Bubblegum Club

Tag: RHEA BLEK

  • WE ARE ONE Music Festival // connecting people through music

    WE ARE ONE Music Festival // connecting people through music

    WE ARE ONE Music Festival is framed as an experience of “heritage, music and inevitably oneness”. Founders Tokoloho Booysen and Tshepang Mabizela explain that basing the festival on this idea came through reflecting on the fact that there are so many barriers in Johannesburg that divide people. Their intention was to create a platform that will allow people to engage with one another through music and other cultural experiences. “…the only way for us to [be] progressive and create the future we want is to band together, we need to develop a strong sense of community and we believe that comes by unity through diversity,” Tokoloho explains. He goes on to say that, “We [the festival] use music as a connecter because regardless of who you are, the music you like makes you feel a certain emotion and those emotions transcend genre.”

    WE ARE ONE also intends to provide a space where emerging artists can share the stage with well-known musicians. “We represent a bubbling underground, so this festival needs to showcase an unknown industry made of blood, sweat and tears,” Tshepang explains. By doing this they are hoping to contribute to the expansion of the South African music industry and introduce audiences to new faces and new sounds. With the aim of giving artists the recognition they deserve, the festival presents opportunities for future headliners and shifts in the music scene while still appreciating artists who have been in the game for a while. Artists included in the lineup are FAKA, DJ Doowap, Gyre, Langa Mavuso, Nonku Phiri and Rhea Blek, just to name a few.

    Outside of the music, there will also be food stalls, clothing stalls and a pop-up photographic exhibition to give attendees a well-rounded cultural experience. “We resonate with music but we know that music is not the only impactful art form, so fashion, visual artistry and food are art forms that can also help progressively push the artistic culture forward,” Tshepang states.

    WE ARE ONE will be taking place at 1 Fox on 31 March 2018. To find out more about who will be performing and how to buy tickets visit their Facebook page.

  • Musician RHEA BLEK : The Goddess of Finesse

    Musician RHEA BLEK : The Goddess of Finesse

    Rhea Blek calls herself The Goddess of Finesse (aka Finessa). It’s apt because she has an impressively delicate touch and skillful use of her voice, which is pretty in line with the definition of ‘finesse’. Rhea is singer/songwriter born and bred in the city of Durban, which you can kinda tell if you’ve been paying attention to the sounds coming out of the 031 lately. Although she says she creates genreless music, Rhea is part of a growing group of brilliant young women in Durban, like Red Robyn, Nipho Hurd, and Victoria Raw, who are making incredible neo-soul, R&B and jazz influenced songs that touch the soul. And I don’t even believe in souls.

    Rhea is firmly her own woman though, and while she may be playing in similar spaces, she’s doing it completely in her own way. On the opening track of her debut EP THIIIRD WAV, ‘Terms and Conditions‘, she opens up by confidently asking if she can shoot her shot and get down to business with a fine-as-hell man, with no strings attached, terms or conditions. Although, she also admits that she wouldn’t mind a little l-o-v-e, she’s happy to just get what she wants if the fine-as-hell man is down with it.

    Track 2, ‘Clyde‘, is a take on Bonnie and Clyde, but, as Rhea explained on Facebook, “this time, instead of Clyde running around and doing the crimes and Bonnie being down for it, it was Bonnie being the boss and Clyde being a loyal lover and partner in crime. That’s why the hook says ‘ride or die, sink or fly with me’”. Apparently a friend was supposed to do a verse but “the niggas were like ‘what you wrote is too hot, the song is yours, just write for the whole song’”.

    ‘Clyde’ is actually what inspired the whole EP, or, as Rhea puts it in another Facebook post, “After that, we decided – you know what? We’re making an EP, that’s what the fuck we gon’ do!” She also explains the concept for the album in her candid post, “I thought about centering it on love and on a love story with someone that started since we were kids, that’s where ‘TEENAGE DREAMS’ comes in.”

    ‘Teenage Dreams‘ is the last track on the EP and it’s a cute love song. According to Rhea, “That song is a story of how and where the love began and how long its sustained to the present. It’s just a big thank you to the dude and appreciation for the love. And it’s called ‘TEENAGE DREAMS’ because the love is so amazing it feels like we’re teenagers in love and we’re dreaming.”

    Rhea has been racking up the gigs around Durban and has even made a few Gauteng trips of late, and now that she’s put out some music, she can’t wait to put out more. She’s actually working on a follow up EP already and will be part of the We Are One Festival in Joburg alongside the likes of Moonchild, DJ Doowap, & Nonku Phiri on the 31st of March. Make sure you look out for The Goddess of Finesse, you’ll be impressed.