Bubblegum Club

Tag: spoek mathambo

  • Manteiga infuses Batuk with drama

    Manteiga infuses Batuk with drama

    With a Mozambican father, who always had his guitar on hand ready to play a song, and a South African mother, both with great storytelling abilities, Carla Fonseca, the birth name of Batuk’s frontwoman Manteiga, was exposed to and had a great appreciation for the dramatic arts from a young age. “You know your aunts and your uncles, when they start telling the story of how somebody got robbed or whatever the story is, there is quite a lot of drama. I guess my interest in any form of dramatic arts started there and I consider music to be a form of dramatic arts as well.”

    Moving between Mozambique and South Africa as a child before settling in the township of Reiger Park in the East Rand of Johannesburg around the age of 6, Manteiga went to a high school for the arts where she focused on theatre and went on to study further in the medium at university.

    It is through her work in theatre that the idea to collaborate with Spoek Mathambo and Aero Manyelo came about. The two producers had already decided to collaborate when Manteiga invited Spoek to a production she had written & directed and in which she performed six different characters. “One of the characters sang. I guess [Spoek] saw the ability in me to change characters, write and sing.” Initially only joining them in studio to work on a few tracks, Manteiga would soon join the group as an official member.

    The Manteiga alter-ego serves a practical as well as an artistic purpose. “Manteiga helps me separate my music from my theatre work. It helps me think from a different mind space. Manteiga is the music maker in me and she is against sexism, homophobia, xenophobia. She is for equal rights and everybody having freedom in their lives. Whether it be freedom against war, coming from two countries where we’ve experienced extreme violence. A stand against violence against women.” explains Carla who believes that bringing this philosophy into the message of the group is of significance. “I think it’s important for artists to not just make work that’s just flimsy. It’s your responsibility to speak about subjects that are important to you.”

    Manteiga says it was her “philosophy on women needing to be in the forefront and needing to be empowered more and allowed to lead a lot more” that saw her take charge of Batuk, leading decision around visuals, storytelling and representing the group in the press.

    Coming from a theatre rather than a music background sometimes challenges Manteiga when it comes to writing. “It’s very different. I was kind of given a crash course on how things work [in music]. Sometimes I write stories and then from there I can take out bits and pieces and put it together.”

    Having released two albums and an EP over the last three years Manteiga says that she feels like she’s grown more confident in both her writing and singing abilities. “On the first album I wasn’t singing much. Nandi was a collaborator in the project and she’s got an incredible voice. I have a voice, but I was too shy to express it. But on this new album I got the balls to sing and that was a big step for me and I grew in that respect.”

    On both 2018 releases, “Kasi Royalty” and “Move!”, Manteiga and Spoek decided to pursue a more South African sound reminiscent of their township days. “There’s more Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaans. I rap in Afrikaans, I tell my stories of what it’s like to be a coloured girl from the township. We want to appeal to a South African market but we just wanted to take our Kasi roots, Spoek being from Soweto, and make something that was true to us and nostalgic for us.”

    While hoping for local appeal, Batuk’s support is largely overseas, with their upcoming tour “Again She Reigns” spanning the European continent, save for a couple of local shows. Manteiga is excited for the tour which begins at the end of September. “It’s a lot more dramatic and theatrical. I’m incorporating my theatre roots into the show. There are different characters and the music is kind of part of a character’s story.”

    Speaking on the lack of support locally Manteiga says: “I think there’s a lot of corruption involved. In order for your song to be on the radio you have to bribe people. There’s a whole payola system in South Africa and if you participate in that you get more people listening to your music, exposure, etc. potentially shows. South Africa is interested in hip hop right now but they’re also interested in a lot of other genres. …It’s really just what appeals at the time. I’m not disappointed at all. I think for what we’ve done in the last 3 years I’m really proud and excited for what’s to come and what has been. I’m not complaining at all.”

    Batuk continues to work hard at pushing its music locally. “We print a whole lot of CDs and hand them out to taxi drivers, people in parks listening to music, we try as much as we can in South Africa to spread the music.” But Manteiga says that it is up to promoters to book them.

    In the meantime, fans can anticipate a new music video from the group dropping in the near future. “We just started a conversation with a director, we need to decide which song we really want to push, maybe we’ll leave it up to fans to decide, not sure, but we’re looking to release a music video soon.”

    Despite having dropped two releases in 2018, Batuk is looking to release new material next year. “Spoek Mathambo is a machine, he’s always in the studio, always making music, so we’re not going to rush this year but next year we’ll definitely be releasing music. The way I work, I constantly want to produce. I want to produce and not stop and wait for people to decide, maybe the album will only achieve what we want it to achieve in 3 years’ time and I don’t think we should stop for that.”

    Credits: 

    Photography & Styling: Jamal Nxedlana

    MUA: Kristina Nicol

    Hair Stylist: Nomasonto Malefo

    Photographic Assistants: Lebogang Ramfate and Darnelle Thompson

     

  • A.L.V – Sonic Myths

    A.L.V – Sonic Myths

    The occult has a long standing overlap with popular music. The notorious and influential magician Aleister Crowley appeared on Beatle’s album covers, while esoteric beliefs fueled the work of Led Zeppelin and David Bowie. The convergence is not surprising – magicians and musicians both mine the subconscious for blazing inspiration, creating art and rituals to initiate personal or collective transformation. At their core, their work is the same- summoning new realities into existence.

    South African musician and artist Amani Lenny Vallihu aka A.L.V candidly situates himself in this historical continuum. “Esoterica and the art of Magic, of the implementation of one’s will, have always played a great importance within my oeuvre”, citing Egyptian Kemeticism, the Voudaun and Thelemic Magic as just some of the mystery schools he has extensively explored. Ritual and experimentation have informed all his work to date, including the enticing and enigmatic albums Swan/Void, Pinnacle and Prince of Darkness. These solo projects have been accompanied by multidisciplinary collaborations with Umlilo, Baloji and Spoek Mathambo.

    Darkness is perhaps the recurring motif in his prolific body of work. That is darkness “without evil” – rather than supernatural terror, he is focused on using myth as a “path into unknown ventures of self”. For the last two years, he has focused on planning Majesty, an album which aims to surpass everything he has done before. The goal “was to create an album that was predicated in philosophy, meaning and interpretation that can radicalise the way we view consciousness, ourselves and certain truths that relate to Primordial and Ancient myths. So Majesty is in essence, a sonic myth”. Each song on the album is linked to a different cultural representation of primeval force, from the giant Typhon of Greek mythology to the malevolent Cthulhu.

    The recording entailed active “experimentation and advancement” of his own reality.  “There was a huge amount of real influences, spirits, entities and primordial beings entering my consciousness every day, to create the album and also to change me as a person”.

    The result is music designed to propel the listener into the vast realms of the unknown, with all its mystery and promise.

    AIWASS (HOLY-GUARDIAN-ANGEL) – THE TRUE-WILL CURRENT from A.L.V on Vimeo.

  • 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.

  • The Pontifications of Big Space

    “My girlfriend tells me there’s an SABC job to be done, I’m the assistant stylist, R1000 a day for 8 days, that’s R8000, I firmly agree. We wait for production budget of R21000 to be deposited. It never arrives. We have no electricity, we drink wine, I smoke weed and play 30 seconds in the dark until we fall asleep.”

    So begins one of the stories that form part of the novella Big Space is releasing along with his latest album. “To pontificate is the stillborn child of the union between solitude and loneliness. These are my pontifications in text and sound, a collection of moments entrenched in my pursuit to not only make music, but to create a world inside myself where I can be King, ruler of the troglodytes, the lord of the flies. I have lived a thousand lives and I have died a million deaths, behold my truth and eat my shit.”

    When it comes to producers forging their own path through South Africa’s music landscape, there are few who are as firmly committed to producing original music that pushes boundaries as Big Space. Over the years he has worked with the likes of Schlachthofbronx, Scratcha DVA, and Spoek Mathambo, local producers 7FT Soundsystem, Leeu & Jumping Back Slash as well as having a slew of original releases under his belt.

    “PONTIFICATIONS”, out on the 8th of February, continues this tradition of seeking originality and is an insight into the world he has created for himself. Released through his label, Wet Dreams Recordings, which he runs with label-mate Rose Bonica, “PONTIFICATIONS” is electronic music, but refuses to stick to the limits of this genre. Taking bits and pieces from well-known and not so well-known musical genres, it has an underlying familiarity while still managing to sound like nothing before it.

    With a playtime just short of 90 minutes, the album is filled with diverse tracks that still form a cohesive collection, a testament to Big Space’s relentless pursuit of originality. Highly layered, with non-traditional structures, the music on “PONTIFICATIONS” requires a few listens before the nuances become apparent. From touches of drum ‘n bass on “Innocent Hands” to the psych-rock tinged “Serpent Moon” featuring Young Om, it’s impossible to know what is coming next on the album, which is precisely the point. It’s clear that “PONTIFICATIONS” is the product of solitude and loneliness because it sounds like nothing else.

    Have a listen below to ‘DAT SINKING LIFE’ from “PONITFICATIONS”

  • Spoek Mathambo – Mzansi Beat Code

    Spoek Mathambo’s fifth solo album, ‘Mzansi Beat Code’, is both a culmination of years spent trying to find his own voice and sound, as well as a celebration of collaboration. Of the thirteen tracks on the album only two feature Spoek on his own. “Music right now is a bit more individualistic in an egotistical sense. I think some of the best music that I’ve enjoyed from the last hundred years is always based on a group. Be it how amazing hip hop releases are, they’re always collaborations. To the great rock, jazz, punk, funk it’s all based on really great groups. So for me it’s natural.” By collaborating with others he is able to tap into human skills that he or a machine does not posses, “I can reach them the best not through MIDI but through a human being who’s got their own rich concept based on a lifetime of playing that instrument”.

    Rather than curating the sounds of South Africa, Spoek takes elements from the diverse sound spectrum and reinterprets them through his own lens, hence the name ‘Mzansi Beat Code’. “They’re ideas, concepts, codes, ways of doing things, but for the most part I’m deconstructing it and reconstructing it in a different way.”

    While the album is Spoek’s solo production he does not view his role as that of a conductor leading an orchestra. “It’s lowkey just friendships and chill sessions for the most part. Demos that we share and just playing around and experimenting with some friends and some strangers that have become friends.” Still the album has Spoek’s energy. “I guess because I’m there from the beginning up until the end it leans towards what I want out of it.”

    When asked if he sees himself as a rapper or producer first his answer is unequivocal. “I really hate rapping right now. I see myself as a beatmaker at the beginning of their career.  I see myself as a producer.” From his Future Sound of Mzansi Mixes to the documentary of the same title and Fantasma’s ‘Free Love’ there is a clear path that leads to the release of ‘Mzansi Beat Code’. “It has taken me a long time to get to this point. It has taken me a really long time to get this ability of putting things together. I’ve been doing things since 2006, even before that with different stuff, trying to articulate certain ideas and just not having the required skill set . So this is the first project, well I’d say Fantasma ‘Free Love’ is the first project where things came together”.

    By deconstructing and rebuilding the ‘Beat Codes’ of South Africa, Spoek is creating a sound and aesthetic that is familiarly South African but excitingly innovative.

  • Gung-ho Stoicism: The Aesthetics of music, art, fashion, tennis and war with Shamon Cassette

    Shamon Cassette , formerly known as Cerebral Vortex has been one of my favourite rappers ever since I discovered the internet and realized that the only interesting rappers were the ones who dint mind having HTML awe struck pen pals from third world continents.  He’s a beacon of knowledge for all types of cool shit because he’s done it all. From driving Tanks during the Iraq War as a US marine to making songs with the likes of Spoek Mathambo, Youngsta and Thirstin Howl, he’s done it all.

     

    Whats the whole idea behind Black Agassi?

    Black Agassi is homage to one of the gods of style and the whole idea came about as my interest in playing tennis became a pretty serious thing alongside my passion for wearing wigs and toting designer tennis racket covers through the streets of Manhattan. I’ve always been a huge fan of all the Nike court challenge pieces and the lava splatters. I wanted to create a platform to tell his story that I’ve always been so intrigued by growing up. To me Agassi was totally punk in the 90’s so that’s where the cover art reference is drawn from.

     

    What influenced the sound of this project? I haven’t heard a “straight” Hip-Hop record from you in a while, what brought about the change from the faster club tunes you do so well?

    The faster club tunes these days I’m about are hip-house and acid house records that I make with Bon Voyage. The traditional sounds of Hip-Hop were always my true core. Then I fell in love with the Kwaito sound which then sparked my desire to adjust my focus toward hip-house but Black Agassi was something I was doing in between for therapy and fitness .When we birthed Vertual Vertigo we were collecting and hunting for vintage, analog gear and playing around with old vocal techniques to achieve the sounds and styles of our favourite shit from the boom bap era.

     

    That said who is Japandrew? (Producer of Black Agassi)

    Japandrew is my brother from another mother. We met as my former crew, Vertual Vertigo relocated to America and made our home base Chicago. He had just gotten out of prison and our DJ at the time stayed back in Europe. He was a perfect fit for us and it started off as him hanging out with us a lot and then always having a fresh beat tape for the car didn’t hurt. It didn’t take long at all before he became a permanent member of the team. After Vertual Vertigo went on hiatus, we continued to work together up to now

     

    So when did your obsession with tennis come about?

    Honestly, no lie…So when I was studying fashion at F.I.T. I needed an elective to get my degree and all the classes were like yoga, spinning, chess and then I seen kung fu on the list.  My kung fu instructor was one of those 80’s furry Jerry Garcia looking gung-ho dudes and wouldn’t pass you unless you got all the forms and styles and routines properly. He was a hater and failed me because I thought certain moves worked better in different forms. At least he gave me an “I” for incomplete on the course. The following semester I still needed the credits so I took the intro to tennis instead and I loved that shit and advanced through tennis. Then I started getting invites by the alumni to play doubles at the Manhattan tennis club and from there it just really took off for me.

     

    Not too many people know that you were a U.S Marine and even spent some time in Iraq, a subject you touch on in “point served” what led you into the Army and has it influenced your music in anyway?

    Suicidal thoughts led me to joining the military. I was going through shit just like any 19 year old would do and after some wild suicide fails earlier on in life and I thought it would be waaay cooler to die for something than to just die for nothing… and guns and tanks and travelling kind of interested me a lot at the time and I needed to do something. It’s definitely influenced my music in many ways because my experiences there have become bits to the pieces that collectively make Shamon Cassette.

     

    You’re also a stylist by profession. What’s your earliest memory of “fashion” and what keeps you in the fashion game?

       My earliest memories of fashion were from my mother. She was a very beautiful stylish lady. She used to be a part of a car club that all drove souped up Datsuns and it was like a style and attitude vibe so I was seeing early on how the two played hand in hand (style/attitude).

    What keeps me in the game is research. I spend a great amount of my time doing research on just about any and everything. I always tend to find inspiration for fashion in the oddest forms. Most of the time it’s not even something fashion related that I become inspired and try to translate into fashion.

     

    You’ve been doing music for ages and you have a bag of really good releases underneath your belt, I personally feel you’re underrated? Do you feel underrated? Or is this a shitty question?

    Thanks for saying that and no, it’s not a shitty question at all. I actually get asked that question quite a bit. I don’t ever feel underrated.  If anything I’d say “undiscovered”. Just seeing how some of the greater artists in history that held the longest reigns in longevity were also dubbed underrated before they popped off. I feel like the ratings come from the fans that actually understand you and relate to you and appreciate you for being the voice of the like minded people that don’t have a voice or a platform. So those numbers mean nothing to me, it’s the quality of the fan base and their ratings are the ones that matter to me.

     

    So how did the Thirstin Howl The 3rd collaboration come about? Apart from the both of you having beards and being from Brooklyn? Were you also shop lifting Ralph Lauren Clothes for shits and giggles?

    My history with the Lo-Life’s and Brooklyn shit go way back. One of my brothers is actually a Lo-Life Buddy Leezle. Vertual Vertigo collectively were massive Thirstin Howl fans so as we were midway through making Black Agassi we came up with the hair brain idea of “what If we had Thirstin on a track?”. So we got his number from a mutual friend and buzzed him and sent it to Thirstin and 3 days later we opened up an email that said “yeahyeahyeah”. Dreams come true. You never know what could have happened if you never asked.

     

    But what’s your favourite collaboration you’ve done so far?

    My favourite collaboration so far has had to have been the remake of Fela Kuti’s “zombiez” for the last Red Hot+ Fela compilation with my favourite visionary in the world Spoek Mathambo. It was crazy because Seun Kuti actually invited us on to remake the song.

     

    You’re basically an honorary South African as far as everyone here is concerned. What drew you to this country?

    That’s an absolute honour. I actually do feel like an honorary South African. Hold up…. allow me to give the biggest shouts to all my South African homies and Jozi, Soweto, Cape Town Durban and everywhere in between. I’ve felt a connection to South Africa ever since the first time I watched Coming to America. I was so intrigued by Eddie Murphy’s character being a prince from Africa made me fantasize about his life. Then one day, you and Spoek started buzzing early on the internet chat rooms and MySpace and shit. You guys were straight serving me up South Africa flavour since way back then via the internet. After the Sub-Pop thing kicked off for Spoek and we got sent out to shoot the “let them talk” video in Durban and that was actually my first trip to South Africa and that’s when my obsession with South Africa started.

     

    How important are personal aesthetics when it comes to creating art/music?

    Personal aesthetics are actually the most important part of art and music. If the personal aesthetic isn’t powerful the piece lacks character.

    Download Black Agassi

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  • Watch Daniel Haaksman featuring Spoek Mathambo in Akabongi, an inner city intersection of art, internet and hustle

    Art and technology have this shared power to transcend their original context, creating new contexts, and new worlds within which they can be used and understood. These elements meet in interesting ways in Daniel Haaksman and Spoek Mathambo’s new video. Shot in Johannesburg, it reflects the city’s hustle and innovations, its creativity and its unique landscape.

    ‘Akabongi’ samples the legendary Soul Brothers and this video vivifies the sometime thankless, sometime thrilling grind of hustling and working in the CBD. The grind is the reason people break through and push passion; humans always find innovative ways to connect and create in unconventional spaces. The video references the CUSS Group’s work in the fusion of art and technology and CUSS’ use of urban spaces as outposts for exhibiting art, highlighting the ‘artistic value of hybrid cultural production’ and revealing that art can be anywhere, and enjoyed by anyone, even if it’s streaming out of a PC screen in the bustle of downtown Jozi. Perhaps especially then, as the digital age continues to reveal and unravel what art means, where it can be found and what it can do.

    While the CBD may appear a gritty clog in the machine, it is buzzing with creativity and possibility in its various corners, The Scorpion’s pantsula dancing is far from out of place on the streets of the city, it’s another hustle here. People get incredibly creative, using culture and creativity as instruments of expression and economic survival.  And pantsula is an art form so particular to Southern Africa’s culture and circumstance.

    Sampling the Soul Brother’s and Mada ‘the Scorpion’ dancing pantsula all contribute to a colourful cultural expression of southern african urbanity. The video was directed by Chris Kets and it’s crew is a roll call of urban brilliance; TakeZito produced the video and Jody Brand played Creative Director, her incredible images from the shoot offer a background into the scenes and faces that give this city its originality and humanity.

    The fusion of 90’s Kevin Smith tropes meeting a work day in inner city Jozi is such fun especially when Spoek Mathambo and Mada are the homies hustling at the internet cafe. Enjoy Akabongi below, its brilliant and so refreshing.

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  • Batuk Release Stirring Visuals for Their New Single “Daniel”

    After months of teasers, Daniel is here. Supergroup, Batuk dropped the video and EP yesterday. The video was shot by Kent Andreasen in Mozambique and holds stirring visuals of the group along with featured vocalist Nandi Ndlovu. Batuk’s debut is a beautiful and modern expression of Africa without borders, reflecting a refined appreciation for dance, drums and performance. Tres excited for more music from this talented trio. Enjoy the video below, the Daniel EP can be purchased on Itunes.