Bubblegum Club

Tag: experimentation

  • Taxan – About That ‘Kite Life’

    Taxan – About That ‘Kite Life’

    Hip Hop is often seen as a music of aggression and raw materialism, but the culture has always had a more abstract, psychedelic side. When I was a teenager, artists like Kool Keith, MF Doom or even Outkast transported their fans to other realms of consciousness. And in the last decade the music has only become more surreal, with the rise of icons like Young Thug and the wild experimentation being conducted on the internet. Just look at a recent hit like Trippie Redd’s ‘Dark Knight Dummo‘, a lysergic sprawl of weird beats and the chorus “I don’t know what planet I’m on”.

    Other planets are a key interest of Joburg based rapper Taxan Greezy, whose nom de plume speaks to his fascination with celestial beings. The cover art for his new single ‘Kite Life’, even features an iconic little green man. The track (produced by deKiller’Clown) features the rapper, who also records under the name ET, dropping excited wordplay over fragmented beats. ‘Kite Life’ is a song which appears to hover on the verge of chaos, but soon reveals its internal logic. For Taxan “everything is placed randomly but comes together perfectly”. And the collaboration with deKiller’Clown is another chance to spotlight the work of their collective, Indiegoat Clan.

    Taxan’s main focus is on pushing this experimental moment in hip hop forward, promising to “never stick to one subgenre or make music for current trends” while “trying to send a good message and switch it up”. The song tells a story of self-realisation: “we should always follow our hearts, don’t let anyone clip your wings and when they do remind them you are still high like a kite! Don’t follow any structures or systems created by society. Create your own ideology of what’s perfect for you. Lastly, don’t do anything for the hype or the likes. ‘Cause it’s momentary but kite life is a frequency that lasts forever. Basically it means stops letting fear of society hold you back, flourish”.

    Taxan also has a music video for the song in the works, with an upcoming solo tape named Chronicles of Xannith to follow. With their free thinking approach, both he and the Indiegoat Clan are poised to fly to the highest reaches of SA rap.

  • Photographer Hana Jayne Sho’s series Boys in Light // The Intimate Moments of Collaboration

    Photographer Hana Jayne Sho’s series Boys in Light // The Intimate Moments of Collaboration

    Forms of flesh awash with pale pink hues, steeped in the sounds Lana Del Rey’s youthful lullabies. Tendrils of smoke twist and turn off the tips of cigarettes, held gently between tentative fingers. Nostalgic desire captured by the grain of film. Intimacy found in those moments of home.

    It was a Tuesday night. Photographer, Hana Sho, ventured over to a friend’s apartment in the Cape Town city bowl. Armed with only a studio light, a desk lamp, DIY gels and a few rolls of film she adopted her usual modus operandi of spontaneity and experimentation. “We’re all friends, and during the shoot it kind’ve felt like what they would usually do before going to a party, except I was documenting it. Have a few drinks, smoke cigarettes and try on each other’s clothes…It almost felt like a mini production team. Adam turns out to be a hella good Art Director. Alex popped in for some Art Direction, and Mziyanda pulled through with some bomb styling.”

    Hana’s photographic work spans the space of portraiture, editorials, fashion and documentary style images. “When I shoot it’s always a collaboration.” She often goes for a walk with the model before the shoot – as a means to put them at ease. “I find that walking around and getting to know somebody makes them more comfortable, and whatever mood their feeling in that moment reflects in the photographs.” Hana also values collaboration as a space of learning, “from my experience, collaborative work is always better and has other layers of meaning that I wouldn’t have thought of… I’ve learned so much from the collaborators I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”

    After discovering her mother’s old Nikon from the 90s, she bought some film and started taking photographs of her friends. “I realized film gave a more three-dimensional affect. I can’t describe it, but it’s so much more textured and alive.”

    For Boys in Light, Hana took the opportunity to play with light and explore expressions of youth on film. “My concepts are always based on people and how they portray themselves – everyone’s just trying to figure themselves out; experimenting, having fun, making mistakes and learning from them. I think I’ve managed to capture those sweet in between moments where everyone kind of forgets.” She described a shift in the atmosphere when the lights used in her images were turned on, “It felt like we stepped into another realm where everyone could express their alter egos.”

    “I think collaboration is definitely an important part of learning and developing as a young artist, whatever the medium may be.”

    Credits:

    Models: Alex Paterimos, Jeremy, Adam Lennox, Mziyanda