of Johannesburg,” Sakhile found the medium challenging, and “the technicalities of those first six months were difficult, and it was the guidance of a lecturer after my first semester that I really became immersed in the degree. All while I’m studying, I’m still in love with visual arts and practising on the side — painting at night, seeing my friends in the arts department.”

Sakhile is the kind of artist for whom his own agency in the work is priority. Though an avid and lifelong learner, the confines of a degree and its singular focus led to a kind of separation between him and fashion as a chosen medium, “when I graduated, because I’d had such a hard time studying, I was sick of fashion! I think the rigidity of school can sometimes challenge our love for a subject. So instead of going straight into fashion, I actually began practising as a visual artist almost full time. I was still making clothes on the side. I’d make a few pieces to sell, to help me buy my art supplies.”

 

Phola Park ‘Sunday Best’ photographed by Kgomotso Tleane for SASH South Africa

“It was a real tug of war between art and fashion in my early career. I was always bouncing between the two. Visual arts was my first love that introduced to me this whole creative world,” notes Sakhile, as he explains that his career as an artist took off, “My visual arts career got quite serious. I was doing shows, locally and internationally, and even though it was my main focus — I’d make myself an outfit for a showing opening. I was kind of in the middle of these two spaces, where people who knew my art didn’t realise my background in fashion — and vice versa.”

The dichotomy of Sakhile’s Jozi studio expressed his dualism as a creative – an art studio, split down the middle, with canvas on one side and a sewing machine on the other. It was in this space that Sakhile returned to fashion, though he never really had a desire to start a ‘brand’ – perhaps this is due to his artistic instincts, an in-born reluctance to commodify his creativity. In today’s landscape, artists are required to be their own kind of brand – but the idea of formalising his creative expression into an entity of its own, that needed to operate as a brand (marketing and selling, logistics and production), was never the goal – and it was only when Sakhile unlocked the storytelling potential of fashion as a medium, did his concerns fall away. SASH South Africa was born. Sakhile reminisces, “SASH was lightly started in 2016. I had no real interest yet in starting a clothing brand, but I had this deep love of fashion and making clothes. Every time I’d leave, it would always find me. Then in 2017, I got an opportunity to showcase at Mercedes-Benz SA Fashion Week — and I realised maybe this was worth pursuing, that there might be something in this?”

“My first collection in 2017 for fashion week was really exciting. I’d always been interested in the concept of installations instead of the traditional runway show. SASH was always this avenue through which I felt I could tell South African stories through clothing. So, my whole show was this scene of a taxi rank. When I pitched it, they thought it was crazy. But they let me do it, if I could organise it myself. We brought a taxi out onto the runway. It was wild.” shares Sakhile, and then, “I dropped ‘Bantu Space Odyssey’ which was inspired by a song, made by a friend of mine. That collection explored sci-fi and afro-futurism, through this fictional character ‘Bantu’ and a future in which Africa is the leading global power in the world, and he’s travelled to space to fight this warlord who is threatening the peace on earth. I treat each collection as its own story entirely —and I find my design process flows if I have a narrative or world built around the collection, so the garments are part of the story. I never feel confined to have all the collections be connected to each other rather than that each of them expresses a story or narrative that I’m interested in at that moment in time.”

In 2018 Sakhile was awarded at Design Indaba, and headed to Paris for shows at a gallery and to participate in AKAA ‘Also Known As Africa’ Art & Design Fair – but fashion was beckoning, and having his heart split into two became notable,  “I think 2021 was the year that I was able to reconcile the fact that I wanted to do just one thing, between fashion and art. I was so drained and I knew I wanted to step back from art. I had never really given SASH the kind of chance that I knew it deserved; part of which was my full attention. I will always revisit art throughout my life, whereas fashion is a young man’s game, you know?”

I ask Sakhile what his initial thought was behind focusing on SASH – what was the motivation? To which he says, “we’re in the city, we observe things and consume things constantly — and I always want to figure out how we can also challenge things, and take ownership of our stories and experiences in a creative way, and I wanted to know how fashion could achieve this. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been focused on the strategy and business aspect of the brand. I take longer in my process to work on collections because I’m so research focused, and finding ways to do textile development.”

Phola Park ‘Sunday Best’ photographed by Kgomotso Tleane for SASH South Africa

SASH South Africa has been a steady study in wearability, in a ready to wear context – and Phola Park (part one) launched in March, is built from a story that Sakhile has been writing for some years. It is a love letter – more than anything else – to the community, “Phola Park is this place where we will all go for healing and tranquillity, and all the people we love are there. I’d started writing about it before COVID, this beautiful place to connect and be with others, and after COVID – it felt more pertinent than ever. Everybody is dressed beautifully, in their Sunday best, and it has turned out to be a multiple part collection series. We’ve just dropped the second collection, which is a follow-up. My favourite day of the week is a Sunday and the collection explorers elevated ideas around what we did for the first Phola Park drop. I’ve tapped into my tailoring background, too.”

As an exploration of tailoring and contemporary cuts, Phola Park ‘Sunday Best’ is brimming with nostalgia – and its pieces are elegant yet carefree – with tartan suits and eyelet lace dresses, pink tailored sets for him and her – sharp tailoring across the board, and Sakhile’s most technically ambitious collection eyet. Encoded with emotion, as though you’ve seen old photographs of family members and realised their sartorial and spiritual influence on the person you are today, Sakhile clarifies that “Sunday’s are family days and people in South Africa dress up; there’s something nostalgic about Sundays. Whether it’s the memory of coming from church, to now meeting friends for lunch before the week ahead – Phola Park is about dressing up with the people you love.”

I ask Sakhile how he feels about this moment in South African design, to which he shares that “I’ve had the opportunity to travel, and yet I’m always reminded about what a unique place South Africa is. We are so layered here and there are just so many stories, from so many points of view — and we can’t overlook them. As South Africans, we are connected to each other beyond any of our divisions. I truly believe that. I even changed the name from SASH to SASH South Africa, because I want it to always be about South Africa — I want anyone who comes across the brand to know the brand’s origin instantly. It’s so important for me, and I’m a patriot of the country. Our nation is beautiful. There’s no place like South Africa,” and that from a specifically fashion design perspective, “I am really excited about this era of ready-to-wear that designers are doing in the country. We’re a new breed of designers who are making clothes that people can access and wear on a daily basis, and we’re breaking democratising fashion in so many ways. We’re almost the first to do what we’re doing – from luxury, to streetwear and so on. And storytelling seems to be intrinsic to the way fashion is being created in South Africa. It’s very exciting and very new.”

Lastly, Sakhile shares his wisdom of navigating brand-building while staying true to his creative freedom; and the constant task he has set himself to redefine his perspective and mediums, as he intuitively feels guided to, “I believe in organic growth. I’ve tried to work it as it goes with the brand, and move slowly but effectively through the years. I’ve never wanted SASH to overextend itself. I’ll be a student forever. I hope that no matter what I do, that I’m always learning and unpacking whatever I can – even if it’s difficult or frustrating. I think we’re in a powerful time where fashion is becoming a beautiful community where I know I can call on designers and friends, and we all have each other’s backs.” 

Phola Park ‘Sunday Best’ is a culmination of many years as a designer and storyteller and our conversation revealed Sakhile’s profound affection for South African – I can think of no greater artistic task, than to create art that is wearable, accessible and South African. Viva. 

Pre-order Phola Park ‘Sunday Best’ HERE

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Chapter 29 | The Evolution of E-Commerce and How it’s Changing the Way we Interact with Fashion

Jul 31, 2024 | Fashion, Interlude

In the valley of distribution warehouses and embedded beneath stratas of logistics, lies a story about just how much the way in which we interact with fashion has changed, forever. Online shopping is about as normal to us now as the smartphones that we use – but if you asked someone in the 2000s what their cell phones might be able to do in just a few years, they might struggle to reconcile a future in which one’s phone is almost an extension of the body – full of endless apps for every kind of human thought, desire or need. Fashion, too, has changed profoundly, benefitting from the same kind of integrated advancements that have touched just about everything else in our lives. Yet, the idea of ‘click, pay, delivery’ in the realm of fashion is still kind of novel, if we think of the relative influence this form of shopping has had in just two decades. With it, the concept of purchasing a piece of clothing has led to stunning changes in marketing, advertising, brand-building, logistics, technology and more. 

Fashion as an industry today is inseparable from the tech-start up culture originating out of Silicon Valley in the late 1990s, and its transformation is a tale of globalisation, influenced by the pursuit of accessibility and entrepreneurship. South Africa’s own local context similarly bears all the markers of this tale. This chapter of Interlude takes a look at how E-Commerce came to change the way we interact with fashion, and touches on the hyper-localised backdrop of South Africa’s growth in this regard. 

In 2000, Natalie Massenet changed fashion commerce forever with the launch of Net-A-Porter: an online fashion platform that introduced the concept of a truly “fashion-forward” e-commerce retail concept that integrated luxury fashion purchasability, professional styling, and editorial content. The internet in the year 2000 was in a very antiquated form of itself (compared to today) with dial-up-connection being its operating power, and website design was generally very basic (complex websites took up a huge amount of bandwidth to run). E-commerce was in its infancy and posed a huge cyber security risk – basically, it was the dark ages, and the idea of an online fashion ‘marketplace’ was actually revolutionary. When Net-A-Porter launched, it featured a magazine layout, and its marketing strategy used the technique of fashion editors and stylists to create the sense of a fashion catalogue; it was Vogue or Harper’s, only online, and you could click on the images of what you wanted and have it delivered to your door. This earliest iteration of the ‘digital magazine’ prototype fused with an actual commercial function was long before any brand or designer had their own website or Shopify – let alone an Instagram or any kind of presence on a rotation of social media platforms. 

Screenshot of Ssense.com Womenswear Page

Screenshot of Net-A-Porter’s edits style strategy

That same year, ASOS was launched – meaning ‘As Seen On Screen’ – as the ‘high-street’ mid-weight answer to fashion e-commerce. The aim was to democratise fashion, introducing the notion of ‘fast-fashion’ to a digital and clickable format, and targeted for a younger audience. ASOS and Net-A-Porter’s early conception showcase the ultimate motivation behind e-commerce; the abundance of choice, anytime, anywhere and for any occasion. By 2001, ASOS was already listed on the London Stock Exchange – and its success, along with Net-A-Porter’s, laid the groundwork for the emergence of platforms like Zalando and FarFetch, and niche vintage spaces like Vestaire.

The idea that order fulfilment could take place anywhere in the world to satiate all kinds of sartorial needs revolutionised the fashion industry. This global reach was facilitated by the development of sophisticated e-commerce supply chains with integrated and efficient logistics networks and advanced inventory management systems. Warehouses were built en-masse and strategically located near key markets, and enabled faster delivery times, while partnerships with international shipping companies ensured that products could reach customers in even the most remote locations. Supported by technologies like RFID and real-time tracking systems improved inventory accuracy and allowed for seamless order processing. The result of this intricate supply chain is what we know today – and which almost all brands are engaged with on some level. E-commerce has dawned an unprecedented level of convenience and choice for shoppers, who can now access the latest trends and niche items from around the world with just a few clicks.

In 2010 in a tiny shared office space in Salt River, Cape Town – Luke Jedeiken, Claude Hanan, and Daniel Solomon were cooking up ‘CityMob’, a startup initially focused on developing digital discount vouchers. It would be their rebrand into Superbalist that marked the trio’s entrepreneurial magnum opus; one of South Africa’s first and most successful fashion retailers. Founded during the millennial golden years, the founders recognised the growing potential of e-commerce in the South African market and built a platform that combined local fashion sensibilities with global trends: a local focus with a global vision. Using a symphony of integrated tactics from the site’s blog ‘The Way of Us’, an in-house team of stylists, editors, buyers, copywriters, UX designers – to say Superbalist was cutting edge for its time is an understatement. A little bit of my own lore includes being a ‘client concierge’ as one of my first jobs for Superbalist; they had just been bought by Takealot, and their massive open plan office in Foreshore felt like being immersed in a real industry with movers and shakers of the future. After selling to Takealot, Jedeiken and Hanan are now at TFG’s Bash – to spearhead the company’s digital transformation, leveraging their extensive experience in e-commerce to enhance TFG’s online presence and streamline its omni-channel strategies.

If you’ve shopped on Superbalist, you’ll know that there is always a discount available and some kind of sale taking place – this ‘flash sale’ marketing technique is omnipresent, and was a foundational factor in the development of Superbalist. In a landscape like South Africa, where online shopping was novel and unknown in the early 2010s, the incentivisation born from psychological manoeuvring in constant sales led to a significant boost in consumer engagement and trust. By offering continuous discounts and flash sales, Superbalist effectively lowered the perceived risk for first-time online shoppers, making it more appealing to try out the new medium – a tried and true strategy that encouraged repeat purchase globally, ultimately aiding Superbalist in building a loyal customer base that became accustomed to checking the site regularly for deals. The constant stream of promotions created a sense of urgency, prompting customers to make quicker purchasing decisions and reducing the likelihood of ‘cart abandonment’. This approach drove immediate sales and established Superbalist as a go-to destination for trendy and affordable fashion; with the promise of fashion for any person, almost anywhere in the country. 

“Consumption” by Ron Lach via Pexels

The success of fashion e-commerce is a feat of technological integration. With tech-driven business models, emergent strategies like ‘omni-channel’ touch points mean that your favourite retailer is a cohesive entity, available to you on a website, via an app, and has a unified identity on social media platforms. Tech has enabled companies to be present in your life no matter where you are; a huge departure from needing your arrival at their physical store in order to secure a sale. The pulse of online retailers are pumped by sophisticated data analytics that are constantly recording and negotiating every interaction with customers – old, new, potential or simply hard to win over. 

The future of fashion retail is poised to be shaped by a continued evolution of technology and shifting consumer preferences. We will likely see a future of augmented reality (AR) fitting rooms, AI-driven personalisation, and blockchain for transparent supply chains. As digital aesthetes prioritise authenticity, platforms like Ssense that use deeply thoughtful, culturally relevant and almost satirical marketing strategies signal online fashion’s behemothic position as entities of cultural production; as we look to them to define the tastes and desires that we never actually knew that we had. Simultaneously, the growing importance of sustainability and ethical practices present massive challenges. As I’ve written many times before, fashion faces immense mounting pressure to adopt sustainability as a core concern; and brands will have to find ways to reduce waste, and ensure fair labour practices, pushing retailers to rethink their supply chains and business models.

If in twenty four years, people can go from ordering over a telephone with a code from a catalogue to receiving a garment to clicking a few buttons on a screen — surely, technology can reshape the next phase of online retail?

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Cee Elassaad releases “Tribe” featuring Masaki Morii

Jul 26, 2024 | New Release, Music

Building on the success of their previous collaboration ‘Jump up to dis,’ which climbed to the Traxsource Afro House Top 10, Moroccan DJ and producer Cee ElAssaad and ENSOULED head honcho have teamed up once again with Japanese producer Masaki Morii. Together, they’ve released a soulful and groovy Afro track titled ‘TRIBE,’ out on ENSOULED. ‘TRIBE’ is a percussive masterpiece that seamlessly blends dubby elements with lead synth solos, underpinned by a powerful spoken word message: “We are a Tribe, We are interconnected, You and me, We are interconnected.” This track serves as a unifying call, inviting artists and dancers to come together as one tribe, bound by the universal language of music.

This new collaboration promises to be a soulful anthem for unity, merging Cee ElAssaad’s organic and percussive style with Masaki Morii’s soulful grooves. The track’s message of unity and togetherness is poised to resonate deeply with listeners, encouraging a sense of belonging and collective spirit. As the third release on the ENSOULED label, ‘TRIBE’ continues the tradition of high-quality House music that has come to define the label. Fans of Cee ElAssaad and Masaki Morii, as well as Afro House enthusiasts, can look forward to a track that not only delights the ears but also inspires the soul.

 

Listen to “Tribe” here

Press Release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Japanese producer Yuu Udagawa has released “Ride It” (JKriv Remix)

Jul 26, 2024 | New Release, Music

Japanese producer Yuu Udagawa is back with some jazzy deep house, including remixes by the maestros Fred Everything and JKriv.  

Tokyo-based Yuu Udagawa inspired by a diverse range of genres, including Nu-Jazz, Kraut Rock, Hip-Hop, Minimal House, Detroit, and Electronica, is continuously exploring a unique style that captivates a broad audience. Her profound love for the sounds of analog synthesizers breathes an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere into her electronic sound. Her music offers a captivating fusion of uplifting and soothing elements, embodying Aristotle’s philosophy of the golden mean, which she adopts in her endeavour to contribute to society.

Yuu, who studied art and philosophy in high school, has since performed at clubs, festivals and fashion shows and is now a regular in the lounges of five-star hotels like the Park Hyatt Tokyo, showcasing her versatility as a DJ. Drawing on her insights and extensive experience in creating musical atmospheres in various spaces, she continues expanding her musical creation journey.

 

In 2010, she composed “Blossom,” the main menu BGM for Sony PlayStation 3 (Torne and Vita), captivating gamers. After that, she released several tracks for various projects. In 2021, her music caught the eye of German artist Manuel Tur, leading to her music being released through prestigious labels such as Compost Records in Munich, Germany, Cyphon Recordings in London, founded by Jimpster and Tom Roberts, to the up-and-coming Cosmocities Records in Dijon, France, and the popular Razer- N-Tape in Brooklyn, USA. These collaborations have boosted her international visibility. She was invited by Freerange Records in London to deliver a DJ MIX on Apple Music to celebrate International Women’s Day 2024.

Beyond music, Yuu creates immersive soundscapes for various spatial environments, such as museums, installations, spas and aquariums. Her portfolio boasts remarkable achievements producing 7.1 channel surround sound for 3D hologram theatres. One of her notable works is her sound installation ‘Water Crest’, an immersive audio experience by Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, which was exhibited in Japan’s first immersive museum, which featured masterpieces by Monet, Degas, and other Impressionists and drew in 170,000 visitors.

 

Website:  www.yuu-udagawa.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/yuu.udagawa88

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/yuu.udagawa

Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/vigoomix

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0HD4Fb8pIvG6kaN97kUQDC

Bandcamp:  https://yuuudagawa.bandcamp.com

 

Listen to “Ride it” Here

 

Press release courtesy of Compost Records

AFROSPORT: an archive on sports as a creative phenomenon in Africa

Jul 25, 2024 | Interviews, Art

Sport is indisputably a creative art-form. It orients the body, the first point of expression, in relationship to movement, rhythm and space – whether accompanied by an extended apparatus of expression (be it a ball, gloves, surfboard and so on) – sport is inherently communal, and forms part of a larger expression of what it means to be human: what it means to inhabit a body. We are bound to this world by the arrangement of muscle and fascia that coalesce our bones, hinged by joints and operational through our neurological network – the body is technology, and sport is one of our greatest computing processes. With sport, we engage with reality through discipline and motivation and its expression, across the many forms and categories throughout time and cultures, are deeply embedded into who we are. I don’t have to convince you of the meaning in sport; as South Africans, we don’t need to look much further than the inarticulable unification across race, ethnicities and creed when it comes to the Springbok’s achievements since 1994. 

Sport stands as one of the single most relevant cultural projects that we have ever undertaken. 

As with much of the cultural dynamics within the African context, sport is a dichotomous expression between the precolonial lineages of movement, and later postcolonial inheritances, now embedded in the fabric of the continent’s vast and nuanced regions. This complex relationship forms the heart of AFROSPORT, a book creative directed by Peet Pienaar and containing the work of 25 writers and 30 photographers. The book has been published by Mami Wata, an African surf brand of which Pienaar and Nick Dutton are two of the co-founders. Using the substance of sport as a lens to explore design, the book is a seminal, visual and written study on the culture of design, expression and connection across the continent; from soccer mania in South Africa spanning to Morocco, or the Muay Thai revolution in Togo, or the tradition of wrestling in Senegal – to breakdancing in Nigeria and the story of building a basketball industry in Africa. From the perspective of design, the book is enriched with essays and graphic depictions, mapping ways in which motifs of such sporting movements give rise to cultural productions, whether through sartorial cultures among fans, experiences of identities, or stories told through logos. Within the relationship between African sport and design there is that innate spirit of resourcefulness and creativity that has always rendered the continent such a stunning ensemble of the senses. 

Among many things, the book charts the way in which soccer contributed to political liberation in Algeria’s fight for independence (achieved in 1962), and of course – our own transformation through rugby, arguably one of our truly achieved expressions of Mandela’s ‘rainbow nation’ from 1994 until today. AFROSPORT is a love-letter to the wild tales of movement in Africa, and the importance of its intent is so succinctly described in the book’s forward by former basketball player Joakim Noah – as he writes, “a young tennis player in Kenya can now show the world her skills through videos made on her phone. A Muay Thai fighter in Lome can take part in a global virtual competition hosted in Bangkok. This is already happening. Alongside the changes Africa is creating itself, the future of African sport will also be shaped by how we come together with the continent. We must know our history, our place in the present, and how we want to project ourselves into the future.”

AFROSPORT© Springbok Captain Siya Kolisi

AFROSPORT© featuring breakdancers in Nigeria

For Peet and Nick, the book is the second iteration following AFROSURF – a similar project that focused solely on the untold legacy of surf culture in Africa. As Peet explains, “after creating Afro Surf, we realised that there was a greater context of sport in Africa, of which surfing was part of. We wanted to learn what the history of that was and what role design played in that. At the same time I was researching design in Africa and its relationship with design in the west. Sport was a great place to look at as for a large part its universal, diverse and the place where different cultures meet but also has a big impact on local culture making.” Among Africans, there is a palpable sense of a revelatory moment for the continent, despite the challenges that we contend with – from the legacies of colonialism, the tides of globalisation, the political and socio-economic complexities of being the bread basket of the world, with little in return. The perception of the continent in the eyes of the world can be summed up by the harrowing and explicit geographical error in which Africa’s size is distorted on maps to look smaller than it is. Yet, Africa remains the mother continent – and her stories are yet to be fully told, loud and clear. 

As Peet notes, “sport in Africa is extremely creative, and what drives it mostly is the desire to be seen, and to be acknowledged. There is an ocean of new sports developing and these new sports challenge western culture in an incredibly creative way we don’t see coming from the rest of the world,” and that in developing AFROSPORT, the hope is that it will challenge tropes used to to confine the continent to singular perceptions, namely that “Africa is much more than a rural and traditional culture. Africa is challenging brands like Nike’s cultural meaning. Africa is challenging western design. Africa will produce not only the best new athletes in every sport, but will bring many new sports to the table. Sport in Africa cannot be separated from popular culture and design.”

Nick shares that, “for me, the book creates connections between different things – design, story telling, sport, data, creativity, history, popular culture – that hasn’t been done before. These new connections should inspire fresh thinking and perspectives that challenge and redefine how people think about the continent,” and AFROSPORT indeed undertakes the immensely tall order of condensing the vast and varied context of the continent into something comprehensive – that touches on the swathe of 54 countries that inhabit its 30,365,000 square kilometres from shore to shore. As Peet explains on their approach, “it’s a massive problem to try and box a whole continent with so many cultures into one book, so we tried not to simplify something extremely complex. We just started to speak to writers and researchers from all over the continent and let stories come in. It was very quickly that we started to see some links between stories and that was our golden thread. There are as many stories as there are people and some people might have more than one story, it’s obvious this is just a tip of something really big.”

Peet is a renowned designer and artist, and AFROSPORT synthesises bold, graphic style signatures to his style, as an exploration of Africa’s design lexicon in the context of sport. The book is a kaleidoscopic, visual feast, portraying the efficacy of using sport as a means to understand Africa’s contemporary design vision. “Firstly we need to acknowledge that everything in terms of design in Africa is seen as vernacular in the west.” says Peet, adding, “One of the best places to challenge this perception would be to look at a space like sport and design in Africa. Except for a few traditional sports in Africa, sport in general is the melting point of different cultures. Design in sport in Africa comes from within the sport community and is not drenched in traditional culture, and is a good place to start looking at design in Africa that is not only about traditional culture. This allows one to see a much better version of what drives contemporary design on the African continent. I looked at design influences from outside on design in Africa, how it was interpreted and how Africa influenced design in western culture. I believe all design is this constant play of influence presented with a new local context. Instead of visual influence only, I focused on the conceptual influence behind the visual influence. I reject the idea that western design is the universal default of design.”

AFROSPORT Featuring Caster Semenya

AFROSPORT© photographed by Jo Voets

From Mami Wata’s perspective, AFROSPORT forms part of the brand’s larger vision as an exploratory vehicle for Africa, their adage is ‘creative force for good’, to which Peet explains the precise reason why the book fulfils this vision, “because of the population explosion in youth, Africa will in the next 10 years have a massive impact on world sport. Books around design and sport on the African continent are non-existent, we need to be able to understand ourselves better and where we fit into a bigger picture of design and sport in the world. And the world needs to understand what cultural impact this will bring to the world. Our first book had a massive impact on how the world now sees Africa and surf. We believe this book will also have an impact in how the world sees sport and Africa,” and Nick adds that, “As with AFROSURF, profits from AFROSPORT will go to African youth surf therapy organisations. Also, we do see a part of our ‘creative force for good’ vision as changing the narrative around Africa and using creativity to do this. There are many facts, pieces of information and perspectives in the book that we’ve tried to communicate in new ways that we hope allows people to view Africa through new and different lenses.”

AFROSPORT is a limited edition publication of 2000 copies, and it beckons a new era of exploration in African design and its tangibility is precisely its skilfulness, with Nick explaining that, “one thing that we want people to feel is that in a very fast moving digital world of content (of all sorts) that the physical object of a book, a tangible real world thing, with its investment in time, investigative thought, research, craft and design is a compelling way to engage with new ideas,” and Peet hopes that “If you are from Africa we hope you feel excited and seen and want to learn more about ourselves. If you are not from Africa we hope you realise the African tsunami is real, that it’s very exciting and because it’s a sport, it allows a connection and participation point to engage with Africa.” AFROSPORT is a formative and influential archive of Africa’s 21st century. A hardcopy talisman that predicts that it’s Africa’s century – the cultural renaissance for the aeon has just begun. 

AFROSPORT is published by Mami Wata, purchase a copy HERE.

  

AFROSPORT© photographed by Rogers Ouma

AFROSPORT, Photographer Unknown (image of Robert Wangila)

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

John Galliano Is Reportedly Leaving Maison Margiela After A Decade At Its Helm

Jul 24, 2024 | News, Fashion

British designer John Galliano, the king of theatrics and extravagance, has spent the last decade revitalising his relationship with fashion while at the helm of Parisian couturier Maison Margiela. Emerging on the scene in the 1990s as an alumni of Central Saint Martins, Galliano has been lauded as one of the most incisively brilliant designers in the modern era. Now, it seems, Galliano is concluding his tenure at Maison Margiela, with reports that he will not be renewing his contract when it expires at the end of this year. 

As HYPEBEAST reports, “sources in the industry have reported that Galliano is ready for change. Maison Margiela’s owner Renzo Rosso has reportedly urged Galliano to stay at the house, but despite ample requests, Galliano is said to have made up his mind about not renewing his contract with the Paris-based fashion house.” This speculation has been amplified by Galliano wiping his Instagram, generally noted as a digital strategy in signalling change.

This year has been regarded as the most successful for Galliano’s tenure at Maison Margiela; while industry insiders and fans have noted his work at the house for the last decade, his 2024 ‘Artisanal Collection’ show in January under the Pont Alexandre III swept the stage, with mass congratulation and many saying this show single handedly brought back ‘true fashion’ against the swathe of logomanic, hyper-consumption in luxury fashion. The show suffused the mood of early 20th century Paris and Galliano’s love for burlesque, along with fabric manipulation techniques that evoked distortion of the body and brought to question notions of beauty outside the constraints of societal norms. 

Maison Margiela Artisanal Co-ed 2024 Collection by John Galliano, sourced via @maisonamargiela IG

Maison Margiela Artisanal Co-ed 2024 Collection by John Galliano, sourced via @maisonamargiela IG

Wanting to leave on high note feels pertinent for a designer like John Galliano, who along with his brilliance, has been no stranger to difficulty – marked by intense pressures in the fashion industry and personal battles with addictions and controversy, which ultimately led to him being fired from Dior in 2011. Perhaps as a means to rewrite this past incident, Galliano’s foresight in knowing that this current moment is the best time to leave could speak to the immense growth and solace he has found at Maison Margiela – a brand that he has made his home, and his own, with the reported blessing of Martin Margiela himself as detailed by System Magazine.

Some are saying the designer could head to Fendi, though nothing has been confirmed regarding his exit from Margiela – and a return to Dior seems very unlikely, given his history with the house. With John Galliano’s redemptive arch continuing and the promise of a healthier, ‘second’ career in fashion – we look forward with bated breath to see fashion’s darling ‘enfants terribles’ next and no doubt exceptional, move.

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za