Bubblegum Club

Tag: music video

  • 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.

  • Move with Batuk’s Latest Single

    Move with Batuk’s Latest Single

    By its title, Batuk’s latest single should give you a fair idea of what you’re in for. No, they’re not telling you to get out the way, but rather to move that ass of yours to the tropical groove. ‘Move!‘, the first single off the Pan-African duo’s upcoming 7-track Move! EP and Kasi Royalty album is an up tempo jam that’s sure to get you shaking what your mamma gave ya on the dancefloor.

    While their most popular single to date, ‘Call Me Naughty’, had a bit of a darker vibe to it with the deeper bass tones and repetitive house beat (although it still had plenty of grove to move to), Move has a much more jovial feel to it. They call it an ode to their township roots that shaped them although personally, it sounds like a party on the beach. Truth be told, this would have been perfect for December but there’s still enough Summer left to slip on a floral shirt, sip on a cocktail and sway those hips to the sounds of Manteiga and Spoek Mathambo.

    You might remember Batuk being a 3 piece but the trio is now down to 2. Spoek Mathambo has taken over production fully from Aero Manyelo whilst Manteiga handles most of the vocal duties. Spoek’s production on Move adds a layer of pop sensibility that makes it a bit more accessible to the general public than some of the group’s earlier work, which might lose them some of their earlier fans but will certainly help them pick up a few more. Manteiga fully embraces the front woman role and comes through with 2 verses of raps that are full of attitude and spunk, whilst Spoek casually drops a few bars in the second verse but takes up very little space on the song vocally.

    The video for the song is a visual feast of dancing in settings that’ll look familiar to many South Africans. Kitchens, lounges, backyards, the beach and even an M3 serve as the backdrop to gyrating bodies. The only real crit I have is that a Playstation doesn’t make 8-bit sounds, but that’s just the nerd in me being pedantic.

    Give Move a watch and a listen below and look out for more from the Mozam and Mzansi connection in the next few months.

  • Umlilo and Whyt Lyon – Glory Bois

    One of the most visually opulent artists working today, Umlilo has been winning ears and hearts with their bold fusion of kwaito, rap and bubblegum pop. Since their debut EP in 2013, Umlilo’s project has been exploring the tragedies and triumphs of life in a world of repressive gender politics. Their artistic comrades in the struggle is the Johannesburg electro-rap Stash Crew. Frustrated by the erasure of LGBTQ identity in mainstream culture, they combined their talents in 2016 with the “Queer Galactic Alliance” world tour, thrilling audiences with raucous live shows in Brazil and Germany. Their aim was to attack the Death Star of toxic conservatism, promoting “glitter anarchy” on the streets.

    The performance collaboration has extended into the new DL Boi a song and video featuring Umlilo and Stash Crew rapper Whyt Lyon. The music video is an extravaganza of fashion and movement. Filmed in Melville’s Glory nightclub, it intercuts grainy, VHS-style scenes of nightlife with crystal clear choreography, conceptualised to show off “Joburg’s fiercest queer talent”. Directed by Jono Kay, its choreography scenes focus on internationally renowned performers Henk Opperman and Lllewellyn Lulubelle Mnguni. The intensive costuming was provided by designer Caroline Olavarrieta, with makeup by Orli Meiri and Dylosaurus Rex creating a world of glamorous retrofuturism.

    The lushness of the images complements the driving simplicity of the song itself. DL Boi is a massive-sounding pop song, with a relentless beat throbbing like strobe lights under a chorus hook of “If you want me let you know”. It sounds instantly classic, like hearing a forgotten house anthem from the early ’90s. The song’s title references a ‘down low brother’, a closeted gay man trying to secretly hook up with gay men. In the hands of Umlilo and Whyt Lyon, this scenario becomes a tale of brash self-assertion, delivered with utterly compelling visual and musical flair.

  • The Siren’s Call video – Visual metaphor of sonic melancholy

    “The Siren’s Call” from producer Jumping Back Lash’s latest EP features Nonku Phiri. The video for this track provides the perfect mirror to the electrified melancholy in the sound.

    The opening silhouette of Nonku looking away from the viewer sets up a sense of longing and invokes a nostalgic mood. A grainy black and white video of soft waves crawling onto the beach plays in the background. The silhouette fades as one watches the shoreline recede. Nonku reappears, this time facing viewer, eyes closed and slowly swaying her head in a way that imitates the movements of the sea. She fades and the crawling waves greet the viewer once again. Finally Nonku looks directly at the viewer, unintimidating and open. “And in moon-filled skies we gave love a try…”. The gentleness and vulnerability in her face and voice bring an immediacy and added depth to the lyrics. Mentioning the moon while we see images of the beach references how the moon moves the tides, much like how the lyrics reveal how love creates movements of its own.

    “You’ve been treating me much like the stormy seas…”. The imagery of the ocean in the background become increasingly violent, contrasting the gentleness in Nonku’s voice, but mirroring her words. “Feeling always fluctuate. Stories always end this way…this feeling of love and hate.”. One is immediately confronted with overlapping image of shattering glass, waves crashing into the shores. The video cuts to flashing lights revealing short moments of dancers underwater folding their bodies around each other.

    “Can you hear the siren’s call?”

    The aggressive cutting and swapping between shots, the hazy and overlapping videos and images that fade in and out of one another are a metaphor for heavy bass Jumping Back Lash has crafted.

    “You got me…you got me…you got me…you you you…got me. Cupid’s got my heart in a chokehold. Ain’t no telling when he’s letting go”

  • Noirwave; reflecting alternative black identities

    Noirwave is telling the story of black glory, of Africa, through art. The creative collective of Petite Noir and RhaRha Nembhard form the heart of Noirwave and their collaboration with Lina Viktor reveals the beauty and diversity of experience that is being African.

    While the immorality and brutality of imperialism perpetuates much pain and suffering on the continent, its people and geography are more than elements or victims of an imperial agenda, or beneficiaries of international aid. Africa, Africans and the African diaspora make incredible contributions to the world’s culture, colour and creativity. From the Americas to Europe and the islands through which black people are positioned, we make the music that the world dances and drones too. And while our images are often used against us, the beauty of black people, the potency that melanin projects is undeniable, despite the hegemonic mission to make mockery of it.

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    Blackness progressively makes strides, against the forces that oppress and divide us. And as black people continue claiming our right to be ourselves without apology, there are black artists working to create reflections of blackness and Africa that are based in a perspective that educates and empowers. Enter Noirwave, a movement and collective making strides  towards progressive representation and integration of black identities. Synthesizing politics, art, fashion and music to tell a story about the incredible beauty of Africa and the diversity of experience black people exist in on the continent and beyond.

    Noirwave breaks the boundaries between the stereotypes and archetypes of Africa, projecting images that are progressive and positive. Africanness and blackness are not monolithic constructions of colonialism but shifting, complex identities and cultures that are also subject to the influence of the internet and form an important part of the international community. All of the above should go without saying, but the hegemonic powers that determine what we see and hear and consume would erase this unalterable truth if they could.

    In 2015, Petite Noir, RhaRha Nembhard and Lina Viktor produced images and sounds that subverted the status quo and offered a view of blackness that reflected Africa, Europe, America and Asia, that vivified the experience of walking the world in black skin while being a global citizen, reflecting the progressive forces that are working to unify humanity, as well as the historic fact that Africa is the home of humanity.  The video for Best, touches on the striking and emotive themes encapsulated in La Vie est Belle, Petite Nior’s critically acclaimed debut album. The artwork and music video for the album are rooted in Africa and use influences from artists and cultures the world over to tell their story. Noirwave offers the world beautiful music and visuals to enjoy and admire from a creative consciousness that upholds black beauty and promotes black love. The importance of these ideals cannot be underestimated in a world that tries to erase and divide us. So the struggle continues with new sights and sounds to take us into a noir future.

  • Koeksista’s intimate installation blurs the line between life and performance

    The inner world of an artist cannot always be gleaned from their performance or persona, not so with Koeksista; about a week ago, at the Bubblegum Club project space in Newtown, Koeksista blended art and life with aplomb, exposing her feelings and experience into an exhibition that intersects installation and intimacy, performance and personality with startling sincerity.

    A walk around the room was a trip through Koeksista’s history; her travels, her vices, her hairstyles, herself, existing within her exhibition as person and performer.  Her brilliant execution of transposing herself into these four walls made me revisit the question, how much of daily activity, of living, is performance?

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    We are coming into the age of emotionality and expression. Where the anachronistic theory on the superiority of rationality, much of it based in Eurocentric patriarchy is being overturned. The cold brutality through which people are socialized into suppressing their emotions and conditioned into castrating their creative impulses is also being questioned, for its effects numb human beings to their true selves and encourage emotionally fractured and fragile individuals.  Koeksista’s exhibition, her projection of the personal into public reflects these cultural shifts. What man must accept is that our feelings guide us and are an instrument for connection and creation. And our progress as a species depends on our emotional capacity; on our ability to love and nurture ourselves and our communities. Down with capitalist and patriarchal agendas out to turn us into producing and consuming robots for the profit of corporations! The world is waking up, artists and activists and the internet are leading us to the future, one with a more human heart and face.

    Easy Marina Abramovich comparisons can be made, perhaps they must be made but it must also be said that this performance interpolated so many influences and experiences and offered so much art and entertainment in a single viewing or listening, to create an unforgettable evening, it was extremely moving and quite brilliant. Kudos to Koeksista!

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  • Damascvs – Road to Unreality

    Local Producer Damascvs is promoting his new EP  But I ain’t got no water for you with a science fiction infused music video.  ‘Revogue’ is a looping, hypnotic track which lies somewhere between the ambience of Clams Casino and the frenetic space jazz of Flying Lotus. It’s ethereal, but with a strong current of unease. This sense of ambient menace is central to the music video, directed by Stuart Kets.

    The video details its protagonist accessing a virtual reality simulation, plugging into a cascade of surreal environments. He walks through lush forest vistas, pilots a spacecraft through floating Japanese Torri gates and performs obscure experiments in a flooded corridor.  Certain symbolic images are repeated, like as in a dream- an animal skull on fire, blood dripping into shot.  But like a bad psychedelic experience, the whimsical settings start to become claustrophobic and repetitive. The sense of freedom turns to panic. It ends on an ambiguous note, with the character unplugging from the program, but unsure if they are still in the simulation or not. Or rather, the simulation has become a virus infecting and distorting reality….

    This imagery gives the video a broader cultural resonance. Since the 1980s, when author William Gibson first used the term ‘cyberspace’ in his ground-breaking novel Neuromancer  artists have used a variety of visual cues to depict the new frontier of the internet. At the end of the last century, cyberspace was  portrayed as a realm somehow distinct from physical reality.  With varying degrees of creative success, films like The Matrix, Strange Days and David Cronenburg’s  Existenz played on anxieties about society becoming increasingly detached from reality through new technology. (Coincidentally, the cover art of the Damascvs EP  references  the cult 1990 science fiction film Hardware).  But the last decade has seen more ambivalent process where the internet has become layered into every aspect of everyday life.  People’s personal lives are increasingly played out online, while social media influences the course of political revolutions and presidential elections. ‘Revogue’ smartly expresses the sense that while the internet has opened up new avenues for human expression, it is also now perhaps impossible to escape.

  • Watch Fight Master, the surreal video from Agord Lean’s collaborative EP “WU”

    Agord Lean spent Feburary recording his upcoming EP in the Bubblegum Club project space at Workshop Newtown. He describes the residency as, “strenuous but fruitful” and provides insight into the creative process, emphasising the importance of, “making work and cultivating your own voice”. And realising the incredible scope of creative expression while embracing the changes that come from creating and collaborating.

    From an exhibition of zines and paintings, Lean has taken a creative journey through his residency in the space. Through collaboration with other creatives and a mindful, open attitude to art marking an EP, WU, has been produced. Fight Master is the first taste from WU and it is a glimpse into Lean’s esoteric and ethereal soundscape, reflecting space and time of this age and beyond.

    WU will be available online this month, it features production from Uncle Party Time, with some creative luminaries on the mic including Dokta Sypzee, Boogy and KillSmith. Lean was kind enough to let me jump on as well; my debut as a recording artist.

    Cava the tracklist below, WU drops later this month.

    1- Intro,in time (Ft Boogy x Viva)

    2- Iyanishiya Ft Dokta Spyzee x KillSmith

    3- Find me

    4- Illumination prod Uncle Party time

    5- Interlude

    6- Fight Master

    7- Outro

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  • Nasty C releases documentary style video for his new single Hell Naw

    South African Hip Hop Awards Freshmen of the Year, Nasty C just dropped the video for his latest single Hell Naw. The young rapper is credited for both co-directing and co-editing the video which follows Nasty on a day spent at a high school where he negotiates Selfi- Op’s and stages a live performance for the mesmerised students. Shot entirely in black and white, the video, which has an unpretentious behind-the-scenes quality embraces the documentary style in which it is filmed. At just 19 years old it wasn’t that long ago that Nasty C was in high school himself and barring his white NY Yankees New Era cap and premium Puma x Bape tee, he doesn’t look out of place in the setting. The school scenes are juxtaposed with two shots, one is a fireworks display foregrounded by a close-up of Nasty’s face and the other is a dimly lit scene in which Nasty lurks like a shadow waiting to pounce. The singles artwork, which depicts a digitally illustrated Nasty C with a crown on his head gives the feeling that the young rapper senses an opportunity that the emergence of the new wave of South African Hip Hop led by Nasty C and some of his contemporaries like Emtee and B3nchMarQ has loosened the grip and that the throne which has for a while now been monopolised by AKA and Cassper Nyovest may potentially be up for the taking.

  • Khuli Chana x Aewon Wolf x Gemini Major Release Video for “Walking & Dabbing”

    Walking and Dabbing is finally out! After some teasers from Aewon Wolf, the video for walking and dabbing is, here. The video for the future hit from Aewon Wolf featuring Gemini Major and Khuli Chana just dropped a song to keep summer popping. The production on the song is proper, along with a video that includes some dazzling drone shots of multi-coloured mikhukhu and Gemini Major on the hook, this song is set to be a smash hit.  This trend of hip-hop videos shot in the hoods of Mzansi is dope; the world needs to know how we get down here!