 | When we finally meet, during soundcheck for the monthly parties he throws in conjunction with fellow ChiefRockers Falko and Eazy, DJ Azuhl apologizes profusely for all the times he couldn’t make it. He keeps busy; between weekly gigs all over Cape Town, recently getting married, and shooting what he refers to only as “a pilot TV program” without providing further details, Azuhl is indeed preoccupied. ...read more |
The Mix Master
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 by Ts’eliso Monaheng, images by Ference Isaacs and Jason Wessels
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Own the Stage
Friday, April 12th, 2013 by Lindokuhle Nkosi, images by Mpumelelo Macu
 | It’s the second day of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. At the tail-end of a tribute to Madala Kunune, about halfway through Thandiswa Mazwai’s set, it becomes clear that this will be no run-of-the-mill performance. She’s chanting now. Incantations. Stomping her right leg as calls on something bigger than us, more than this festival. More than a ridiculous 5 o’clock time slot. More than a silly one hour set. ...read more |
On the Hoof
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 by Andrei Van Wyk
 | There have been very few bands that have pushed the boundaries of what can be done in music like Deerhoof, the noise rock outfit from San Francisco. This is definitely one of those bands who have questioned the limits and have drifted on the furthest tangents of imagination. Formed in San Fran in the early 90s, they’ve developed an intricate and devilishly addictive brand of rock, taking influences from free jazz, indie, J-pop and many others. ...read more |
Despot Acoustics
Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 by Dela Gwala, images by love.hate.music
 | It’s Sunday, I’m sharing a blanket with a youth pastor and marvelling at the fact that you can get Jack Daniel’s in a beer bottle. Bare-thighed and skinny-jeaned legs dangle from the edges of the Voortrekker monument. There are girls with two-toned hair jangling their drinks and shoulders around at the top of a tree. The last time I climbed this hill of Afrikaner pride was the best new year’s eve of my life; my hoodie was soaking up rain ...read more |
Space is the Place
Friday, April 5th, 2013 by Bongani Kona, images by Loucas Polydorou
 | “The vibe here is different,” cosmic visionary Sun Ra says in the opening sequence of the 1974 cult classic, Space is the Place. “The music is different here, the vibrations are different… not like planet earth… planet earth sound of guns, anger, frustration.” I find myself thinking about the legendary jazz surrealist as I sit in a dim hall illuminated only by a video projection of stars and other galaxies. I don’t have my glasses on me so I can’t ...read more |
Sibot-ing
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 by Hugh Upsher
 | Arriving at The Assembly almost by accident late on a Friday night, I was immediately drawn to the mainstage by the bold sounds that were being flung around in a reckless yet intelligent manner. This was not your average Friday gig at The Assembly. Until now, I’d had limited firsthand experience with the creative mastermind known as Sibot, but now I feel I am much closer to ‘getting’ him. ...read more |
Welcome Acoustics
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 by Daniel Gallan
 | Sunshine, flowing booze, a green agenda, minimal clothing on beautiful people, tasty organic food, top quality local music; the Rise and Shine festival was an absolute winner on its debut. The one thing that I would have changed about the fest was that it lasted only one day. ...read more |
Last Sunday
Sunday, March 24th, 2013 by Stephan Bester
 | Last Sunday, Riviersonderend, all day and night. ...read more |
Storm in a Tea Cup
Friday, March 22nd, 2013 by Ray van Wyk, images by Jonx Pillemer
 | In the weeks leading up to The Flamjangled Tea Party my mind runs over the many implications of the exaggerated show of madness that comes with the festival. Overwhelmed with work, jaded, listless and irritated I come to the conclusion that it must all simply be a contrived effort at originality in the face of what is all too often only a reason for middle class white kids to get off their faces somewhere outside the city, isolated from the ...read more |
From the Cradle
Thursday, March 21st, 2013 by Ts'eliso Monaheng
 | It is hard to recall exactly when it was that we got exposed to the music of Sakumzi Qumana, the Mdantsane, Eastern Cape-born vocalist/producer better known by his on-stage persona, Johnny Cradle. It could have been at a park jam in Gugs following the 2008 xenophobic attacks, or alongside Pravda 23, Eavesdrop, and Fungus the Mutated Lung in Observatory, Cape Town, at a weekly gathering known as TPDK Circuitry. What we do remember is the seemingly-frantic organisation of his one-man ...read more |
