Head hydro-tripper Black Eyes releases his debut solo record ‘Hydro-Trip vol. 1’

Aug 25, 2023 | New Release, Music

Head hydro-tripper Black Eyes has risen from the depths of the deep to release his debut solo record ‘Hydro-Trip vol. 1’. Fresh off the sea creature’s back from co-producing the ‘Planet People – Terra Firma EP’ with synth-botherer Reedale Rise which came out earlier this year. His solo endeavour takes us on a jazzier vibe yet still keeping true to the deep ways of the water. 

Lead track ‘Understood Sea Being’ plunges us on a rugged ride with deep Detroit chords and Black Eyes’s own punk-like vocals throughout. ‘Let’s Get Deeper’ slows the pace up with chopped up samples and introduces us to the classic hydro-trip sound we’ve grown to love down here in the underwater cities; it’s deep and trippy. 

‘Scuba Lyfe’ picks up the pace a bit but evolves into a low down dubby groove mixed with some hi-tek jazz. Asking Rolando (who we all know was part of the infamous Underground Resistance and Los Hermanos, as well being a Berghain resident DJ more recently) to come on board the subterranean vessel was an obvious choice for remix. He switches the gears and adds some fluid Detroit techno to finish off the EP. Berlin-based Deskai masters the EP, who also mastered the ‘Planet People EP’, so you know what to sonically expect. This EP has been in the making for some years and we are happy to finally share the way of the hydro-trip with all you land dwellers. As per usual with anything hydro-trip related; scuba gear is heavily encouraged when listening to this EP. Let’s keep it deep!

Lost Control – Sleeve Artwork

Stream ‘Hydro-Trip Vol.1’ HERE

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Gigi Lamayne & Megatronic Unite For Liberating New Single ‘Let My People Go’ with Paradise Sound System

Aug 25, 2023 | New Release, Music

The SA Hip Hop Award winning female rapper, Gigi Lamayne and international DJ and music Producer Megatronic are set to challenge the status quo with a powerful and uplifting anthem of liberation “Let My People Go”. Off the back of her last riveting single” Menzi Ngubane ” which featured the renowned Lady Du and Robot Boii, she showcased her versatile lyrical prowess, on an undeniable amapiano rhythm. In “Let My People Go”, Gigi Lamayne and Megatronic invite listeners to open their eyes to the struggles behind the everyday hustle and bustle of life. This is the second installment which will give us a glimpse into her new era of creativity. 

The Love and hip-hop reality TV star has teamed up with UK born DJ, Performer and Producer Megatronic  who recently graced the Berlin Rave The Planet Parade stage. The Power house  artists have poured their pioneering energy and creative flair into a song that speaks to the human spirit. From the production driven by a beating drum, Gigi Lamayne’s open cry in the chorus reminiscent of African traditional music, this song is bound to set your soul on fire. 

“Let my people go” is a song that carries a meaningful message of liberation, freedom and social justice. It serves as a call for redemption for the previously oppressed communities, urging an end to social injustice and discrimination. Above all, it resonates hope, resilience and yearning for the world where everybody can live with dignity and freedom.

This song is an ode to the people across race, and across borders the message showcases how the fabric of humanity is what connects us all. Gigi Lamayne and Megatronic have breathed life into “Let My People Go” and we cannot wait to see how this collaboration builds bridges and allows the sound of Africa to be taken to the world. “In my home, music knew no boundaries. From the unique sounds of the Commodores to Whitney Houston’s power, we embraced it all. I watched as my family played sounds from around the world on our old radio. I began as a poet and found my way into this wonderful world of music,” shares Gigi.

As the release date of Gigi Lamayne’s EP draws near, fans and music enthusiasts worldwide are eagerly anticipating the magic she is set to unveil. With her innovative approach to music and her intention to bridge continents through her artistry, Gigi Lamayne is a true musical visionary, breaking barriers and creating a harmonious world through the universal language of music.

Stream ‘Let My People Go’ HERE 

Press release courtesy of Paradise Sound System

Smoove & Turrell release ‘The Light’ feat. Ronnie Foster

Aug 25, 2023 | New Release, Music

There really is nobody quite like Smoove & Turrell. This talented crew of virtuoso musicians from the North East of England have been scene-leaders in the UK and internationally for well over a decade, and their distinctive brand of northern soul and analogue electronica has set them aside in their own lane for six albums and continuing.  

Having built their audience organically through hard work and extensive touring, their trajectory is still very much upward with their most recent album ‘Stratos Bleu’ hitting number 1 in the UK National album charts (dance) on release in 2020. Consistently prolific as recording and touring artists, their previous release ‘IGOTCHA’ was the first to be taken from their forthcoming album and has been strongly supported on BBC 6 Music.

Smoove & Turrelp drop ‘The Light’ which opens with the gospel backing of label mate Izo FitzRoy before John’s incredible voice and social lyricism and Smoove’s unmistakable production lift us up into The Light. Legendary US Blue Note keyboard genius Ronnie Foster joins the party as only he can, one of the very few instrumental guests Smoove has ever wanted (or needed) beyond his own band.

Front man John Turrell says “How can you sum up the last 3 years of life on this lonely island. There was so much wrong with the way we’ve been let down by the people in power, from parties in No 10, Post truth politics bringing culture wars to our streets through a media that is driven by greed. The best way is to rise above it and let the love shine in. Stand up for the people that did so much for us during the dark days. Solidarity to all those who deserve so much better than they are getting now! The Light is what we can achieve if we all work together” 

B Side Joy! Is an equally emotional anthem – John says “If recent years taught us one thing it’s how much we need each other, how human contact is so important, just being the person who listens when someone is having their worst day can sometimes be a lifesaving intervention. In a way I wanted to write a song that could reach people in a slightly different way. A sort of mantra to get you out of the slump.”

Stream ‘The Light’ HERE 

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Lucky Sun drops new single ‘Falling Fool’ featuring vocalist Jaidene Veda

Aug 25, 2023 | New Release, Music

UK producer Lucky Sun (aka Tom Lown) returns with his new single ‘Falling Fool’, featuring personal favourite vocalist Jaidene Veda.

Released last summer, Lucky Sun’s ‘Balance’ album received DJ support from Hot Toddy, Rainer Trüby and Ashley Beedle among others, with the Yorkshire Times describing it as “a timeless listening album”.

US artist Jaidene Veda’s voice is often described as “Björk meets Sade”, or dubbed “a modern day Tracey Thorn”, though various reviews of her work still state that her style is inimitable. Having collaborated with some of the industry’s finest, she is the perfect fit for this collaboration and ‘something magical’ happened in hers and Tom’s respective, transatlantic remote studios.

Jaidene Veda &  Lucky Sun (aka Tom Lown)

‘Falling Fool’ is a special gem. Deep, both in terms of sonics and groove, Jaidene’s vocals and Tom’s music writing and production create a unique and spiritual atmosphere, with a lot of soul and feeling. Crisp drums, warm bass and chords, played on Rhodes, Piano and Strings create the perfect bed for Jaidene’s lush ‘Naked Music’-esque voice. Accompanying the original version are a stripped back ‘Dubstrumental’ and  a ‘Veda Naked Vocal’ version.
Stream ‘Falling Fool’ HERE 

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Love and Creativity Intertwined with Dicker & Dane

Aug 24, 2023 | Interviews, Fashion

The single force underpinning our capacity for creativity is human connection. On the altar of artistic expression, our work can only be transformed by our ability to love each other, community and life itself. If there were a creative duo steeped in this notion – of love and creativity intertwined – it would be Armand Dicker and Anthony Hinrichsen. Their collaborative story is bound by their love for each other and their simultaneous and respective visions for life, fashion, art, exploration – and then some. As creative and life partners, I am struck by the ‘twin-soul’ essence of Ant and Armand together; like spiritual mirrors to each, their work as a creative duo acts as a container for the redirection of their energies coming together. This is what makes their duo-ship, Dicker & Dane, one of the most compelling forces in the sartorial landscape. Just in the week that I am writing this, their exclusive story for Vogue Portugal has been published. With photography, creative direction and styling created by the duo alongside their small team – the editorial is a mid-century dreamscape, featuring garments by local labels Viviers, Rich Mnisi, MMUSOMAXWELL, Cape Cobra Leathercraft, Amble and LABHOMMES.

While the pair mostly reside in Cape Town, the last few years have seen them work between various places in the world from Paris, to London and now, Bangkok. In our conversation, Ant shares that this is his third time living in Thailand – and Armand’s second time. It was the place in which Ant’s initial trajectory in fashion was first realised, as he says “I studied film and television production and then right after university, I got an opportunity to come to Thailand. I did the teaching thing for a bit and then realised it wasn’t really the life for me, so I caught a bus into Bangkok and managed to meet a boss on the same day who introduced me to the fashion industry here. My first job in fashion was working in PR and international sales for a Thai brand.” After returning to South Africa, Ant honed his editorial skills at Gingko Agency in their ‘Beautiful News’ division, a space that releases one positive short film per day.

“I wanted to come to South Africa and be part of the industry there, but at the time – just under a decade ago – there didn’t feel like there were many opportunities. Especially compared to what I had experienced in Thailand, which is a very vibrant and amazing industry. Thai locals support Thai designers and the Thai government provides a lot of funding – people can really create here.”

For Armand, design was his initial segue into fashion, noted for his brand ‘Dicker’, “I have always had an affinity for fashion from my very early teenage years. I think the Devil Wears Prada woke that up for me. I studied fashion after school and some great things happened for me. I started interning with South African designers who I felt had an international edge and during my holidays I was interning at SA Fashion Week, with Suzaan Heyns. My final collection at school was done with the intention to get it into AFI Fastrack, which I did and ended up in the top four alongside Thebe Magugu, Nthabiseng Molefe and Martelle Ludik.”

When Armand and Ant started dating in Cape Town, they moved to Thailand together and spent two years between Malaysia and Thailand, Ant says “we moved here together as models but we weren’t really getting the kinds of jobs that we wanted. We started styling together and decided to make our own editorials. That’s when our duo really started.” Lockdown would bring them back to Cape Town, and into a cocoon that fostered their respective knowledge and skill sets towards developing their duo. As Ant says, “we started testing stories with friends. I think for us, it’s always been important to have creative control and to maintain final say on images, casting and styling. It made more sense that we worked as a duo in which we could contain what we really wanted to say with our work, individually and together.”

It has been three full years of Dicker & Dane and the results have surpassed their expectations. At the beginning, Ant and Armand wrote down a vision list of what they wanted to achieve for the next ten years; three years later and their final wish, a Vogue Portugal cover (for the June print issue, The Voyage Issue) has already happened. Another one of those wishes was Ant’s dream to style an Iris van Herpen piece; lo and behold, Ant describes a chance trip to Paris, “we tried our luck and they sent four dresses down from Amsterdam to Paris, for us to shoot. It was unbelievable.” In terms of their duo-ship, Armand says “it really happened through our everyday life together. We’ll be sitting watching Drag Race or we’ll be in an uber together and we usually see something – like a piece of clothing or an object. We live in each other’s heads so much and we are so sync, so when something arises around us that piques our interest – usually a story or editorial unfolds from there. We are a bit telepathic. Even those inflatable heads for the Vogue Portugal cover, we found those in Bangkok last year and we knew that we were going to save them for something special.” This kind of unified mind is the nexus of their power together – and is why their seamless execution reaches beyond the siloed, individualistic structure that fashion production has traditionally been built upon. Together, Ant and Armand allow each other to dream bigger and better. 

For Dicker & Dane, there is a principle to their work that goes beyond the final images – even beyond the garments, or the creative features of their stories. Casting is their primary focus, particularly driven by their uncompromising view on representation and inclusion. Armand says, “I mean, Ant won’t say it himself – but I know the impact that he has scouted. Laura Ashleigh Meyer for example, at Topco, was the first differently abled model on the main board of any agency in the country. A model he found, his first shoot was with Vogue Portugal and another, their first job was with adidas in Times Square. I think we have been part of getting young, aspiring models to realise that there is a space for them in fashion. Our creative work has managed to create spaces for people –  that’s bigger for us than many of the achievements of the past and future.” 

I ask about their inclination to travel together, working and living relatively nomadically. Ant says, “I think this way of living is ingrained in me. There was a point in my childhood where we moved 12 times in two years. I was just young enough to not grasp the seriousness or stressfulness of this; for me, it was a big adventure each time – a new house, a new street, a new opportunity for exploration. I’ve kind of kept that delusion into my adulthood. I actually love being slightly unsettled in new spaces and I think it pushes me. If I spend too much time somewhere, I get a little stagnant – I am someone who could live in my lounge for the rest of my life. To make sure that happens, I think moving around is my solution to that. We absolutely love being a travelling team.” Based in Bangkok, Dicker & Dane laud the Thai consciousness for art and beauty in their everyday life. Being able to walk endlessly and take images – piqued by new and bright perspectives offered by the city – form the pulse of their current thinking and considerations in their work. For the duo, their primary focus are the Asian and European markets, each offering an endless array of possibilities.

Integrity is crucial to Ant and Armand’s practice. As Ant says, “we have very strict rules as to what’s okay and what’s not okay. Whether it’s our own set or our client’s set, those rules are the same. If I see someone in our team being disrespected by anyone on set, then we all leave set. No single job is more important than how the people who are working on it are feeling. Fashion has a bad reputation for how people get treated. Before we were in charge of the sets ourselves, we both witnessed deep disrespect to others and experienced that ourselves.” He goes on to say that, “my first shoot as a model, I didn’t realise until years later that it was an assault. When I modelled years later with Armand and we could speak about it, then I realised “oh, it’s not actually normal for a photographer to put their hands in your pants to ‘adjust you’” – so this is a big focus of ours, and every set we do starts with a conversation with the model. If anything makes them uncomfortable, or what their boundaries are, or even if they don’t want to wear something – we make sure that as a team, we understand all of those things. We take what we do very seriously but we are not brain surgeons – we can adapt and evolve on set. These rules are non-negotiable. We hold ourselves and our clients to these same standards.” This energy of safety and respect is the precise dose that fashion requires to remedy its reputation – and Dicker & Duo administer the future of fashion with stunning effect. 

As for the vision going forward, the duo have given up dreaming. Not for any reason other than as an act of trust in what they are doing. For months, it felt like things weren’t moving; until suddenly, everything they had wished for happened at once. This act of trust and flow is a profound teaching for any creative; the ability to tap into the timing that Universe seemingly lays out, rather than the timelines we decide in our minds. Dicker & Dane have achieved much, but that’s scratching the surface. Their pathway tells the tale of the highest mandate in true, sartorial consciousness.

Cover Image by @rynostols

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Kamyar Bineshtarigh’s solo exhibition ‘9 Hopkins’ announced by Southern Guild

Aug 21, 2023 | News, Art

Southern Guild is pleased to present 9 Hopkins, a solo exhibition of abstract artworks by Kamyar Bineshtarigh, from 24 August to 19 October, 2023. This new series of expansive, mixed-media paintings is at once an exploration of gestural mark-making and an engagement with the urban fabric of Salt River, an historic industrial area located close to central Cape Town. Working intuitively in conversation with his observed environment, Bineshtarigh lifted each of the new artworks from the painted walls of his studio complex. This is his first solo exhibition with Southern Guild since joining the gallery at the beginning of 2023. 

Bineshtarigh’s long-standing interest in script, language and mark-making has been deeply informed by his surroundings since moving into his studio in Salt River, a complex of ageing industrial buildings on a triangulated island of land bordered by Hopkins, Aubrey and Yew Streets. With the buildings scheduled for demolition and redevelopment, 9 Hopkins represents a conclusive moment in his interaction with this particular site. 

The exhibition’s works find their conceptual origins in the unintentional marks observed on the walls of a panel-beating workshop on the ground level of 9 Hopkins Street. The auto workshop’s walls bear the iterated hand and fingerprints of the panel-beaters, who over a period of many years, have used the surrounding wall space to wipe paint, lacquer, grease and grit from their palms. Inscribed with these handprints together with amassed layers of debris and paint remnants, the walls stand as accidental archives of presence, physical labour and human gesture.

Courtesy of Hayden Phipps/ Southern Guild

Bineshtarigh experimented with creating facsimiles of these unstudied gestures using ink, graphite and turpentine, expanding on his unique process of making first cultivated in his 2022 solo, Uncover, at Norval Foundation. Painting directly onto large sections of his studio’s walls, he applies layers of cold glue to form a skin that he then peels away, extracting the base layer of pre-existing wall paint overlaid with artwork. The works – especially those lifted from the oblong rectangles of the building’s pillars – echo the skeletal structure of the space itself.  

The works in 9 Hopkins are expansive murmurations, alive with movement and layered intent. Bineshtarigh’s inquiry relates to the role of this intention and the perceivable transfer of energy in mark-making. The crux of this experientially driven exercise negotiates the curious space between art-making and the act of uninhibited being. 

Like many of the buildings in the area – the most studied example being the nearby Rex Trueform clothing factory – the history of the Hopkins Street complex is enmeshed with constructions of race, class and gender. The buildings’ earliest architectural plans date back to 1935, when Salt River emerged as a garment manufacturing hub. The area’s textile industry would ultimately share a complex historical relationship with the racial politics of the Apartheid regime. Pre-1948, the industry’s workforce was predominantly White, but this changed when the country’s divide-and-rule policies designated the Western Cape a preferential area for Coloured labour. Bineshtarigh’s studio itself once housed a garment factory that employed only White women before the promulgation of segregationist policy shifted this to low-income labour of Coloured and later, Black women.  

Following the democratisation of the country in 1994, South Africa’s borders opened to international trade. Local textile factories could no longer sustain themselves amid the influx of cheaper imports, eventually leading to widespread retrenchments and industry collapse. Now deteriorating and seemingly forsaken by the municipality, the complex is set to be demolished in October 2023, eradicating the multitude of livelihoods and activities the space currently facilitates. While the building borders multiple sites protected as local heritage zones, the Hopkins Street complex has either been deemed “not heritage worthy” or “requiring further investigation” by a heritage assessment commissioned by the site’s developers.  

The implications of our built environments exceed the realm of the tangible; architectural spaces hold the physical and metaphysical vestiges of their lived histories. 9 Hopkins stands as a memorialisation of unconscious mark-making as an indicator of human presence and a mapping of memory and being.

Courtesy of Hayden Phipps/ Southern Guild

ABOUT SOUTHERN GUILD 

Founded in 2008, Southern Guild showcases contemporary artist practices from the African continent and diaspora. The gallery’s rigorous curatorial programme pivots on unprecedented modes of making, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and the ingenuity of the human hand. Southern Guild represents artists from South Africa, Benin, Congo, Iran, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe amongst others, working closely with artists to articulate their voices authentically to an international audience. Having pioneered the functional art and collectible design category on the African continent, Southern Guild is uniquely positioned to articulate the socially embedded role of African art throughout history and the marriage of personal narrative with Africa’s current geo-political, economic, cultural and ecological context.

 

Press release courtesy of Southern Guild

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

‘Every Generation Has Rebelled’ – looking at Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z through a celebratory lens

Aug 16, 2023 | Lifestyle, Community

Generations are defined as groups of people who share an age-range marked by collective cultural, technological and social experiences. Cultural trends create the cultural identities of generations – with everything from music, fashion, art, and entertainment contributing to the formation of a generation, accentuated further by the historical and social events that occur during their lives. Generations can never be as neatly defined as we might want, but these categorisations are fascinating ways of understanding how humanity evolves throughout the span of time, and within this evolution, how we react and create to the unfolding world around us. The custodianship of the world is always changing hands – this is the natural way of things – so in between our inter-generational arguments, I wanted to ask the question, who is each generation and what can we celebrate them for? 

There are different timelines proposed to defined generations – as someone born in 1995, I am squarely a ‘cusp’ generation between millennials and gen-Z. Beresford Research Group propose the following timeline: 

Gen Z: 1997 – 2012 
Millennials: 1981 – 1996
Gen X : 1965 – 1980
Baby Boomers II: 1955 – 1964
Baby Boomers I: 1946 – 1954

With the advent of the internet, never before has so much cross-generational dialogue been archived or experienced. Our lives are interconnected and inextricably linked with our capacity to engage with people across generations, countries, industries and interests. 

As brilliantly penned by Aja Romano for Vox in their piece titled ‘ “OK boomer” isn’t just about the past. It’s about our apocalyptic future.’, they write “for a long time now, the cross-generational dialogue between baby boomers and millennials has been built atop several recurring themes. Boomers — the generation born roughly between 1946 and 1965 — scoff that millennials expect “participation trophies” for doing the bare minimum. Millennials say boomers are “out of touch.” Millennials (born roughly between 1980 and 1996) are “killing” once-stable industries like cereal by saving money, spending less, and “eating avocados.” Boomers have “mortgaged the future” in exchange for hoarding wealth while also voting to end necessary social programs. Millennials would rather complain about student debt than buckle down, work hard, and “get a job.” 

Generational gaps remind us of the vast differences in the way groups of people perceive the world; such gaps in age and perspective that span time and context lead to phrases like ‘Ok, boomer’, a meme generated by Gen-Z’s as a cutting criticism of the attitudes of Baby Boomers. 

Our world is complicated and I like to think that each generation does the best they can with what they know. No single person can be faulted for the cost-of-living crisis we face, or the widening equality gaps – that’s a story for another day – and generational tensions arise to advance the cultural norms of our world. Without the vivid determination of Gen-Z’s to refuse a world built on individualism, profit and climate disaster, we might be even more paralysed as a species to act in the best interest of the planet or each other. 

So, I propose a way to understand the four defining generations of the past century;

Annie Spratt, Unsplash
The Baby Boomers: Architects of the Modern Era

Baby Boomers are our elders. From our youthful lens, they appear to firmly be ‘the old guard’ – stagnant in their thinking, attached to ‘moral’ or cultural ideals that we are itching to discard and a classical attitude towards the younger generations of slight contempt and disapproval. They are the first generation raised in the post-World War II era and the first generation across the world to witness colonial empires fall. As commerce and trade became more globalised through technological means, most Boomers experienced unprecedented prosperity which significantly shaped their worldview. 

While we may blame them for the current economic and ecological crises that we currently face (mostly we aren’t wrong to do so, either) we do owe Boomers for the countercultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s that saw Baby Boomers rejecting traditional norms and embracing new ideologies. In the US, they were the forces behind the Civil Rights Movement and in South Africa, Boomers were on the frontlines of the struggle. Many championed free love, anti-establishment sentiments, and a profound shift in artistic and musical expression, giving birth to iconic cultural movements like the hippie movement and Woodstock festival. Baby Boomers redefined family structures as the first to navigate changing gender roles, leading to increased workforce participation of women. They were also pioneers of dual-income households and influenced how families balanced work and home life. Without their spirit, we might not have the ramped up idealism of Gen-Z’s shaping the world today.

Brendan Stephens, Unsplash

Girl with Red Hat, Unsplash

Gen X: The Silent Transformers

Generation X, born between the mid-1960s and early 1980s, are the children of Boomers. Bridging the gap between the analog and digital eras, Gen X grew up during a time of technological transition, experiencing both pre-digital and digital advancements. My mama is a Gen X and she quite literally went from vinyl to where we are today over the course of a lifetime, but with more aptitude for learning than, say, her parents. Notably, technological advancements are so accelerated today that technology seems to be the strongest link between generations. 

Gen X witnessed the rise of personal computers, cassette tapes and later, the advent of the internet. This unique vantage point allowed them to navigate the analog and digital worlds, contributing to their adaptability in embracing new technologies. Sceptical of traditional institutions and authority, Gen X became known for their independent mindset, looking at the free-love sentiments of their elders and bore further change. Growing up amidst the turbulence of the 1970s and early 1980s, marked by economic uncertainty and geopolitical conflicts, Gen Z developed a sense of self-reliance and resilience – with their push-back against society arising in cultural offerings like the alternative music scene, giving rise to genres like grunge and alternative rock, as well as the advent of hip hop and rap. Gen X’s cultural contributions questioned mainstream narratives and sought authentic expressions, setting the stage for the future generations of creative thinkers to challenge norms.

Florian Schmetz, Unsplash
Tie Dye Rainbow Peace, by D. Sharon Pruitt
Gregory Wong, Unsplash
Millennials: Navigators of the Digital Frontier

Millennials hold the distinction of being the first generation to fully immerse themselves in the digital age, profoundly impacting society’s landscape. Growing up amidst rapid technological advancements, their experiences were characterised by the transformative power of the internet and the emergence of social media.

Millennials’ formative years were marked by an unprecedented surge in technological innovation. From witnessing the rise of personal computers and the internet to the proliferation of smartphones, they adapted swiftly to evolving digital tools that would come to define their communication, entertainment, and education. Social media emerged as a defining hallmark of the Millennial experience, revolutionising the way they connected with the world. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and later Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok transformed social interactions, enabling them to build virtual communities and share experiences across boundaries. 

This digital interconnectedness also brought about both positive and negative implications on mental health, self-esteem, and privacy, reflecting the complexities of their digital lives. Millennials are the first to truly go to therapy (mostly) and look at the effects of family, cultural and society factors that hinder health and happiness within their lived experience. With that has come an intrinsically ‘millennial’ value work-life balance that strives for flexibility and remote work options. This generation is also driven by a strong sense of social justice, advocating for inclusivity, equality, and representation in all spheres. Their environmental consciousness is pronounced, fueled by witnessing the growing awareness of climate change and environmental degradation within their own lifetime. So, the next time you see a Gen-Z roll their eyes at a Millennial, remember that this generation started normalising the collective desire for authenticity and personal development in a truly tangible way.

MTV 1981 Logo, Wiki Commons

Gen Z: The Visionaries of Tomorrow

Gen Z embodies a new frontier of digital natives, positioned to reshape the world in profound ways. Their intrinsic connection to technology, activism on global issues, and distinctive attitudes towards education, work, and entrepreneurship set them apart as the strongest and freshest agents of change in our world. 

Gen Z’s relationship to technology is inseparable from their identity. Growing up with smartphones, social media and instant access to information, they possess a natural fluency in the digital realms. Gen Z’s are some of the most self-deterministic people we have seen and express a remarkable commitment for activism on global issues. Amplified by the power of social media, Gen Z has rallied around causes ranging from climate change and to racial justice and LGBTQIA+ rights with fierce commitment and an uncompromising rejection of the constraints imposed by older generations. 

The evolving landscape of work sees Gen Z demanding diversity, inclusivity, and workplace environments that prioritise mental health and work-life balance, even more so than their elder Millennials. While Millennials were some of the first to normalise freelancing and ‘creative’ careers, Gen Z’s are reaping the benefits of this through a myriad of expressive roles in social media, fashion, art and so on. Also, this generation’s aspiration for authenticity has had major influences on brand perceptions, driving companies to be socially conscious and transparent in their efforts to retain Gen Z as a consumer market.

Douglas Bagg, Unsplash
Sara Kurfess, Unsplash
Personally, I am so excited for the changing hands of these generations. The tensions between us are precisely the kind of fuel for the fire that we need to advance into a future that is bright and hopeful. We have our righteous criticisms for our elders, but imagine when Gen Z’s are the elders? I think we are in for some spectacular shifts if we can manage to protect the planet and each other.
Written by: Holly Beaton
For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Skyler Kade Williams of ‘Stylist’s Own’ on starting his brand ‘KADE’

Aug 14, 2023 | Interviews, Fashion

A little earlier in the year, a mysterious campaign cropped up on my feed. A brand simply titled ‘KADE’, the campaign featured South African fashion titans like Chloe Andrea Welgemoed (Thebe’s art director), Tamara Moeng (model extraordinaire) and more – shot by Aart Verrips. The images depict a brand so startling, original, colourful and exemplary of good craftsmanship, that I simply had to know more. Cue, this conversation with Skyler Kade Williams – the designer behind KADE and one half Joburg fashion scene’s cult-secret (not-so-secret, secret), Stylist’s Own. This wardrobe studio is one of the strongest weapons in the arsenal of many of Joburg’s best stylists, offering rentals of pieces by young designers – with some stylists even keeping their own archives on the rails for rental. By stylists, for stylists…the dream. 

Not many stylists can be designers; usually, the symbiotic relationship between stylist and designer are perfect in that they fulfil different roles in the realm of sartorial expression. One creates the vision, the other brings that vision alive through campaigns, commercials, editorials and so on. When a stylist does dare to venture to the cutting room floor, one hopes for a foolproof articulation of garment creation. KADE, it seems, is precisely that. As Skyler says on the relationship to styling as his foundational learning in the fashion industry, “ ‘Stylists Own’ is a space that caters to young designers, offering them the opportunity to have their brands rented by stylists for shoots. We show them how the system works and connect with stylists on their behalf, and in return they receive a commission for the rentals of their pieces. Being in this kind of space really inspired me to start designing.” Stylist’s Own is the brainchild of South African fashion veteran, Nola Williams. As Skyler’s mom, the two now run the space, as he says, “my mom has been a stylist for thirty years so I grew up being on set and being fascinated with that world. I actually ended up doing a biomedical degree after school, but I would find myself skipping lectures to assist stylists for shoots. That grew and grew, I started getting my own jobs and meeting people in fashion.”

Few designers get the kind of go-ahead to take the plunge. For Skyler, the proverbial nod of approval came from none other than  Rich Mnisi. What more could one ask for? “I met Rich on a Johnny Walker job a few years ago when I was assisting Bee Diamondhead and he was really lovely. I had made this one floral satin shirt – which was the first thing I had ever made – and I went to ask Bradley, his brand manager, what he thought. Rich answered the door and he asked me to make matching pants, and he wore that to Paris Fashion Week as one of his looks.” This moment had a lasting effect on Skyler’s vision for creating a brand that wove together his instincts as a stylist and his talent for construction, “KADE is born from my fascination with upcycling. It’s hard to scale it, so it’s a work in progress in terms of my business model, but to create once off, customised pieces that are up-cycled is the primary focus of KADE.”

On the genesis of KADE’s first campaign, Skyler explains that “I pulled in our community to create KADE’s first campaign – Aart (Verrips), Chloe (Welgemoed) and so on. Fashion is a competitive space but I am so grateful to be part of a community of fashion creatives who live and work in these spaces as friends.” The first pieces showcase stunning up-cycling feats; the inspiration which feels equally cyber as it does street-relevant. Sklyer says of the motivations behind KADE’s design language, “I grew up as a dancer so KADE is very inspired by 90s music, New York street culture and the freedom of expression in those spaces. I have four or five rails of denim that I’ve thrifted so the next collection will be dedicated to my love for denim – there are different dyes, colours and textures so I’ll be using those to create different ways through upcycling.”

In addition to the launch of KADE, Stylist’s Own is preparing to launch a retail space. This will serve as a continuation of their support for young designers and their commitment to fostering ways and means for stylists, designers and consignor’s to earn money on archives of collections that tend to not have a platform to be sold from. As Skyler says, “we are launching an online retail space called SNATCH which is going to be a retail arm of what we do. We will be encouraging designers to create pieces that are once-off, sustainable and made through up-cycling or regenerative means. South Africa’s thrifting community is huge and I think the next step is for up-cycling within brands to be an extension of that. SNATCH will focus on pre-loved pieces, local designers, upcycling and consignment for anyone who has really cool pieces that they’d like to sell but are finding it hard to do so.” What more could one ever want, than to shop from a platform curated by stylists? Stylists are the backbone of the fashion industry. Truly some of the most industrious, thrifty and dynamic visionaries of sartorial expression, I ask Skyler how being a stylist has informed KADE – to which he says, “there is a big responsibility on stylists to support local designers and to be a part of how local design grows. Being a stylist myself has informed the way in which KADE will interact with customers, respect timelines and qualities – these are all key for designers to be able to deliver on.”

Regarding South Africa’s future of fashion, Skyler affirms the importance of this moment in the industry from the vantage point of Stylist’s Own and SNATCH – in which he interacts daily with people committed to the success of fashion in the country; “I’m very excited about the future. Just this last month with Rich and H&M or Thebe and Orlando Pirates, Wanda and Savanna Dry and Nao with Reebok – these collaborations are really showing us the possibilities ahead. I think it’s interesting to see how bigger, established brands are providing some of the resources or infrastructure for local designers to realise some of their visions. At Stylist’s Own, We see firsthand how these moments can have such a profound impact on young designers who are navigating a really difficult industry.” 

KADE offers the promise of up-cycling, while Skyler exemplifies what it means to be of service in South Africa’s fashion industry. Few are as committed to actionable, sustaining and community-centric network building. Certainly, watch this space.

Campaign Credits ///
Photographer: Aart Verrips @aart.verrips
Art Director & Videographer: @chloeandreawelgemoed
Creative Director: Nola Williams @stylistsown_
Stylist: Skyler Williams @skylerkadewilliams
Make Up HOD:  Annice Roux Gerber @annicemakeup
Hair: Tienie Richards & Gareth Strydom @hairystyles_za & @gigi.hairdid
Video Editor:  Jacob Claassens @jjclaass
Photographer Assistant: Zwele Buthelezi @izwele
Make Up Assistant: Boiketlo Mokoena @boiketlo_mokoena
Make Up Assistant: Kayla Macedo @kaylamacedo.makeup
Stylist Assistant: Jackson Setati @jksnstyles
Production Co-Ordinator: Sophia Lee @sophiatheasian85
Creative Studio: Spaanspeck @spaanspeck
Studio: @sunshinecoza

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Jullian Gomes and Jordan Arts release ‘Home’, the first single off Jullian’s forthcoming album ‘Bruno & The Birds’

Aug 11, 2023 | New Release, Music

Introducing ‘Home’, the enchan​​ting first single from the highly anticipated forthcoming album ‘Bruno & The Birds’ by South African producer Jullian Gomes. 

Together with Jordan Arts, Jullian Gomes delivers a captivating blend of rich, atmospheric layers, mesmerising percussion, and ambient synth melodies that transports you to a realm of musical bliss. 

‘Home’ demonstrates the ability to create electronic music that transcends the boundaries of dance floors and evokes deep emotions with storytelling and an evolved production style that listeners have not heard from Jullian Gomes. The single promises to be a standout piece on the forthcoming album – due for release on November 3rd, and provides a glimpse into the artistic vision and creative depth that awaits listeners.

Jullian Gomes

Jullian Gomes was born and brought up in the Republic of South Africa listening to Soul, Latin and Kwaito, before discovering House Music at the tender age of eight.

 From the inception of his first performance in 2003, his career has travelled only upward, and his love for production and skill-set grew steadily with it. Alongside Michael G, his cousin, Jullian began the G.Family collective and has released music with top South African Independent labels including: Soulcandi and House Afrika, which was followed shortly by records on influential International labels such as Realtone Records, Foliage Records, Atjazz Record Company and Seasons Limited.

 Stream ‘HOME’ HERE 

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Let’s Talk About Dagga – A Guide to Marijuana Legalisation in South Africa

Aug 8, 2023 | Lifestyle, Navigating Reality

Let’s talk about dagga. The so-called original temptress, the gateway drug, the brain-cell killer and if my primary school Life Orientation teacher was to be believed; the devil itself. Like many other drugs, the list of stigmas surrounding marijuana is about as long as the list of slang terms you can use to refer to it (around 1200, if you were wondering). In recent years, the motivations for the marijuana plant and its myriad of benefits has been central in the collective conscience. Here’s a rundown of dagga and the legal liminal space in which legislation regarding legalisation finds itself in our country right now. 

I want to start with my relationship with marijuana to set the scene. I don’t have any early recollection of my parents or their friends ever smoking, even though I now know many of them did and still do to this day. My first introduction to pot was not some secondhand exposure. I was probably around Grade 10, wet behind the ears and extremely annoyed at everyone and everything as it should be at the peak of puberty. A friend of mine, who will remain anonymous, got a contact from a matric student. “Go to this guy. He’s solid, don’t worry.” The “solid” gentleman in question was, in fact, a dude hanging out in the parking lot of a Spar in Linden. Every fibre of my being felt uneasy as two obviously young men stepped up to the dealer in question. “How much for a bankie?” my friend asked with not a tremor in his voice. On the other hand, I was an absolute ball of anxiety, a feeling that still sticks with me to this day whenever I buy any form of drug, no matter how tame it is. I can’t remember exactly how much we paid, but it was undoubtedly overpriced. Getting financially screwed over on a couple of bankies at the start of life as a stoner is somewhat a right of passage, I feel. We handed him the money and he handed us some overly dry buds wrapped in the back pages of the Mail & Guardian (a man of culture, nogal) and told us to voetsek.

Now that first bankie was, as you’d expect, atrocious. A good old dry husk of seed-filled Swazi outdoors that tasted of diesel and disappointing our families. Maybe the absolutely laughable joint we attempted to roll didn’t help, but that was how it all started. By uni days at Stellenbosch, we’d get sent menus on Whatsapp, and whatever you ordered would be delivered to you by a sweet old Afrikaans oom, or you’d stand in queue on Banghoek Road to buy from a dealer half of the town expected was a narc. Long gone were the days of bad joints and even worse weed. Now it was all about bong rips and being a connoisseur of sorts.

A lot has changed since the days of those shady drug deals. South Africa’s cannabis future has seen a host of activists, business people and everyday users fight to bring this humble plant out of illegal obscurity and towards a legalised future. As of 2018, the Constitutional Court passed a bill decriminalising the use and growing of cannabis on your own private property. This fundamentally changed the manner in which South Africans could interact with the once heavily illegal substance and subsequently started an absolute gold rush by entrepreneurs trying to get ahead of the cannabis commodity boom that was bound to happen. 

Where do we stand now? It’s been all but five years, and yet there is still an air of uncertainty, loopholes and lacklustre policy pushing that has left not only the public but the growing professional, marijuana market players scratching their heads. Nowhere has this become more apparent to me than in the research of this article, as the issues lie in the broad scope of the current legislation. Although regulations have been tightened or, somewhat more aptly, given more clarity since the original Constitutional Court decision, there is simply still too much grey area to navigate. We know that the use is limited to personal use within a private residency. We also know that there is a limit to the amount of cannabis an individual may possess. Each individual is allowed 600g of dried cannabis or 1,2kg per dwelling. As for flowering plants, it’s a very similar amount; four flowering plants per person or a total of eight flowering plants per dwelling. It is precisely here at this juncture that the state has yet to move legislation beyond this legal limbo. It’s absolutely fantastic that stoners and social smokers of sorts don’t have to be subject to unjust and unconstitutional rules, but the path to the actual end goal has seemingly not become any clearer. 

Let’s not beat around the bush (pun fully intended). The cannabis industry is an absolute mind-boggling commercial power. You need only look at the likes of the US, in which the cannabis industry is projected to rake in revenue of $33.88 billion in 2023. Even our landlocked neighbour Lesotho is further down the line than us legislatively, with the 2019 African Cannabis Report projecting that Lesotho’s industry would be worth at least $92m by 2023 astonishing, really, given just how much smaller of a market it is. 

So what are the projections like in a South African sense? Well, it is no secret that President Ramaphosa is very keen on industrialising the industry. ”We will review the policy and regulatory framework for industrial hemp and cannabis – which will come as sweet news for our people in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal – to realise the huge potential for investment and job creation. Now this natural product, which our people have been farming with and harvesting for a number of purposes, is going to be industrialised – and no longer just restricted to the smoke process!” he stated at the 2022 State of the Nation address.

Mike Von, Unsplash

DTS, Cannabis Mouthwash Studios

Some estimates point to the immense job creation power that the industrialisation of the cannabis industry would bring to the South African market. Well, according to Ramaphosa, around 130 000 new jobs are a welcome figure in a country with sky-high unemployment statistics. More impressively, however, is the sheer economic impact the industry could prove to have. However, according to a report by the Mail & Guardian (what a full circle moment for this article), in 2021, the South African cannabis industry had an estimated worth of R87.7 million. By 2026 this figure is projected to reach R406.3 million, with a projected growth rate of 28.4%.

London-based cannabis industry analyst Prohibition Partners had an even more positive outlook starting in a 2022 article with the BBC that “legal cannabis trade on the continent is set to rise to $7bn as regulation and market conditions improve, with Africa’s top producers by 2023 will be Nigeria with $3.7bn, South Africa $1.7bn, Morocco $900m, Lesotho $90m and Zimbabwe $80m.” That is an extraordinary injection of capital into an economy that is pretty much stagnant.

We are still in legal limbo concerning the commercialisation and industrialisation of cannabis in South Africa, but I am actually keeping my hopes up for once. Simply put, money talks, and this industry promises to be such a honey pot that the government will find a way to push legislation through, but this doesn’t mean that my optimism is without concern. Once again, this is an industry that could prove to be unbelievably financially robust, and I think I, like many other South Africans, would be a bit wary of how the government chooses to get involved with it. A R400 million industry can soon become an industry fattening pockets rather than providing for the people. But frankly, I have a far bigger concern, which has, for the most part, already somewhat come to fruition. How do we shape legislation to include SMMEs (small, micro and medium enterprises) rather than creating an industry that benefits only the pockets of the elite while widening the income gap?

Simply put, how do we adjust legislation not to price out small-time growers or traditional growers? At the moment, there aren’t any clear answers, and these farmers are simply being priced out of the wider global market, “growing cannabis to export for medicine is not feasible for small-scale farmers, because of the eye-watering costs. It requires a licence from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) which costs about $1,465. Besides the licence fee, to set up a medicinal cannabis facility you need about $182,000 to $304 000, which is beyond the reach of many traditional growers.”

Esteban Lopez, Unsplash

Andre Taissin, Unsplash

In addition to the logistic challenges of growing a regulated cannabis industry, are the concerns of its portrayal in the collective conscience. Michael Stringer is the CEO and founder of Bassani Medical – premier cultivators of medicinal cannabis. On adult-use regulation, he feels we still need to shift our thinking around the presence of this plant in everyday life, “as much as I am an advocate of medical cannabis, I have some concerns about immediate implementation of legalised adult-use cannabis and this is mainly due to the socio-economic conditions in South Africa. If we are to industrialise the cannabis economy we have to create clear and unambiguous laws detailing responsible adult use. In support of this plan, we need to destigmatize cannabis through a well balanced and effective education system and social media is a great place to start – let’s portray cannabis for what it is – safer than alcohol with significant medical benefits, unlike alcohol.”

This is an exciting industry with talks of more transparent and open regulations. The future of the South African cannabis industry looks bright. So go and grow that grass, but always remember to be responsible with the zol, just like Tannie Dlamini Zuma warned us.

Written by: Casey Delport

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