Felix Laband releases his latest full length album, ‘The Soft White Hand’

Nov 22, 2022 | New Release, Music

Felix Laband’s The Soft White Hand is the masterwork of an artist who expresses himself through musical and artistic collage acting together to reinterpret his sources and to express significant elements of his own personal story.

“When the Khmer Rouge took their captives for processing, they identified their class enemies by looking at their hands. If they were sunburned, rough and calloused, they were those of a peasant, a proletarian to be spared. But if they were soft and white, then they were those of a city-dweller, an intellectual or bourgeois, an adversary to be liquidated. 

In calling this album The Soft White Hand, I was reflecting on the Cambodian genocide and how it resonates in contemporary South Africa. The apartheid era is over, and gone with it is white political domination. Yet economic and social privilege is still held in soft white hands. But those who grasp it know just how tenuous is their hold, how it singles them out, and my music reflects their subconscious fears, the stress and guilt of clinging on to what others envy and desire.

The soft white hand of the title suggests to me a further image, one that relates to all of postcolonial Africa. In my mind’s eye, I see the soft, duplicitous handshake of the smooth representatives of the superpowers making deals and promising gifts that benefit only them, and not their African dupes. Yet, soaring above the wailing of sirens sampled from the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, my music is also about love gained and passion lost. It is about the tender caress of a soft white hand that conducts you into a place of dreams to be enfolded by nocturnal melodies.” – Felix Laband, Artist Statement 

 

Released by Munich-based Compost Records, the 14-track album is Laband’s first full-length offering since the critically acclaimed Deaf Safari in 2015. It is heralded by the single “Derek and Me”, and is being pressed on vinyl for distribution globally.

 In The Soft White Hand Laband works with source materials that will be familiar to those who know his previous four records – Thin Shoes in June (2001), 4/4 Down the Stairs (2002), Dark Days Exit (2005) and especially Deaf Safari which reached deep into the South Africa scene and its political culture to inspire its vocal and music sampling. However, the disengagement he felt from his homeland during his latest album’s creation – an abiding sense of untethered-ness to place and space, exquisitely rendered in tracks like “Death of a Migrant” – is perceptible in Laband’s desire to illuminate instead aspects of his own life.

 

“For this album, my source material became almost autobiographical as opposed to African statements I’ve worked with previously,” says the artist. “I have sampled a lot from documentaries from the 80s crack epidemic in impoverished African American communities and believe my work speaks unapologetically for the lost and marginalised, for those who are the forgotten casualties of the war on drugs. In the past, I have had my issues with substance abuse, and I know first-hand about the nightmares and fears, what it feels like to be isolated and abandoned.” 

 Few artists have managed to air these intimate aspects of their life so luminously as Laband does in tracks like “5 Seconds Ago”, “They Call Me Shorty” and in the strange and meditative “Dreams of Loneliness”. “I’ve been building this weird, autobiographical story using other people talking. It’s kind of humorous but it is also sad and beautiful,” says Laband.

 

Yet, as in all of Laband’s recorded output, the delineations between emotions are never starkly drawn and The Soft White Hand is also shot through with beauty. Nature appears in recordings made in his garden in the intimate early morning hours, whether as in the calls of the Hadada Ibis and other birdsong in “Prelude” or of the vertical-tail-cocking bird in “Derek and Me”. The last is a wonderful track with Derek Gripper, the South African experimental classical guitarist of international renown, whose 2020 song “Fanta and Felix” imagines a meeting between Fanta Sacko and Laband.

 Laband’s eloquence in reinterpreting classical composers such as Beethoven in “We Know Major Tom’s a Junkie” is another thrilling aspect of the new record. “I’ve been properly exploring classical music on this album,” explains Laband, “taking melodies from classical compositions and reinterpreting them”.  A fresh quality comes to his work through this sonic adventuring: the tender manipulation of the mundaneness of the computer’s AI voice to reimagine and reinvent iconic lyrics and melodies in strange and unexpected configurations.

The Soft White Hand is Laband’s most cohesive body of work to date. Yet it remains, in its sheer artistic scope, impossible to describe fully. Darkness abuts the gossamer light. A song that summons the sunrise and all the hope of a new day could also be about the final dipping down of the sun that portends a troubled night ahead. Interludes are invitations to expand outwards or shift inwards. Mistakes and “weird fuckups” in the sound are cherished as convincing statements against what Laband calls the “grossness” of perfect sound in modern music.

 For this world-leading electronic artist, the boundaries are unfixed. He is inspired by the German Dada artist, Hannah Höch, who memorably declared: “I wish to blur the firm boundaries which we self-certain people tend to delineate around all we can achieve.” His music consequently reflects a primal artistic impulse that is also visible in Laband’s considerable visual art output as seen recently in several solo exhibitions such as that held in the No End Gallery in Johannesburg in 2019 and in the works he produced during his 2018 Nirox Foundation Artists Residency. “My music is always about collage, as is my art,’’ he affirms. “Everything I do is collage. It is a medium I find very interesting because you are taking history and distorting it and changing its meaning and turning it upside down and back to front.” In her book Recollections of My Non-Existence, Rebecca Solnit calls collage “literally a border art”; it is “an art of what happens when two things confront each other or spill onto each other”.

With The Soft White Hand, Laband is confirming his singular ability to achieve this in both art and music, melting the divisions between the two creative disciplines until they become one. He is also affirming his belief that an album of music should be more than a collection of unrelated tracks, but should unfold a fully integrated, cohesive story as in the song cycles of the great classical composers. In doing so, he claims his position as one of the most significant artists working today.

Stream ‘The Soft White Hand’ HERE

Purchase ‘The Soft White Hand’ HERE

Links:

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Felix-Laband-18041251748/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/felixlaband

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/felix-laband

Bandcamp: https://felixlaband.bandcamp.com/

 

Holograph Are Back With Their Lo-Fi Influenced Single, ‘Glass Eyes’

Nov 21, 2022 | New Release, Music

Holograph is what happens when you lock up three old friends in a house for a year, and those three friends are restless musicians. In the crucible of the 2020 lockdown in Cape Town Desmond Kannemeyer, Ines Soutschka and Warren Fisher came together to begin creating a sound that is as unpredictable as it is captivating. Since 2022 the full band has been playing live in and around Cape Town, South Africa.

Their latest single, ‘Glass Eyes’, comes straight from the corner of a half-remembered dream. The track sees the band head in a different direction, highlighting their cold wave and lofi influences, “Glass Eyes” is ready for the darkest of dance floors.

Listen to the track HERE

Distributed by Now Now Just Now :

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[email protected]

www.nownowjustnow.com

 

 

Talia Ramkilawan Encapsulates Pleasure at WHATIFTHEWORLD Gallery

Nov 18, 2022 | Art

I first saw Talia Ramkilawan’s work at the Michaelis Graduate exhibition in 2018 – fabric woven in tapestry, vivid colours emanating as figures; and although I can’t quite remember precisely the content of the works, but that it was showcased a sculptural installation, I do know I would never forget her medium. Talia’s principle medium is rug-hooking, an astounding portrayal of crochet tapestry. While Talia’s work manifests across installation, performance and video – I find myself ever-enamoured by the mastery it takes to construct vast images in richness, texture and meaning through well placed and tightened threads of fabric. 

 

The simultaneous simplicity and nuance of a textural, crafted medium within Talia’s artistic dialogue arises as a deeply personal and intimate expression; her lived experience as a South African Indian, queer woman navigating the 21st century. Dialogues of family trauma, sexuality, the dynamics and complexities of identity temper her work- and in Talia’s recent solo exhibition, the depths of unbridled pleasure. Currently exhibited at WHATIFTHEWORLD Gallery, ‘Pleasure Over Pain’ features an array of personal reflections through rug-hook tapestry; Talia has frozen in time the memories and experiences that edify her continual pursuit of pleasure – joy – love, and the sensorial ways in which these are experienced. 

A striking aspect of ‘Pain over Pleasure’ – and a function in all of Talia’s work – is her ability to convey senses such as taste; placing the viewer into her world, and into the richness of experience from Talia’s perspective. Whether it’s the food woven into the picnic scenario between lovers and friends in ‘I’d spend everyday with you/ if it’s enough to make you mine’, or the appearance of Wembley Roadhouse in Athlone – the iconic, family-style diner – in ‘Double hotdog with whopper sauce and a falooda’, Talia evokes the transience of pleasure as a delicious taste – whether its food, or sex – or community and connection; all these form Talia’s personal commitment to joy, and in a way offers the view the same call to action.

Talia Ramkilawan is one of the most important artists in the country – yes, as a cultural communicator, but above all else, simply for who she is – the channel for a deeply original, exquisite artistic essence that remedies the rigidity and plainness of contemporary art.

‘Pleasure Over Pain’ is on until the 26 November at WHATIFTHEWORLD Gallery, 16 Buiten Street, Cape Town City Centre

 

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

INFLUHKS’ VISION INITIATES THE POWER OF STREETWEAR FROM CAPE TOWN TO LAGOS

Nov 17, 2022 | Interviews, Fashion

In the city, 199 Loop St is home to a very special space. I was introduced to INFLUHKS through Andile from Broke – himself crediting the store with the injection of success that the Broke Boys have had for the last two years. I hadn’t been to the store in over a year until recently – nor had I ever met its co-founders, Samson Ajibade and Daniel Durojaiye; the duo also behind streetwear brand, Lazy Stacks. In the year since I first visited the store, INFLUHKS has been renovated and fitted to a newly contemporary shopping experience – I sense a concept store vision ahead – and alongside that, there is a lounge-corner against a backdrop of sneakers, for when the homies pull in. Each brand has their own rail and spot to reflect their signature; the thoughtfulness of this is clear. INFLUHKS is community-centred, and one of most altruistic visions I have encountered in local streetwear. In the back of the store, more insight lies in wait; a studio space, with a mural of Virgil emblazoned against the wall, is set up for small-scale photoshoots, and e-commerce (more on that later) product shoots. So, in-house is the name of the game for Sam & Daniel: and to top it off, behind the studio is their CMT studio. Yes, INFLUHKS and many of the brands that it houses are in fact, made on site; a solution for Sam and Daniel when coming up against supply chain issues – did you know, often you can’t get a factory to produce garments unless you order a minimum of 50 units? You see, INFLUHKS was never just about Lazy Stacks – nor was Lazy Stacks ever just about the store – the entire pulse running through the space is economic and creative empowerment in Cape Town through streetwear. This is a home for building brands and telling stories – and connecting Cape Town with Lagos, Nigeria, where Sam and Daniel were both born. In a world that seeks to divide and separate; INFLUHKS is articulating the future of streetwear in Africa, and they are bringing anyone who wants to join along with them.

 

“The origin of everything is from Lazy Stacks – we built INFLUHKS around it. Lazy Stacks started as part of a social media revolt in Nigeria, around three years ago. The president commented in a press conference that the Nigerian youth were entitled and lazy – and the response from the youth was to demonstrate online that this was far from the truth, that in fact the infrastructure doesn’t support the younger generations and their future. Lazy Stacks is inspired by youthful rebellion in creative individuals that make up the new wave of entrepreneurs and leaders – we want to ask the question with Lazy Stacks, how do we encourage economic growth and create, without conforming to society’s benchmarks for productivity and success?” Sam tells me in our conversation – indicating an incredibly powerful aspect of the rise of streetwear across the planet that is woven into the DNA of Lazy Stacks and INFLUHKS. Streetwear itself is a nexus of sub-culture and non-conformity; and yet, it has become one of the most successful markets in retail and fashion. Alongside this, streetwear remains at the frontier of what it means to build a brand in the 21st century; to tell stories, create community and in turn, nurture and feed that community off the success of being true oneself. Initially, Lazy Stacks was meant to be launched in Nigeria – but the pandemic had other plans; “The business was supposed to be launched in Lagos. With all the lockdowns, we decided to launch it online from Cape Town. Things became increasingly difficult, and that’s also how INFLUHKS started. Our original work in the store was assisting fast fashion brands reduce waste; we took clothes heading for landfill, and diverted them back into the store to extend their lifecycle. As time went on, I realised that wasn’t what I wanted to do; I wanted to sell and promote local brands, because sustainability is social and environmental. We can do both when we are creating a local industry – the original business model for INFLUHKS limited our creative expression, but it taught us a lot about retail.”

 

If you speak to anyone adjacent to or in the scene – they will confirm that INFLUHKS is onto something big. Whether its their iconic First Thursday parties, launch events or showcasing at SA Menswear, INFLUHKS has its sights firmly set on a new landscape for streetwear’s future. Central to this has been a physical brick-and-mortar store, particularly in a time where everything feels like it’s digitised. The purpose of this is yes, to sell clothes – but it’s also to encourage a continued reclamation of the city, a home for kids and creatives alike to come and hang out; seeding and sharing ideas. As Sam puts it – “We have hacked the system, and we tell a lot of the brands we work with, that this is what differentiates us. We are not supposed to be inside of the city selling our brands; it’s meant for bigger brands, and the challenge is continuous – it’s a never-ending battle to the landlord, or tenants, who don’t want us there because we are noisy. We are youthful, of course we are loud. Each year we sharpen how we approach business, and how we communicate what we are doing with the store. We are busy working on our online platform – the store is full, and we have a long list of people who are waiting to be a part of the INFLUHKS family.”

In the store – which I urge everyone to visit – the quality of fabric and construction of every brand is incredible. From Bigtynsonly, Kings On Horses, Flux – Artclub and Friends – Patrick James, Lazy Stacks and Broke, each brand expresses its designers unique viewpoint. It’s something one can never quite catch from a runway or a photograph; but this uncompromising commitment to quality is crucial for Sam and Daniel. There can be no other way; and this commitment has paid, particularly in how INFLUHKS is contributing to changing consumer perception around midweight local fashion. Sam explains, “We have seen a shift from people who used to go buy things from fast fashion brands, now rather saving a bit of money to buy a local brand in our store. People are understanding the vision, and realising they can be a part of it too. This growth is huge, and it’s pushing us to do more; especially because with our physical store, people come and connect with us, they connect with clothing; streetwear has more power than people realise. We encourage conscious consumption and economic empowerment.” There is a very unique energy of collaboration between brands running through local fashion; many realise that without each other, and the growth among many brands, the industry won’t be able to reach its full potential. On this, Sam explains; “We were able to do SA Menswear through Robyn Keyser at Artclub and Friends. When she visited our studio, and as always she gave so much advice – she’s an OG, and has been doing this for years – and she asked if we wanted to do the show in Cape Town, as she was going to SA Fashion Week in Joburg. Robyn really hooked us up. It’s been waves of appreciation from the show – the growth we have seen in our retail numbers go to show that we have more eyes on us and our work.” 

One half of leading INFLUHKS forward is Daniel – his vision is to truly connect Cape Town and Lagos, as powerful forces in fashion’s future on the continent. Next on the agenda for Sam, Daniel and their whole crew is expansion; landing an investor, and getting a bigger space; the future is ripe for their taking. This is potent work; and one that signals the impact creativity has as a role for shaping the future of African fashion. Watch this space.

 

 

 

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Rose Bonica releases the first Roses Are Red compilation, ‘Roses Are Dead’

Nov 16, 2022 | New Release, Music

Rose Bonica has recently released the first instalment of her Roses Are Red Compilation. What started as a humorous play on words, Roses Are Dead has since evolved into a heavyweight compilation. A dark, loud and club-centred showcase of talent from Fear & Self Loathing, JAIDE, [kevinindafield], Chris Timm, Odous and Rose Bonica.

The release, in collaboration with ANG, enters the world for a positive cause. The proceeds of the sales will be donated to Sidewalk Specials, a Cape Town-based animal welfare organisation that focuses on rescuing, sterilising and rehoming of pets as well as educating communities on how to care for their furry friends.

This cause is close to our hearts, with the beautifully painted artwork by Odous featuring ANG’s two rescue pups. We often think we save animals, but more often than not they are the ones who save us.

Support a beautiful cause and populate your crates with some bangers for the club.

Listen to the compilation HERE

Soulfully Encoded, Sío’s Poetic Rise

Nov 15, 2022 | Interviews, Music

Female vocals interlaced throughout electronic music have re-imagined the proverbial songs of sirens deeply within a temporally extended position in music. Spliced and manipulated – that is the genius of electronic music, a technical wonder transcending the human experience of sound – and yet, this is not the genius of Sío. No, singer and poet, Siobhan Luluma King’s genius is as precisely soulful and raw as it gets – and house music just happened to be the first assertion that she found for her energy to translate effectively. The deep hum from which Sío’s tonal abilities reverberates have coaxed her from her initial apprehension at ‘entertainment’ – by her self admission, this ‘weird kid’ from Ennerdale just wants to play – as freely and deeply as life will allow. On that road to freedom, Sío might stumble across a Spotify billboard in Times Square (yes, New York City) – and with eyes wide and beaming, she might be drawn in a for a moment into the eminence of it all – but ultimately, Sío just wants to write, sing, and share. Personally, I think her purpose is also to heal – but that’s just me, ever-curious of what each of our medicines in this world might be. 

“I wasn’t really the kind of person that people thought much of in terms of vocals. I grew up in the hood, Ennerdale, a coloured location built by the legacy of apartheid. Everybody was enamoured by belters and big voices there – and especially during that time – people who could do Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey runs. BIG voices. As a child, I was never given leads in the choir. I had encephalitis as a kid – so I didn’t go to school for a while. I started going to church a whole lot more, and got lost in reading – which fed the storyteller in me.” Sío reflects in our conversation – although, I must preface, this is one of those conversations in which writing could never justify the animated energy or sense of humour with which Sío speaks – even around childhood illness, Sío switches between poignant remembrance, and witty acclaim for the past. She says, “At church this was the nun, I grew up Catholic, and there was a search announced for a youth choir. I thought, ‘oh well – I’ve got nothing to do on a Thursday afternoon, why not?’ Sister Theresa, rest in peace, came to me one day during those practices and said ‘hey, sing in your head register, please?’ – I really didn’t understand that then. From that moment, I started singing with my natural voice. Sister Theresa gave me that permission, that I didn’t know I needed, to be myself – and then, believe it or not, people started paying attention. I got a whole solo during communion – and everyone just looked at me, like I had been hiding my throat the whole time! Still, I’ve had to work to love the power of my voice – and not because of its ability to belt, but because it’s soothing, I’ve been told. It’s a lullaby voice.” For Sío, her voice has been her liberator and her shield simultaneously – growing up in a fractured world, her formative years were spent as a target for bullies – those who couldn’t understand how she could be both coloured and Zulu; the experience of being misunderstood, led Sío to retreat deep into her inner-world; a world which is now her greatest superpower. 

For a long-time, electronic music has featured samples of vocals belonging to unknown people; in a male-dominated industry, the mystery of the feminine remained purposefully unknown – you don’t know Her, but you feel Her, wherever the music is experienced. In the last decade, this has changed – with singers like Zanda Zakuza – Sío is among the feminine forces within electronic music that is revealing itself, to be known and paid their dues. Sío says, “I looked at fame as a monster, and I find that to be true in many ways, still. The kind of notoriety – no, that wasn’t for me, fame looked scary. I wanted to be able to go to the shop at 5 in the afternoon, in my pyjamas, you know? Looking at house music – I saw it was inclusionary – and I have those gripes, still. A singer in house music is not as respected as a DJ or producer. I got into it, though, because it was around me – it was the boom of it, and I wasn’t drawn to hip hop.” Songwriting was encouraged by a cousin – and Sío, already writing poetry at that point, has never looked back, “I bought a guitar, and began writing songs. That format condensed and locked in my many, many ideas for writing – I was then introduced to someone with a mic, another guy with a beat. A 10 minute walk to a guy’s house, his name is Jabu, in extension 5 in Ennerdale and the first song we did – Love Mirrors – was released under Peng Africa. Simultaneously, more guys came through with beats – and I would do the vocals. House, very specifically, is like doing a group-project. It has that way of being, where everyone brings their craft to the table.That’s not to say it’s a balance though; there is a lot to be done in terms of how house music can serve singers as much as it does for DJs and producers.”

I ask Sío about the encoded nature of her work – the allusion to esoteric themes, and where her moniker ‘The Twilight Child’ came from as a poet, “I’ve never really thought of myself as a healer, but I think in sharing who I am and what I’ve experienced – I think it ignites a sense of solidarity. There is healing in that. I absolutely believe this is a calling for me – to sing, and write – it’s the hardest thing I have ever done, and the most rewarding. ‘The Twilight Child’ is a name I came up with as a teenager for my poetry. I’ve always felt like I exist in liminal space – you know, those between spaces? I’m not just one thing.” Poetry, to me, is the very edge of writing before it becomes a fully-musical endeavour; personally, I cannot write poetry very well – there is a rhythm and lyricism there that I find totally mesmerising. On this, Sío says, ‘’I taught myself to write poems, and it’s by trial and error. I used to write four or five page poems – I’ve definitely learned to condense them, though. That lended itself to my ability to rhythm, and hear melodies with words or lyrics alone. Writing songs was much easier because of my poetry background – and the beauty of house, the songs are much longer – so I could put in my longer writing style with ease. There is a lot for me to say, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised – people like what I do.”

A few months ago, streaming giant Spotify named Sío their Spotify Equal Ambassador – with a huge billboard of Sío in Times Square, New York City, “Spotify approached Kid Fonque and I before my album was being released. I really couldn’t believe it – I just make songs, you know? I wasn’t quite ready for the way I would feel being on a billboard like that. I’ve been on billboards before when I’ve done modelling work – but it was always me selling something or portraying a character. This time, I was on a filter in one of the busiest, most diverse intersections on the planet – just for being myself and sharing my craft? I cried tears of joy, which I had never done before about anything.” Woven between these moments – and within the liminal spaces – Sío exists, and lives, fully in her expression. We are honoured to witness it, too. 

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Namakau Star teams up with German based trio The Planetoids on ‘Make Up Your Mind’

Nov 14, 2022 | New Release, Music

German-based indie pop trio The Planetoids and South African songstress Namakau Star paint melodic hues while speaking on mental health and friendship in the fun indie pop release titled Make Up Your Mind.

Namakau Star is an independent Cape Town based Zambian born creative, Africa Rising Music Conference Ambassador and Spotify Master Class Alumni, she joins forces with three teachers that are The Planetoids all the way from Germany. 

Make Up Your Mind is the third single off The Planetoids’ upcoming album, The Aerodynamics of a Cow, an ode to the challenges that come with friendship and the social impact of mental health issues. How do we navigate the intersections of our personal mental battles and the relationships with those who are closest to us? 

The song lyrically embodies the conversation between friends who want to bring each other into the light. With a fun, light-hearted feel laced with futuristic disco synths embellished with live guitar, the song manages to encapsulate the sounds of true friendship and the search for relief by those directly affected by the perils of the mind. 

The remix will be released in early 2023 alongside international DJ’s and producers who have collaborated with the band on remixes on their upcoming album. 

Stream Make Up Your Mind HERE

Watch Make Up Your Mind Lyric Video HERE

With their upcoming album The Aerodynamics of a Cow which is set to be released on the 25th November 2022, The Planetoids are excited to broaden their horizons through this collaborative piece of art and they cannot wait for the world to hear it. 

Connect with Namakau Star and The Planetoids online for more music and upcoming projects:

The Planetoids on Social Media

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Namakau Star on Social Media

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Distributed by Triple Double Media

Contact: [email protected]

 

THE PLAYGROUND presents TIMELESS FESTIVAL 2023

Nov 11, 2022 | Music

THE PLAYGROUND presents 

TIMELESS FESTIVAL 2023

Friday 10th March 2023- Sunday 12th March 2023

Elandskloof Farm, Greyton/ Cape Town, South Africa

12 pm Friday – 7pm Sunday

Facebook Event page

TIMELESS Festival Tickets

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TYCHO (US)/ RÖYKSOPP- dj (NO)/ BOOKA SHADE- live (DE)/ CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER- live (DE)/ SÉBASTIEN LÉGER MODULAR LIVE (FR)/ EELKE KLEIJN (HO)/ DOMINIK EULBERG (DE)/ PARRA FOR CUVA- live (DE)/ DJ PIERRE (US)/ DEEP FOREST- live (FR)/ SAINTE VIE (MX)/ JORIS DELACROIX (FR)/ ROBERT BABICZ (PO)/ SUN-EL MUSICIAN (SA)/ DJ ZINHLE (SA)/ RYAN MURGATROYD (SA)/ CULOE DE SONG (SA)/ LEMON & HERB (SA)/ WE HOUSE SUNDAYS (SA)/ CAIIRO (SA)/ ENOO NAPA (SA)/ KID FONQUE (SA)/ JULLiAN GOMES (SA)/ JAZZUELLE (SA)/ REINHARDT BUHR (SA)/ GOODLUCK (SA)/ DEAN FUEL (SA)/ DAS KAPITAL (SA)/ ROGER GOODE (SA)/ LEIGHTON MOODY (SA)/ CASSIEM LATIEF (SA)/ YOAV (SA)/ PASCAL & PEARCE (SA)/ AVI SUBBAN (SA)/ NICK E LOUDER (SA)/ DINO MORAN (SA)/ TAÜ (SA)/ TERRASOUL (SA)/ MARIA DIE RUHE (DE)/ DJ MAMBA (SA)/ VICKY BUTTERFLY (UK)

THE PLAYGROUND is pleased to announce the launch of their inaugural festival in Cape Town, South Africa between the 10th and 12th March 2023 to be hosted at the foothills of the Greyton mountainscape on Elandskloof Farm. 

Behind artists such as Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Crystal Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, FKJ, Pendulum, Steve Aoki among others, and recognised as one of the UK’s top promoter driving forces across the last 14 years, The Playground has hosted events at London’s top venues and won numerous accolades from The Guardian, Time Out, and NME Magazine to mention a few, with DJ Mag naming them “One of London’s most audacious music forces”. The 3-day camping festival is set to bring some of the most influential and groundbreaking acts to one of the most idyllic settings in South Africa. 

As never seen before, the festival is set to host top-tier headlining acts such as Grammy-nominated Electronic producer TYCHO, two-time Grammy-nominated Norwegian duo RÖYKSOPP, and Berlin-based heavyweight duo BOOKA SHADE (headlined stages at Coachella, Glastonbury, Rock Werchter, and Red Rocks). 

That’s not all. Also gracing TIMELESS’ star-studded stage are prolific deep-house producer CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER, French hit-maker SÉBASTIEN LÉGER, Dutch heavyweight producer and DJ EELKE KLEIJN, multi-award-winning act DOMINIK EULBERG, prominent german producer PARRA FOR CUVA, the godfather of Acid house himself DJ PIERRE, double-platinum status, Grammy Award-winning sensation DEEP FOREST.

Avid festival goers can look forward to watching Mexican-born electronic music producer SAINTE VIE perform for the first time in SA. Other acts they can expect to see are boundless French electronic producer JORIS DELACROIX and well-established Polish-born producer ROBERT BABICZ. We’re just getting started. The lineup also includes well-established National acts such as:

SUN EL MUSICIAN is a one-of-a-kind South African producer known and loved country-wide for his unique sound and his movement in building the Afro-house sounds.

DJ ZINHLE – Kwa-Zulu Natal-born, she has become one of South Africa’s most celebrated female house DJs, being nominated for Metro FM Awards and South African Music Awards, among others.

RYAN MURGATROYD  has released via Defected Records and Get Physical Music, joined the coveted Boiler Room line-up in ADE alongside Black Coffee, and performed at Mixmag Lab series and Fusion Festival.

CULOE DE SONG – Born in the northern parts of South Africa’s east coast, his music career launched in early 2007 when his song “100 Zulu Warriors” featured in Black Coffee’s second offering, Have Another One. 

LEMON & HERB – the house music duo hailing from KwaZulu-Natal consists of Sikhumbuzo Hadebe and Don Sithole. Lemon & Herb are famous for their distinct South African rhythms and futuristic melodies.

WE HOUSE SUNDAYS celebrates the true essence of House Music by unifying diverse cultures; connecting artists, music lovers and dancers from across the globe.

CAIIRO- Is a house DJ/Producer from South Africa whose rhythmic & emotional style led him to travel the world. He has worked with renowned acts Black Motion, Da Capo, Msaki, Djeff and more.

ENOO NAPA – #1 Afro House Artist 2017 on Traxsource, Enoo Napa has remixed for Black Coffee, N’dinga Gaba, Mi Casa, Oscar P, King Sfiso, DJ Merlon.

KID FONQUE – The DJ/producer, label owner, promoter and National radio host has become a vital part of South African electronic music and club culture over the last 20 years, embracing Bass and Broken Beats to Bossa Nova, Hip Hop and every shade of House.

JULLIAN GOMES was brought up on Soul, Latin and Kwaito before discovering House music at the tender age of eight. Since his first gig in 2003, his career has only grown, along with his skill set and love for production.

JAZZUELLE – One of the most consistent South African producers, the Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp Alumni opened the first-ever Sonar Festival in Johannesburg, performed at Beatport’s Wet Deck Annual Party, and played the Get Physical Music showcase at City Hall.

REINHARDT BUHR [LIVE] uses a live looping pedal to record Spanish guitar, electric cello, electronic drums and Australian didgeridoos, building layer upon layer, to create a big instrumental orchestra sound.

DEAN FUEL – With roots as a vinyl DJ, he‘s rocked top festivals and underground clubs across Africa and beyond for over 18 years, turning his passion for electronic music into a lifelong pursuit.

DAS KAPITAL mutates elements of House, UK Garage, Techno, Acid, classic Rave and Breakbeat into his own dynamic style. His weekly radio show “In Das We Trust” is in its 5th year on South African national broadcaster 5FM.

ROGER GOODE is a broadcasting maverick, DJ, producer and performing artist who hosts specialist dance music shows every weekday on South Africa’s national youth radio station 5FM.

GOODLUCK – The live electronic band’s genre-bending sound is rooted in the rhythms from their homeland. Their pioneering tech setup (drum machines/ synthesisers/ electronic percussions/ saxophone/ vocals) allows them space to improvise, making each performance unique. 

LEIGHTON MOODY also known as “Soulsideup” is a Cape Town-based DJ and co-founder of the well-known ”We House Sundays” movement. Dancers and music lovers alike respect him for his fusion of House Music textures and ability to move dancefloors

CASSIEM LATIEF is a Cape Town DJ, Producer, and co-founder of the “We House Sundays” movement who grew from humble beginnings, working in a record store, to holding down residencies across the Mother City to playing festivals and events around South Africa.

YOAV is a South African singer/songwriter who is influenced by electronic music and the club/dance culture that surrounds it. He blends his traditional singer/songwriter compositions with this electronic vibe as well as his innovative rhythmic, percussive way of playing the guitar.

PASCAL & PEARCE – Three-time South African Music Awards nominee, the DJ and producer duo consists of Pascal Ellinas and Dave Pearce who produce a variety of electronic dance music styles. 

AVI SUBBAN has grounded himself in eclectic rhythms, bringing forth a new dimension and approach to dance music, reconstructing boundaries in his productions and performances alike. 

NICK E LOUDER has always played on the tougher, progressive side of dance music, adapting genres to the needs and trends of the dance floor.

Dino Moran has played at every major club in South Africa over the last sixteen years and supported artists like Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold, Deep Dish, Sasha, John Digweed and David Morales at various international events.

TAÜ better known by his second moniker Bassik Musik, is a South African-based house DJ who specialises in entertainment through the high-spirited sounds of Bass, Tech, and Deep house music. 

TERRASOUL – Kaelem Fakier aka Terrasoul fell in love with the rich, immersive tones of Deep House. His attention to detail as a DJ and producer has made him a force to be reckoned with.

MARIA DIE RUHE has performed on several stages across Europe, each time bringing new energy to her set. The producer’s sound calls to mind the unusual sounds of Röyksopp, Lykke Li and MØ.

DJ MAMBA – Professionally rocking crowds since 1999, this multi-talented music connoisseur is both a DJ and a radio host, dividing his time between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

 

TIMELESS Festival links:

Facebook Event page

TIMELESS Festival Tickets

The Playground Instagram page

TIMELESS Festival Instagram page

For all press and radio enquiries please contact / [email protected] 

 

Sexual Pleasure & Wellness : Welcoming South Africa’s Newest Sex Shop, ‘PLEASE’

Nov 10, 2022 | Lifestyle, Interviews, Community

South Africa is still recovering from the repressive conservatism of our historical context – and once such aspect that stands out, and intersects deeply with racial, gender and cultural oppression and subjugation, is sexuality. Sexual wellness – or even openness – murmurs among communities, echoed between lovers, friends – rarely families. I sometimes think back to horrifyingly awkward Life Orientation teachers handing out worksheets of anatomical pictures of the male / female gender binary to a class of snickering teenagers, themselves alienated from their own bodies.

Then, we have the sex shop culture in South Africa – existing across a spectrum, (albeit a small one) ranging from rather tacky to inaccessibly high-end; and then the impossible, innavigable task some might face ordering  from a plethora of choices and products. This is where ‘PLEASE the sex shop’ comes in, with a vision and hope for sexual wellness – dialogue – conversation and most of all pleasure. Please is the brainchild of Mira Liebowitz and co-founded with her partner, Greg Sher – together, through their love and mutual tenacity, South Africa welcomes the chicest, most thoughfully curated sex shop it has ever known. With a suggestive, tasteful brand identity – and only its first few weeks of inception – Please encourages a balance between natural and technological products : from oils and candles to premium sex toys, Please even stock Chakrubs, the crystal wands and yoni eggs that have taken the industry by storm. We are absolutely here for it.

 

“I came across this incredible sex shop on Instagram – WOVO Store in Milan – and their imagery, branding and way of expressing their viewpoint in the sex industry was so beautiful. That was the spark, where I thought, why does something like this not exist here? This was quite a few years ago. It took a lot of time, and a lot of work – and meeting Greg, before we made this into a reality. It’s quite crazy that the concept has remained the same throughout the years – which is that there’s a huge gap in the sexual retail space in South Africa, where we can offer people the space – digitally or physically – to have a beautiful experience overall when shopping for these things.” says Mira in our conversation, recounting the early seeding of Please. To birth a sex shop is one thing – but to do it with ones partner, is to bring together a whole different sense of what is possible in integrating feminine and masculine perspectives of sexual wellness; as not mutually exclusive or in opposition, but forming the beautiful loop that sex between people across the gender spectrum, can generate. Mira says, “I told Greg about this crazy idea, and he was actually like – this is a great idea – and then we eventually got to a position where, work-wise, we both could carve out the time and resources to give this a real go. I think it’s pretty interesting and beautiful that it’s a business started by a soon-to-be married couple. For both of us, eradicating the stigma of sex and promoting sexual wellness is so important – the point is to get people talking, and to shift any shame around sexuality, sexual preferences or experiences.”

Please is centred on an elevated experience of sexual pleasure – equal parts sophisticated and playful. The essence of a boutique that Please conveys exceptionally considered, with Mira and Greg set on offering South Africa a diversified access to products. Greg comments on this, “When we started to source products, we did a lot of research at the large online stores, but they’re already stocked here. We went searching for products that were not readily available here, but just as aligned to our aesthetic and functional intention for the store. We wanted to be, in most cases, the first to stock many of the brands that we have. Out of all our products, only two of them are already found here.” This vision has allowed Please to enter into a saturated market with an energy of originality and bespokeness – playing effortlessly between inviting their audience into the ‘best kept secrets’ of sexual pleasure, while building a community of people committed to sexual wellness & education. Currently, Please is a digital sex shop – with the discretion of online shopping as an intimate introduction to their clients into their vision. I ask Mira and Greg whether there is a showroom or physical space in the future- to which Mira says, “Absolutely, the idea actually came from this vision of wanting to have a physical space that breaks down the boundaries of the sex shop experience – how cool would it be to have an exquisite, art gallery space where it’s all things sex? It’s not easy to start off a business as brick-and-mortar, but it’s definitely the goal to get there. Beginning online and building a community is our first priority right now. Yes, we are selling products – but underneath that is our desire to be a part of shifting the culture around sexual pleasure.”

On the way forward for Please, Mira says, “We’ve been chatting with people here to stock more local products. We are also going to branch out into our own merch – and possibly lingerie, too. We would also love to get into bondage and kink, which we have a strong community in South Africa. We also want to give back to the sexual wellness industry, too – with a specific focus on sexual education. All these hidden experiences are happening – like how common it can be for some people to be unable to orgasm without the assistance of a toy, and when you go online to read about it – it’s usually from the male gaze. I think this idea of “wrongness” and the divide between male and female perspectives and content needs to be challenged. Please is a sex shop where anyone, of any gender or sexuality, can explore.” Lastly – Mira and Greg let us in on what their favourite products are from the store – Greg says, “I’m enjoying the cuffies the most – the silicone based handcuffs.” and Mira says, “Mine is the Aer – which is pulses of air instead of vibrations, which is insane.”

The sexual experience is said to be one of humanity’s closest portals to the Divine. These ecstatic, out of body states available to all who desire and choose it, have also been shown to be highly integral to maintaining a healthy body and mind. In a world where sex is dominated by violence – PLEASE the sex shop is an expression of resistance, and a further move towards a more sexuality liberated world; a world that women, allies and LGBTQIA+ folks have sought to fight for since time immemorial. We are thrilled to welcome the newest dawn of sex…please! 

 

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

MeccaMind drops his latest mixtape and music video, ‘LET THE KIDZ PLAY’

Nov 9, 2022 | New Release, Music

Bloemfontein-bred musician, MeccaMind has continued to grow his music as he navigates the landscape in Cape Town. The latest offering titled “LET THE KIDZ PLAY” deals with the solemnity that comes with a fleeting youth and the navigation of those years. It’s slick with tones and messages that communicate with the stress, uncertainty and excitement of your early 20s and also touches on the overall black experience in this new South Africa. 

The project took 2 years to make and is packaged into 12 songs with features from fellow young, up-and-coming artists and producers from different walks of life. It was greatly influenced by the rowdiness of southern rap music (Outkast, Three Six Mafia, UGK, etc.) and the rich textures of South African jazz. 

In the last few months preceding the run-up to the release, a couple of interactive live shows in Bloemfontein and Cape Town have garnered more fanfare in anticipation of the release. Now, with a scaled up body of work – Mecca continues to vision ahead for the new generation of hip hop in South Africa.  

Listen to the album HERE

Watch the music video HERE