Bubblegum Club

Tag: punk

  • AFROPUNK Joburg as the showground for outfits as declarations of self-love and self-expression

    The first AFROPUNK festival in Africa took place over the weekend of the 30 and 31 December. Fashion, art and music was shared in a collective embrace with all attendees. As with every AFROPUNK festival, the outfits worn by those in attendance can attract as much attention and celebration as the artists on the lineup. With all the people I interviewed at AFROPUNK, they shared with me descriptions their outfits and reasons for wearing particular items. With this they all unconsciously shared with me short, punchy phrases or words in their descriptions which can be viewed collectively as the beginnings of a manifesto or mottos to live by.

    Maga Moura

    Blogger and influencer Maga Moura has been attending all the AFROPUNK festivals held in 2017, and felt it necessary to come to the final one in Johannesburg. “I am also in love with see-through fabrics,” she expressed to me when asked about her outfit. Her full body overthrow is a clear demonstration of this as the fabric looks like a hybrid between chiffon and fishnet. She also shared her love for shiny objects, and so added elements of sparkle into her outfit with sequence and accessories. In Brazil she is affectionately known as the queen of braids because of her colourful and out-of-the-box designs she chooses for her braids. This has led her to inspiring young girls in her home country to feel free to express themselves more freely and creatively through their hair. Maga took the opportunity to make her outfit a physical manifestation of her blog; a liberated expression of black culture and black hair. Making sure not to leave without sharing the connection between her style, her blog and AFROPUNK, Maga stated that, “AFROPUNK is more than the lineup. It is culture, inspiration, force. Be yourself. Be free in your own personality or outfit.”

    Khaya Ngubane

    Taking my hand with confidence, Khaya Ngubane was ready to be in front of the camera. Moving from one power pose to another, it was as if he was in communication with the spirit of the cultures that inspired his look. “My outfit is inspired by an Ndebele/Egyptian look,” he explained. A gold neckpiece is paired with a small bullring septum piercing, and an open shirt to let the melanin glow. The combination of fabrics and accessories was all connected to Khaya’s grounding concept that drives his style. “Unapologetically gay and free-spirited. African all the way.”

    Amonge Sinxoto

    Amonge Sinxoto, while not consciously trying to make a statement with her outfit, she wanted to make sure that she wore all South African artists and designers. With her hair done by well-known hair stylist Mimi (@urban_mimz) to her pants and shirt being made by well-established fashion label House Of Ole. “Carefree, local and just being me. Being comfortable.” This was the motto that guided Amonge. By wearing all local she has made herself a walking everyday model for the talent that South African creatives from across the fashion and design spectrum have to offer.

    Loyiso Ntwanambi and Likhaya Hanise

    Loyiso Ntwanambi and Likhaya Hanise carried the spirit of Loyiso’s mother with them to AFROPUNK as they were wearing creations that her mother put together. “Bright. Free. Young. Happy.” These are the four word that Loyiso shared with me as the statement she was trying to make with her outfit. A recipe for a joyful living that has been shared through fabric and her mother’s labour. “Free. Hip. Not scared to be different. All of that,” Likhaya expressed, almost as a confirmation of Loyiso’s words.

    Kim Barendse

    Dressed by the designer for the label Jigga en Vogue and applying her own makeup. Kim Barendse become the South African version of Janet Jackson from the early 90s. When asked about the statement she was trying to make with her outfit, she expressed that she wanted to look as if she landed from another planet. The blue makeup over her eyes, coupled with thin, yellow lenses from her glasses created a green colour where the makeup and glasses met on her face. Drawing attention with her bundles of curly hair on her head and the jewels travelling down her forehead, she could be described as a celestial queen. “Life inspires my style. I am an artist as well so I draw inspiration from everything around me.”

    Laverne Maart

    As one of the many travelers from Cape Town to Johannesburg for AFROPUNK, Laverne Maart came to share her hair dye and laidback sense of style at the festival. With her bright green hair freshly applied by one of the other people displaying their work at the market stalls, Laverne let her hair play with the wind, mimicking the movement on her colourful dress. “Normally I wear a headwrap with my curls and dreads sticking out. That’s my look,” she explained. Her dress by Gordon House of Six was made specifically for her attendance at the festival. “I just wanted to be colourful,” Laverne expressed about the statement she was making with her  look. “Colourful energy. I like colour especially green so there are  a lot of greens in what I am wearing.”

    Mariah Matthews

    Coupling bargain thrift store buys with her favourite items, sprinkled with African elements – that is the look that Mariah Matthews was serving at AFROPUNK Joburg. Wearing two gold bracelets on top of each other, Mariah created a hair accessory that makes her hair tower above her head. “I wanted to see how high my hair can go today. There are a lot of times when I just want to see how far I can go. I realize even coming to South Africa from New Jersey that I can go wherever I want to go, as far as I want to go, as long as I just want to,” she exclaimed, “I just wanted to be my own art today.” I noticed she had the badge from Very Black pinned to her chest, and asked what this meant to her. “I follow Very Black. I was them at a talk curated by AFROPUNK. I love this pin because I feel like it really describes how I am as well. I like to be unapologetically Black, and unapologetically art.”

    Lamlela Plaatjie

    Interrogating what being African means for an African person living in Africa, Lamlela Plaatjie used her outfit to unpack that for herself. “Essentially, everything we do do is punk just by the virtue of being an African person,” she expressed. Wanting to keep everything close to home, all of the items she wore, beside her Dr. Martins, were handed to her by the women in her family and represent her Xhosa heritage. “My inspiration was using things that have been used before. The fact that it makes a statement and looks the way that it does is a bonus. But I obviously wanted to celebrate my South African heritage, trying to upstage all the other people from previous AFROPUNK festivals and show them what we are working with in South Africa!”

    Zandile Makombe

    A simple black dress with denim vintage pants that were ripped and turned into a jacket. Zandile Makombe fully embraced the punk, DIY element at AFROPUNK. “I guess [with my outfit] I was just trying to be me, because I am a fashion design student.” Her rope braids are a staple for her style, this time choosing to rock the turquoise-green colour. “I usually just wear what I want,” she expressed. Taking inspiration from Japanese designers and the anime scene, she construcs looks that connect these with comfort and being a woman of colour on the continent.

    Toby and Adrian DGA

    As two of the many international visitors who came to Johannesburg specifically for the festival Toby and Adrian DGA flew all the way from London. When asked about her outfit Toby explained that she is half Ghanaian and half Nigerian. “I was looking for something that was similar to kente cloth,” she explained. This was in the hopes of being able to echo her heritage through fabric and being part of the first AFROPUNK to be held in Africa. Adrian was on a similar wave length, and chose to wear a traditional Nigerian piece of clothing which he received from his brother-in-law. “This is me connecting,” he expressed while showing me the fabric the shirt is made from. “I think I just wanted something quite colourful, with my hair and my nails and everything. I just wanted to be really vibrant to kind of match being in Johannesburg,” Toby shared. “I like feeling opulent. I like feeling gold. So this is my Sunday best.”

    Kabelo

    Friends with the guys from TCYF, Kabelo came to show his friends some support. However, he did not forget the fire that continues to burn in his heart. He has been part of the protests at UCT calling for free, decolonised education (Fees Must Fall protests), and feels that this approach to education needs to be filtered into his style and the other situations he finds himself in. “The general look [of my outfit] comes from the cross-punk scene. Very politically and ideologically charged subgenre from street punk. This is more intersectional which goes with the Fallist politics.” The back of his jacket is adorned with the Fallist logo and the gun symbol is an expression of the three pillars of Fallism – Pan-Africanism, Black Radical Feminism and Black Consciousness. Black Radical Feminism is so crucial to this as this is where the terms positionality and intersectionality were coined from.

    Abongwe Qokela

    Sporting the design of a young designer named Afro Grunge, Abongwe Qokela oozed all the confidence that makes people stare out of admiration and celebration. “I am a low-key, but high-key show pony. That means I don’t just go to events in jeans and a t-shirt. No. People must know I am here. During the week I have a 9-5. So when I am out, I unleash.” When asked about the statement she wanted to make with her outfit she expressed that she wanted to be, “unapologetically loud. The whole aesthetic of AFROPUNK where you are like ‘I am here!’.”

    Miles Greenburg

    Embracing the foundations of a minimalist aesthetic, and elevating it with his blonde cornrows and badass boots, Miles Greenburg brought a Canadian spice all the way to Johannesburg. “This is my comfort,” he shared with me while discussing his style choices. “I don’t think this [his outfit] is about a statement. I think it is about a silhouette that makes me feel good in my body. Something I really like about the AFROPUNK vibe is this celebration of the black body.” As a way to pay tribute to this, Miles went straight to his comfort zone, and allowed himself to show as much or as little as he wanted to.

    Lara Fischer 

    Lara Fischer saw the two days of AFROPUNK as an opportunity to unpack what it means to be punk on the first day PUNK. “I see a lot of things on Instagram but I do not necessarily like to follow trends. A lot of clothes get given to me from family and friends so I like to take that and use that as a challenge to style myself,” she expressed. Upcycling and pushing what feels right is what influences the way she chooses to present herself to the world, and everything about her AFROPUNK outfit is a demonstration of this. “I have noticed the people are really scared to explore their fashion sense…but I never feel like that about anything.”

  • PURE wants you to treasure yourself

    “It was amazing being part of this collective voice but I had my own voice that I think for a while was dying to have its day,” explains PURE in an honest conversation about her decision to pursue a solo career. This has seen the former front-woman of Fruit & Veggies, and later The Pranks, do a 180 degree turn, both sonically and personally. “There’s always issues [in bands] and I was tired of that. In my life I was also approaching this massive shift. I stopped drinking. My daughter was the main beacon of light for this shift that happened. When I was fell pregnant it was a chaotic time. I was a mess. I was still in Fruit & Veggies to sum things up.”

    The shift that motherhood had catalysed led her to return to herself and to a type of simplicity that isn’t present in bands. “Soul, neo-soul and the voice prominent music was my first love, before I even got into the punk scene in Durban. I had this weird a cappella thing I used to do with my friends. I think in a sense it’s coming full circle of that. It’s so important because for a long time I’ve been pulled away from myself. Now it’s PURE. Now it’s time to focus on myself.”

    Inspired by a series of events that involved over consumption of drugs and alcohol, and culminated in a painful weekend spent in a tent at a festival dealing with the repercussions leading to an intense period of self-reflection, “Treasure”, the follow-up single to her debut “No Secrets”, explores themes of the self and how we so often neglect the world within oneself, trying to fill the void inside with worldly pleasures rather than through deep work from within. “The idea is to transcend into this glorious and magnificent being, rising high above and taking pride in the scars and pain that have brought you to this place. Projecting a future of hopefulness and powerful transformations through embracing the light as well as the dark in one’s own path.”

    The music video, co-directed by PURE alongside Bastien Lienardy, echoes this interplay between the light and dark parts of the self. A visual representation of a dream she had, the video shows the interplay between these two aspects of the self. “In the video you can see a little bit of friction, back and forth battles and it kind of represents how sometimes we try to fight that dark side but in all fairness it’s very much part of who we are. And the more we try and fight it, the more we give it power.”

    Having found her path this year, PURE is ready to forge ahead and start her journey as a solo artists. “I have a lot of plans for 2018. I feel like 2017 was a lot about getting into the rhythm of being a mom, juggling job, juggling career, trying to make time for this, trying to make time for that, and now I’ve found that balance. I really want to just spread my wings in 2018.”

    Photography by Nick Gorgon

  • Mike Leather’s vintage biker’s boutique: A homage to Joburg’s vibrant 80s punk past

    One of my favorite hidden gems in Joburg just so happens to also be a “tribute to South Africa’s punk and alternative scene” past!  On Jan smuts, opposite the Goodman gallery lies an entrance surrounded by a leather garments display, and if you’re lucky you will see a black and chrome bike with dangling tassels outside the entrance. A “punk rock” machine on two wheels signals that the owner and founder of the store Add-Vintage, Mike Leather, is currently on site.

    Born and raised in Joburg, Mike would become involved in leather works by honing his craft at Joburg’s Market Theatre, making his own clothes. “Back then I Started making styles for myself. Me and my Bro were punk’s back then.

    “I used to have a Mohawk and arm bands with the studs.” He had (and from just looking at his amazing array of jackets in the store has kept) a grand collection of 80’s leather punk jackets. He knew the styles and made sure to keep up to date with the underground trends,

    “It was the 80’s. Anything I had in those days that was different you could not buy. You had to make your own style”. Punk’s like Mike and his brother, Quiet, would frequent Yeoville and Hillbrow at that time. Their friends would hang around their crib to start the evening’s festivities and then they would make their way to the main jol. “We partied in ‘Subway’ downtown and at ‘Doors’ which was based in Carlton Centre. Everybody was there as there were few places within the scene you could go.  People from overseas would come to South Africa to hang around Newtown. That was the place to hang around to find that style of people. The jols, the homies all stayed downtown”.

    These were the places where their friends were every Saturday and Saturday. It was here that you would find the movement. The Joburg Punk movement was downtown near the market theatre. “That’s why when one said they wanted to ‘hang out’ you would find your homies, the parties, the clothes; everything you needed was there”.

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    I was blessed to have Mike give me a historical account of his own style.  Where he came from it was all about creating things, your own style and from there he begun making his own leather shoes and clothes. Eventually I’m wearing the gear and people were like they want it! So I would make for myself and then people started ordering from me and that’s where it started.

    He explains what the trends in the 80’s were like to me:  “So many things are happening today. Back then, those days in the 80’s you didn’t see somebody different. Back then a black punk with white boys playing rock, jamming to punk music, it was something very different for people out there. People saying things like ‘they are drug addicts’. They didn’t know what to think about us. Also it wasn’t easy because being different at a time that was mostly formal.” His style was too spaced out for the crowd, a mainstream crowd deep within the cultural yolk of apartheid.

    “Now my style and that of my bro was more English punk. We’d hang out in subways. This was something double different to see at the time.  As both black men who were also enjoying the music with white people. It wasn’t easy to be different back then and also hang around with the white boys. It was very tough. The way people look at you and think of you. They thought punks are Satanists. There would be this thing where being dressed up in black would get goths and punks put together, stereotyped as being the same and being called ‘Satanist’.  Those that were different were put into the same stereotype regardless of their race.

    Mike explains how today it’s much easier to be “different”. For him the different styles can be seen on TV and you can easily get them at the stores. “Back then there was no TV. If you did your style you did it by yourself. The underground movement styles changed due to introduction of TV”. The cheapening of the devices created a new advent of access to the various styles within popular culture. But with TV also meant an increase in access to cheaper garments that reflected this popular style.

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    “My clientele understand me. Back then with punks and gothics you knew exactly how to move with the trends or your style. Punk was doc martin, studs, leather jackets. Those are the things you did. Now it’s not as distinct. TV dictates the styles. Today I have a variety of people coming into my store. When I young with bro we used to have a shop in Hillbrow called ‘Kingdom Leather’ that was front opposite the New Metro. I used to ride when I was young. I was a Punk, a rider, the same movement that I came from. These were the clientele that we served”.  These are the clientele that he continues to serve today.

    When one enters his ADD-vintage store on Jan Smuts you are entering a period in South Africa that’s not really talked about. “Not much has been different in my store from back then. I knew exactly who my clientele was, the punks, the rockers, the riders. You don’t see punks, goths like you did back then”.

    He explains how today you find people who don’t know themselves and their style. I would even add that we are over exposed to mainstream trends. “Mostly, today you get stuff anywhere and so much of the style depends on the person. You can get the stuff Chinese made but not with quality”. For Mike it’s the quality that defines his brand and I would even say ‘the style’.

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    He describes how the people he sees nowadays are those with a very strong sense of style, the new punks, those who dress differently. “When they come into my store they say ‘WOW, I haven’t seen a shop like this for many years’, you know what I mean? This reminds them of stores like those found in London Camden market. The punks and stuff are still happening now but not like here”. Mike’s store presents the style as it was done back then. He explains how some people still want something specially made. “They want to go somewhere you know the stuff is quality. This is where the difference comes with my shop”.

    “Others are afraid of the shop. They don’t know about the jackets, about the movement.  So this is what is happening.” Today his clientele is not so well defined and so all sorts may enter his store. His store is a representation of a time of defiance. Those who know their punk, rock and style history will know of the importance of such to those who would wear their defiance!  It’s overwhelming to enter this store as it also speaks to a very specific time in style history. If you look carefully you can even observe some leather bondage gear (of highest quality of course), a skull helmet and plenty of metal stud jewelry.

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    This style is experienced sensually within the store!  One is greeted with the all-consuming scent of leather. Make no mistake this store is all about the leather, bottom to top, and its shelves brimming with fine leather vintage and biking goods.  One wall houses a beautiful collection of white cow boy leather boots that would make any Dolly Parton fan flush with excitement. His store is one of quality, long lasting wear that will not only test the strength of time but test the wearer’s grit in being able to keep the movement alive!

    The shop can be found on 144th street on Jan Smuts Avenue
    in Johannesburg (opposite the Goodman gallery).  Operating hours are from 9am to 5 on weekdays.  You can also contact Mike directly on
    0837282274 and he will gladly assist you with your queries.

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  • At The Drive-In: Back for The Chaos

    I feel an intensely personal connection with the mighty Texan punk band At The Drive- In. Let’s go back through the fog shrouded mists of time- October 2000, to be exact. I was up late on a school night, listening to the Barney Simon show on 5FM, trying to record songs from Radiohead’s Kid A onto cassette tape. Without warning, I was suddenly hit with a blast of guitars and a passionate singer hollowing unhinged lyrics about space stations and scalpels. It was my first introduction to ‘One Armed Scissor’, off their third and final album Relationship of Command. It took me months to track down the actual album, and when I finally did it helped to bring on early onset tinnitus with my incessant listening. That band meant everything to me. They came out at a time when rock music was in a dire state, dominated by nu-metal cretins like Limp Bizkit and easy listening dullards like Travis. In such a bleak time, ATDI were a shining beacon of hope. They were unabashed in their love of brash hooks and guitar abuse, but their William Burroughs inspired lyrics retained a powerful enigma. Much of this derived from their home town of El Paso, at the border of the US and Mexico, with one member telling Spin Magazine in 2000 ‘ it’s the dichotomy of a Third World Country and a First World Country living together, breathing together, separated only by a bridge.’  Viewed from 2016, their lyrics seem elliptically prophetic, painting a barbaric desert of prison camps, killer machines, masked judges and whispered threats.  A perfect soundtrack for a time in which wealthy countries and indivuals are trying to violently fortify themselves against social crisis.

    In their initial heyday, ATDI were hailed as the next Nirvana, a group who would break out of the US underground on a massive scale. In reality, by late 2001 they had broken up amidst personal acrimony and drug problems. But like Nevermind did a decade before, their work proved a key portal to discover other subterranean punk and post-hardcore bands. Over the years, I have met many friends who share the same formative experience. The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

    But after a brief reunion in 2012, they have released their first song in sixteen years. ‘Governed by Contagions’. It comes out swinging with ragged guitars and Cedric Bixler-Zavala now wailing about narcs on every corner and cannibalism. While not an earth shattering release in itself, it leaves you hungry for more of their untitled fourth album, set to drop next year. At The Drive-In broke up at the absolute pinnacle of their powers, but dark historical irony means that they may be even more relevant in 2017.

  • Introducing Lasta, a Zulu punk songbird finally flying solo

    The dulcet tones that helped make ‘Boss Zonke’ a national phenomenon, that feature on Maraza’s Igesi belong to Lasta; A Zulu, neo-electronic, punk singer.

    In her EPK, Lasta reveals her artistic journey and she details how she’s sung on many hooks, for many artists. And while paying dues is a part of becoming established in the industry, it is problematic that Lasta is only coming to the public eye through her solo efforts. Patriarchy is so pervasive in our society, no industry or culture is exempt, and the sustained invisibility of the women who are contributors and creators of the sounds and sights we enjoy is a symptom of male supremacy within the creative industries. In happier news, Lasta is set her drop her solo debut soon, and the first single, Alive, is sultry and sweet, a welcome refresher on romance.

    Lasta’s identification and pride in being Zulu represents an important movement on the continent; with Africans claiming their culture for creative purposes while offering a representation for blackness, and Africa that is modern and multi-faceted. An important contribution to people of colour as well as Zulu people world wide.

    Lasta’s EPK is featured below, enjoy getting to know her and putting a face to a beautiful voice you’ve definitely heard before.