To survive and thrive as a rock band in South Africa for two decades, is a feat that I’m sure any member of Fokofpolisiekar will tell you is not the easiest to achieve. So the fact that Die Bende’s fifth album, Dans Deur Die Donker, manages to hit classic punk-rooted notes that will appease their hardcore fan base, while still incorporating new elements and relevant themes, is nothing short of impressive.  The closing guitar riff in opener “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” smacks so much of early Fokof, I can almost smell the branna en kots on that Klein Libertas floor, while the opening notes of “Word w ..read more

When heavy rock ‘n’ rollers, Dead Lucky, released Sons Of Lazarus back in 2015, I remember being instantly enraptured. There was nobody making music like that in SA at the time, nobody that was actually living their gritty lyrics, except maybe Fokofpolisiekar. But there was something different about DL, a kind of “Live Fast, Die Last” attitude that was reflected in the album’s main single of the same name. But after a sudden extended hiatus circa 2015, it became clear that certain band members were on different paths, and that’s cool, we all gotta grow up eventually. But the prospect of never ..read more

Three musical heavyweights in their own right, Grammy winner Autumn Rowe, and South African hotshots Jesse Clegg and Msaki just joined forces for a beautifully rendered ode to the universal theme of home.  “Home”, which chronicles each respective artists’ idea of the theme with beautiful cohesion, was also composed specifically for the Johannesburg Jewish Helping Hand in a remarkable humanitarian gesture.  So what is home to you? That’s the operative question here, one you might pose to yourself after the final notes have died away. To Autumn, Jesse and Msaki, it’s a sanctuary found ..read more

Brace yourselves for an enchanting journey into the vibrant world of internationally renowned, award-winning singer, songwriter and performing musician Sho Madjozi, as she introduces the inaugural “Shoma Fest” taking place this Sunday 10 December, in Johannesburg at the pulsating heart of Mall of Africa’s Town Square from 12-2pm. This free to enter celebration event is a whimsical experience designed to captivate the young and young at heart with a fiesta of joy, books and Sparkle Braids. The launch of “Shoma Fest” comes exactly a year after the release of her debut best selling children’s bo ..read more

There’s something about how kidwithamatch puts feeling into sound. Devoid of vocals but for the fleeting Medeline Mabhena feature on “Lost in Thoughts of a Big Sky”, his latest EP Persona navigates some big emotions within the contained scope of his particular compositions.  Navigating the knife sharp edge of the personal versus the universal, Persona not only dissects some of kidwithamatch’s own heavy emotions, but offers up the open ended sound for the listener to inject their own.  The opening tracks “Melancholia” and “Letter to the Universe” clock in at six minutes apiece – the f ..read more

Kidnapped by Gypsies’ “Ghosts of the Good Times” looks back, aghast and harrowed, at a life on the edge, and begs for a change in direction. The song’s real power, for the music is strictly archetypal, lies in front-man Craig Pietropaolo’s searing, soaring vocal performance. With an at times other-worldly tonality he gives lyrics like “we should have learned from who we lost” and “to think we were young once/ one once, dead now,” a desperate regret that arrests the ear and stirs the heart. The video, it must be said, smacks of a high-school drama project but, between the hammed up and unconvin ..read more

“Happy-sad” wouldn’t normally be the go-to description for Keanan Eksteen’s sound. The charismatic singer has often matched big drums, growling vocals and guitar heavy melodies to deliver classic rock tunes made for fist-pumping and thigh-slapping.  His latest offering, “Myself”, will still pull you out of your chair but with a more contained high. Laden in soft synths, brooding vocals and teasingly introspective lyrics, Eksteen dips his toes into a sob-rock genre he’s yet to explore, crafting a slow-burn anthem. Although the pulse of the song is in the ‘80s-ish drum and bassline combo, t ..read more

Van Der Aven’s new single “Nooit Weer” is more pop-leaning than anything I’ve heard from the acoustic-folk trio. Produced and recorded in collaboration with guitarist and music director, Loki Rothman at Rothman Records, I like that the band is branching out and working with other people and in doing so, embracing new elements of those inspirations into their sound. “We wanted to record the single in a pop style, and with Loki’s approach and experience in producing pop music, the single came into its own,” lead singer and writer, Roelof van der Merwe explans. “Van Der Aven came into the studio ..read more

Prime Circle and their lead singer Ross Learmonth are parting ways. After a 23-year career, the South African rock group and its frontman have announced the end of their journey together. “It has been an incredible time with Prime Circle and I am immensely grateful for the memories we have created together. However, at this juncture in our lives, it is time for relationships to change and evolve. Unfortunately, that means that we will no longer be continuing this musical journey together,” Ross explains. “It’s always been about the music, and the fans. And now is the time for me to immerse mys ..read more

Tori Amos has collaborated with Trevor Horn of Buggles to record a version of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. The track serves as the opening song on Horn’s new album, Echoes: Ancient & Modern, which was released on 1 December. “I thought of it as a kind of literate, modern American standard, a rap song open to reinterpretation. I wanted something distinctly 21st-century with original, eloquent lyrics, and my longtime engineer Tim Weidner suggested this,” Horn said about “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. Horn even praised Amos for adapting Lamar’s swagger with cinematic intensity ..read more