Month: June 2015

Twin Atlantic heading to SA for Oppikoppi and they have a new album out

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Scottish rock band Twin Atlantic will be performing at Oppikoppi -The Fantastic Mr. VosVos in August.

The band has had a busy year – they have been on an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, performing to full houses and getting rave reviews for their latest album release Great Divide (Red Bull Records). Q magazine said of the album: “Scottish next big things step it up with an arena-rock-sized swagger” and Kerrang! commented: “If their ascent over the past years has shown us anything, they’ll soon be plunging their flag into the summit of British rock.”

Twin Atlantic singer Sam McTrusty says the band is looking forward to their time in South Africa. “It’s going to be a trip of a lifetime for us and something we never realised we could achieve with this band. Now that it’s just around the corner, we are really excited about getting to meet new people and cultures at the same time as playing our songs for music lovers in South Africa. We have been playing major festivals in the UK, North America, Europe and Australia so it’s with big smiles and pride that we can now say we have been to a whole new continent and rocked with people so far from home. See you soon!”

Since the release of Great Divide the album has produced three hit singles Heart and Soul; Brothers and Sister and Hold On. The fourth single off the album Fall into the Party will be released to SA Radio stations this month. Listen to the single here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kr_nQsPlSA

That much of Great Divide was written in the back of tour buses, late at night, after Twin Atlantic had stepped off yet another festival stage is evident from the first listen. McTrusty said: “Our adrenaline was through the roof because, for the first time, thousands of people had come to see us. I’d be in the lounge, unable to sleep, recording ideas on my phone, trying to make sense of the reaction we’d had to our songs. You can’t hear 10,000 people singing a chorus back at you and not be changed by it.”

“We’ve been through our punk rock rebellion phase and come out the other side,” laughs McTrusty. “We’ve all grown up being in this band. Dare I say it, we’re finally fully-formed adults. Since Free, some of us have got married and bought our own places and I’ve spent time in Canada because my girlfriend lives there. When the four of us got back together to work on this album, there was no bullshit. With our own lives sorted, it was easier to see the point of the songs and how we wanted them to sound. And, definitely, part of that was embracing pop.”

The bulk of Great Divide was recorded in Rockfield in Wales with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies), who also helmed Free. Additional songs were recorded in the States with Jacknife Lee (Snow Patrol, U2, R.E.M.).

Twin Atlantic formed in 2007 when McTrusty and bassist Ross McNae, a friend from school, joined forces with drummer Craig Kneale and lead guitarist and occasional cello player Barry McKenna. All four had been in previous bands on the Glasgow scene. They bonded over a shared love of alternative rock, punk-pop and the city’s skate and street art scene, as well as a determination to make music their day jobs.

Their ferocious shows soon saw them booked to support Smashing Pumpkins, Biffy Clyro and their teen idols Blink 182. Within two years, they had played most major UK festivals and been signed, following a tip-off from Alan McGee, to American label Red Bull Records.

Twin Atlantic will be on stage at Oppikoppi -The Fantastic Mr. VosVos on Sunday, August 9. Tickets for the festival at https://plankton.mobi/Home/Index

Social media links:
http://www.twinatlantic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/twinatlantic
https://twitter.com/twinatlantic
https://instagram.com/twinatlantic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/twinatlantic

Twin Atlantic will be in SA in August. Photo: Dean Chalkley

Twin Atlantic will be in SA in August. Photo: Dean Chalkley

Great Divide is the new album from Twin Atlantic.

Great Divide is the new album from Twin Atlantic.

Marikana – The Musical returns to the State Theatre in Pretoria

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Marikana – The Musical, winner of six Naledi Awards, returns to the stage at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria.

Adapted by acclaimed multi-award winning playwright and theatre director, Aubrey Sekhabi from the book We Are Going to kill Each Other Today- The Marikana Story penned by South African writers , Thanduxolo Jika, Felix Dlangamandla, Lucas Ledwaba, Sebabatso Mosamo, Athandwa Saba and Leon Sadiki, the musical looks at the events that led to the loss of 44 lives at the hands of the police and the miners. It goes back to the villages and townships where they came from and give faces and names to the fallen brothers, sons, fathers and uncles.

“Marikana – the Musical has been a humbling experience for us, awards, accolades and public demand it has been a real roller-coaster of emotions for me, the creative team and the cast we hope to continue using art to heal, mourn and most importantly to teach tolerance,” says director, Aubrey Sekhabi.

The 40 strong cast is led by Meshack “Mimi” Mavuso, Aubrey Poo, Emma Mmekwa, and Mpho “Mckenzie” Matome.

At the Naledi Theatre Awards 2014 Marikana – The Musical took home the awards for the best production of a musical (The South African State Theatre), best director (Aubrey Sekhabi), best performance in a musical: female (Emma Mmekwa), best set design (Wilhelm Disbergen), best musical score (Mckenzie Matone, Zakele Mabena and Aubrey Sekhabi), and best original choreography (Thabo Rapoo).

NEED TO KNOW

Marikana – The Musical will be staged in the Drama Theatre at the State Theatre in Pretoria from July 16 to August 16. Go to http://www.statetheatre.co.za/ for more details and to book.

Durban Art Gallery hosts thought-provoking exhibitions

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THE associations between life and death are at the heart of Janet Solomon’s exhibition Green Screen which can be viewed at the Durban Art Gallery until June 28.

Speaking about the exhibition, which includes photographs and paintings, Solomon says that she is comparing the use of green screen in the digital world to the way in which museums traditionally display groups of people or animals in dioramas.

“The diorama is a construction similar to a stage set housed in a glass showcase and is intended to give a context to the reconstructed humans and animals,” she says. “This results in a false sense of reality, comparable to how the green screen manipulates the digital image.”

Photographed images of taxidermied animals trapped in artificial situations are accompanied by paintings of living people and creatures in natural environments and the ravages and threats of climate change and other ecological destruction.

The juxtapositions between the frozen moments of history and the ravages of the present examine ideas of freedom and entrapment and question how we look at the distance between object and subject.

Green Screen is Solomon’s fifth solo show and comprises of over 30 works created between 2011 and 2014.

Also at the gallery is Suikerbossie/Sugarbush, a one-woman show by Durban artist Janet Solomon, which interrogates Afrikaner culture and identity.

This grappling with identity is placed in the context of her family history and life experiences through video, digital collages, performance, drawing, ceramics, mixed media and sculptural installation.

“This interrogation forms part of a critical transformative inquiry which explores the death, rebirth and growth of my personal identity through art practice,” Maurel says.

“It is through writing and telling our stories we use the power of narratives to deconstruct and reconstruct new identities, in order to begin to heal.

“I have been struggling against Afrikaner myths and beliefs, such as the Afrikaner as the chosen people and the authority of the patriarch.

“Twenty years of democracy has brought about a multi-cultural environment, which is very different from that which existed when I grew up during apartheid. It has provided a space for a metamorphosis of my personal identity through an interrogation of Afrikaner culture and identity in my art practice.”

  • The Durban Art Gallery (DAG) is open Monday to Saturday from 8.30 am until 4 pm, and Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm. Entry is free. Inquiries: 031 311 2264/9. The DAG is on the second floor of the Durban City Hall building. Enter opposite the Playhouse.
Still image from: Suikerbosie video performance

Still image from: Suikerbosie video performance

Wishbone Ash will be performing four shows at Barnyard Theatres

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Legendary twin guitar band, Wishbone Ash, will play four shows at Barnyard Theatres this July as part of their 2015 ”Live Dates Live” World Tour.

Fans can catch one of the most influential guitar bands in the history of rock, on Saturday, July 11 at 8pm at the Barnyard Cresta (Johannesburg), Sunday,July 12 at 2 pm at Barnyard Parkview (Pretoria), 8 pm on Wednesday, July 15 at the Barnyard Rivonia (Johannesburg) and at 8 pm on Saturday, July 18 at Barnyard Willowbridge (Cape Town).

Tickets are R250 – book online at www.barnyardtheatres.co.za or phone the relevant Barnyard Theatre.

Due to popular demand, the group will play tracks from their bestselling “Live Dates” album as well as tracks from their new studio album, “Blue Horizon”.

Formed in 1969, Wishbone Ash has done 24 original studio recordings, 10 live albums and four live DVDs along with a DVD rockumentary “This is Wishbone Ash”.

They have made records in both the United Kingdom and the United States, working with producers of the calibre of Tom Dowd (Cream, Clapton & Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Bill Szymczyk (Eagles, Joe Walsh & The Who).

The band is led by founding member Andy Powell on guitar and vocals, trading licks with Finland’s guitar wizard Muddy Manninen. Bassist Bob Skeat, a 17-year veteran of the band and in-demand studio musician, sets the pace with Joe Crabtree, one of the best of Britain’s new breed of drummers whose performance credits include Pendragon and David Cross of King Crimson.

Recorded on tour and released in 1973, “Live Dates” is Wishbone Ash’s best-selling album, even outpacing the perennially popular “Argus” (1972), which attained global gold status.

“We played all these old town halls in Britain in the 1970s and used the Rolling Stones mobile recording truck,” says Andy Powell. “These Victorian venues have great acoustics for rock and roll, so the sound to tape was overall really good; and the audiences were extremely lively, adding to the atmosphere. We had the luxury of choosing between many takes of different songs in many different locations.”

In 2014, Wishbone Ash released “Blue Horizon” to international acclaim. According to Powell, the new album’s diversity reflects the culmination of several factors.

“The band basically lives together year-round, so we have a very strong level of communication that translates in our performances and recordings,” says Powell. “We’ve come to an era where the industry has to pigeonhole a band as Classic Rock, Prog Rock, Heritage Rock and so on”.

Baroque 2000 hosts soprano Bronwen Forbay

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Baroque 2000’s concert on Sunday, June 28 at 3 pm at the Church of the Monastery Mariannhill features Durban-born soprano Bronwen Forbay.

Forbay has won numerous international awards and prizes and now lives in the United States where she has a busy performing schedule. Opera magazine (UK) called her a ‘revelation… in ravishing voice, and showing singing of great subtlety, nuance and depth.’

In her collaboration with Baroque 2000 she will be soloist in Bach’s Cantata Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209 for soprano, flute and strings. There are two other items on the programme: Handel’s Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 12 and Telemann’s “La Lyra” Suite.

Tickets will be R120 at the door; parking is ample and secure. For more information phone Michel at 082 303 5241 or email sursouth@iafrica.com

Boris Kerimov (cello), David Smith (harpsichord), Bronwen Forbay (soprano), Evelien Hagen (flute) and Ralitza Matcheva (concertmaster)

Boris Kerimov (cello), David Smith (harpsichord), Bronwen Forbay (soprano), Evelien Hagen (flute) and Ralitza Matcheva (concertmaster)

Durban saxman, Hayane, is playing three gigs in KZN

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Popular Durban saxophonist, Khaya “Hayane” Dlamini, is doing a three gig tour of KwaZulu-Natal, visiting the lower South Coast and Umlazi over month-end.

Hayane has shared stages with the best of the world. His Afro-Jazz grooves invite the listener into the rhythm of quality sound and jazz enthusiasts will remember him as the funky sax player from Sankomota, Sarafina 2, and the touring production of Isikhulu. He was also part of the Durban outfit Just Friends.

Hayane’s song Utshwala was nominated for a South African Music Award in the Afro category.

Catch Khaya and his trio at Mhawu High School, Engonyameni, Umbumbulu at 12 noon on June 25. Admission is free.

On June 26 he will be at Esayidi College on the KZN South Coast at 2 pm. Tickets R30 (R15 concessions).

And on June 28, fans can catch him at Lacoste Lounge, E 1137 Ntombela Road, Kwa-Mashu at 3 pm. Tickets R30 (R15 concessions) at the door.

Hayane is playing three gigs in KZN.

Hayane is playing three gigs in KZN.

NEED TO KNOW

Concerts SA is a joint South African/Norwegian project housed under the auspices of the Stakeholder Hub within The SAMRO Foundation; it receives financial, administrative and technical support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO and Concerts Norway.

By engaging with musicians, promoters, venue owners and audiences, the project aims to stimulate live music in South Africa by finding and implementing ways to create regular, sustainable performance platforms.

Concerts SA also aims to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.

For more information please visit website http://concertssa.co.za, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ConcertsSA or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConcertsSA.

Gangs of Ballet to rock new material at the Barnyard

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Award-winning, Durban-based band Gangs Of Ballet will be performing material off their yet-to-be-released new album, along with their hits, at The Barnyard Theatre at Gateway in Umhlanga on Friday, June 26.

The five times South African Music Award-nominated and MTV Africa Music Award (MAMA) winning band comprises of three musicians and friends – Brad Klynsmith (vocals / electric guitar), Jonathan Rich (keyboard / synth), and Josh Klynsmith (drums / vocals). Each accomplished musicians in their own right, the band’s members have combined their various individual tastes and styles to create a sound that is captivatingly fresh.

Their debut single, Breaking The Silence, was released in September 2011 and by early November it had entered into the 5FM Top 40 chart. The single thereafter continued to climb its way up the chart and after just ten weeks on the chart, Breaking The Silence entered the New Year at seventh place and secured a spot on 5FM’s list of the Top 100 Hottest Hits of 2011.

Gangs Of Ballet released their debut self-titled EP in March 2012.  This Love followed as second single to hit the airwaves. It reached number seven on the 5FM Top 40 chart. The band was asked to open for Switchfoot at the Johannesburg leg of their South African tour in August 2012, and was chosen as the direct support for Civil Twilight on their nationwide SA tour in December 2012.

The third single, Hello Sweet World, was received with critical acclaim from fans and music critics alike. It was play listed nationwide on national, regional and campus radio stations and reached number one on the 5FM Top 40 chart, as well as the Top 10 of Highveld Stereo’s Top 40. Hello Sweet World went on to become the theme song VH1 USA’s hit TV series – Rehab with Dr Dre. The music video for the single was subsequently play listed on VH1 and went on to receive a SAMA nomination in 2013 for Best Music Video.  Gangs Of Ballet also won the MK Award 2013 for Best Newcomer.

Gangs Of Ballet released the first single from yes/no/grey in July 2013. Daydream had its first exclusive play in 5FM whilst the video premiered on MTV’s The New Sh*t show. The music video for Daydream followed suit and was released at the end of July.

In August 2013, the band released yes/no/grey, through Universal Music South Africa. Within 12 hours of its release, the album was number one on the iTunes Top 10 SA Album Charts. It was also nominated for a MK Award 2014 for Best Album. Gangs Of Ballet released the second single, Don’t Let Me Go, in October 2013 and its music video in December.  The single reached number two on 5FM’s Top 40, number one on the MTV ZA charts, and the Top 10 on all major stations across the country.  Their next single and its fan-made music video, House and Money, was released in April 2014 – the song reached the Top 5 on 5FM, Highveld / KFM and AlgoaFM.

In June 2014, Gangs Of Ballet won the MTV MAMA Award for Best Alternative for yes/no/grey.  In October 2014, the band released a brand new single, Love Is On Its Way.

Bassist Hardus de Beer left the band earlier this year to focus on his career as a chiropractor, and the now three-piece band is currently working on their new album.

Tickets are R130 at 031 566 3045 or visit www.barnyard.durban.

Gangs of Ballet are performing at the Barnyard Theatre at Gateway in Umhlanga.

Gangs of Ballet are performing at the Barnyard Theatre at Gateway in Umhlanga.

Jazz music on a Sunday after sunset

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Every last Sunday of the month, Soweto Theatre brings you exciting and exclusive jazz sounds from the country’s top musicians to our stage.

On Sunday, June 28 Standard Bank`s young artist of the year for jazz winner, Nduduzo Makhathini and the extraordinary Thebe Lepere take their turn. Bra Thebe is an innovative experimenter and a master percussionist who has toured the world with renowned musicians, such as Louis Moholo and Loose Tubes to mention just a few.

Most of the concert will be mostly improvised, with a couple of themes from Makhathini’s bag, the idea is to tell the untold stories of Africa, its culture and its people through sound. “To do this we couldn’t pass the opportunity to invite these two musicians, Nduduzo Makhathini and Thebe Lepere to be on stage together,” said Khosi Hlatshwayo, community and audience development manager at Soweto Theatre.

Sun Jazz at the theatre sessions are designed to bridge the gap between non-established bands and student musicians with established musicians well on their way to becoming the next generation of musical legends. A relationship helping to preserve the craft. In addition to that audiences are awarded the opportunity to sponsor a child, contributing to the growth of the music tutorial programme.

Performances times: 6 pm for 6.30 pm. Tickets R100 at the box office. For bookings and more information, please contact box office 011 930 7461/2/3 or visit www.sowetotheatre.com

Top young SA musicians debut at Nederburg

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On Sunday, June 28, two of South Africa’s most talented young musicians will open the popular Nederburg Concert Series in Paarl.

To celebrate Youth Month, the series starts with the annual Nederburg Debut Concert and will feature multi award-winning violinist Jeffrey Armstrong and pianist Sulayman Human. These two prodigious talents have already been heard on most leading concert platforms in South Africa and they have won nearly all available awards and prizes in national and regional competitions, collectively.

Their programme will include virtuoso works written for violin and piano with the Sonata for violin and piano Nr 1 in D major by Ludwig van Beethoven and Sonata for violin and piano Nr 1 in G major by Johannes Brahms as the two main works of the recital. Other compositions include Fritz Kreisler’s famous Prelude and Allegro, the second movement from Edvard Grieg’s melodious Sonata for violin and piano Nr 3 in C minor, as well as three captivating Preludes by Sergei Rachmaninoff for solo piano.

Armstrong, 18, hails from Wellington and has been playing violin from the age of four. He finished school in 2014 and will be leaving for England later this year to further his academic studies at the Birmingham University. There he will study violin with Pieter Schoeman, the highly accomplished South African violinist who is the leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Human, 21, completed a B.Mus degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 2014 and is currently enrolled for his Masters degree in Piano Performance. He grew up in Oudtshoorn and only started playing the piano at the age of 12. His natural flair for piano playing combined with an extraordinary talent has already seen him achieve significant success in a very short period of time.

The concert starts at 5 pm and tickets at R220 per person which includes sherry on arrival, Nederburg Brut during interval, plus top Nederburg wines which will be served with a delicious finger supper after the concert. Bookings can be made via email on concerts@distell.co.za or by calling 021 809 8412/8106 during office hours.

Nongogo shines in Canada

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Athol Fugard’s vibrant play Nongogo, directed by the Market Theatre’s award winning Artistic Director, James Ngcobo is in the running for a prestigious award in Canada.

The play has been nominated in the 36th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, organised by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 22, with Nongogo nominated in the category of outstanding touring production after wowing audiences in at the Canadian Stage in Toronto earlier this year.

The powerful Fugard play is set in a township shebeen in the turbulent 1950s. The shebeen queen falls for a travelling salesman who works past her protective shell, and past the protection of her burly bouncer, to lure her into sharing long-buried secrets. The Market Theatre production pulsed with the raw power of the setting and tension in the lives of the characters, all dreaming of a better life.

Nongogo played in Toronto under a project run by the National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC) and the Canadian Stage in Toronto. It featured acclaimed actor Desmond Dube, who earned a Naledi Award as the best supporting actor for his performance. Sharing the limelight were Hamilton Dhlamini, Nat Ramabulana, Masasa Mbangeni and Pakamisa Zwedala.

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards were launched in 1978 to recognise outstanding achievements in Toronto theatre. They span 48 categories with the winners chosen by a jury of professionals from the performing arts community.

“It is such an honour for us to receive this nomination, having presented Nongogo at the Canadian Stage. This recognition reminds us that we are on the right track and that the world is open to engaging with our stories, and continues to support and appreciate the work of the Market Theatre. Thank you to Canadian Stage and the NAC for enabling this presentation to happen,’’ said Annabell Lebethe, Market Theatre CEO.