Bubblegum Club

Tag: Wave

  • 1991 Put Out Dope Electronic Music That Cape Town is Known For

    1991 Put Out Dope Electronic Music That Cape Town is Known For

    Growing up, I always admired Cape Town’s electronic music scene. With the sounds of Sibot, Markus Wormstorm and Richard The Third  finding their way to me through SL Magazine’s compilation CDs, I got a taste of a scene I’d never get to experience but would always revere through their releases. These days, while I get to visit Cape Town every now and again, I still find myself in the same position of admiring it’s electronic musicians from afar because either they don’t play live or I visit at the wrong times. At least we have Soundcloud, and lately I’ve been racking up the plays on Cape Town label 1991’s page.

    I don’t really know all that much about 1991 other than that they’ve been going for about 2 years, their aesthetics are on point, and the music they put out is either wavey or ravey.

    If you check out their website, you’ll be treated to slick design, with them using stamps featuring butterflies and Olympic rings as album art, giving things a nostalgic feel. Something about it (probably the rings) reminded me of those Olympic promotional playing cards Caltex once gave out in the 90s.

    So far, 1991 have put out music rom 3 artists over the 2 years with most of it coming from Gourmet (wavey) and Maxime Alexander (ravey), with one track by the brilliantly named Constantia Mom (bit of both).

    Maxime Alexander image from MA14

    Gourmet makes what he calls Spaghetti Pop which actually reminds me a bit of Thor Rixon’s earlier work with a touch of future bass and chill wave goodness. Thor even jumped in on a remix of Gourmet’s ‘Good With a Nose Bleed‘ a while back. Gourmet’s latest release, ‘Jamaica‘, sets the scene for a night spent under the stars, on the beach in Jamaica, naturally.

    While Jamaica is very chilled, the next track on 1991’s Soundcloud isn’t. ‘Fake It‘ by Maxime Alexander gets ravey with some dark and methodical acid techno. I’m already dripping in sweat with my jaw clenched tight just sitting at my desk. I can’t even imagine what this dirty, dirty, dirty piece of electronic music would do in a dark club.

    They might not have the deepest lineup, but for my money, 1991 have been putting out some of the dopest electronic music that Cape Town is known for.

    Still from ‘Cashmere’ music video by Gourmet
    Still from ‘Yellow’ music video by Gourmet

  • Garage Rock Band Mouse Make a Rip Roaring Racket 

    Garage Rock Band Mouse Make a Rip Roaring Racket 

    I hate band origin stories. Fucking loathe them. “Oh, how’d you guys get together?” “Well, the lads and I were all friends in high school and we loved Foo Fighters so we decided to start a band,” or worse, “The label put us together.” But, I like Mouse‘s origin story. I fucking love Mouse, in general, but I think their Origin story is serendipitous and cute. They met, quite simply, because Damon (guitar, vox) put out an ad out on Gumtree. Chris (drums) found the ad whilst browsing online, hit Damon up, and now they’re travelling the country and, pretty soon, the world, making a rip roaring racket.

    Ok, that’s not exactly the most compelling story, but the thing is, rarely have there been two people so perfectly suited to make music together. Two good-natured but awkward, nerdy loners, equal parts naive and cynical, one, a guitarist, the other, a drummer, finding each other through the internet’s classifieds, and being such a perfect match, just seems like some sort of providence, or a statistical inevitability. Idk, either way, I’m stoked it happened because Mouse have by far been my favourite addition to the Durban music scene in the last few years.

    They’re on the garage/psych rock wave that’s been popular amongst white people who wear leather jackets over vests with skinny jeans and slops, but they themselves couldn’t give a single fuck about fashion or image. Like Black Math who came before them, Mouse fit in that uniquely Durban psych-influenced garage rock space that seems to have more grit and less pretension to it than many bands playing with similar sounds. What can I say? I’m partial to high pitched yells over distorted guitars and playful and experimental drum beats. Mouse hit that sweet spot for me and a steadily growing number of people who know what’s up.

    Mouse have been racking up the miles and consistently been getting booked around the country for the last year and a bit. With many trips to Joburg under their belt and a handful of ventures to Cape Town, as well as highly raved about sets at Mieliepop and Endless Daze, Mouse are starting to hit their stride as they get wiser to the game and more experience under their belts. They’ll soon be jetting off to play in Reunion Island, and they’ve been in talks with promoters in Europe about a possible tour, which I assume will lead to more tours because Mouse are one of those bands that once you’ve seen them live once, you’re hooked.

    In the last 4 months, Mouse have been on a tear with musical releases. We’re talking 2 EPs, a track on a hip compilation and a 12-minute song just for good measure. Serendipity had me at Red Bull Studios in Cape Town the same time they were recording Balaclava which just has this ferocious driving surf-rock influenced guitar riff that gets taken all over the place and is a trip to listen to. They recorded it as part of the Psych Night/Red Bull/Vans God Save The New Wave compilation and it’s the stand out track of the 5. No disrespect to the other bands, I just couldn’t get through their songs without going back to Balaclava and rocking the fuck out. I might be biased but I’m also 100% correct.

    I’ve also been bumping their Red Saint EP on repeat for the last month or so, mostly for the guitar riffage that kicks in about 30 seconds in on the opening track Eliminator. It starts out slow but turns into a real snorter that seeks to knock your block off. I suggest wearing a helmet to avoid injury.

    Their latest release, Wave, is a 12-minute monster that highlights the duo’s creativity and stamina. The drums sound a bit like they were recorded in a bedroom, because they were, but that’s the charm of “garage” rock. It’s over 12 minutes long but never gets boring. Like the title suggests, the song builds and breaks repeatedly like waves crashing on the shore/your face. Sure, it’s a bit indulgent, but all Chris and Damon want to do is make some noise together, and you’d be hard-pressed to find two people better suited to do it.