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"In the last few years we as South Africans have been slightly guilty of neglecting some of the talent we have at home"
Five local musicians you should be listening to,
Well, just listened to the first one.."Goodluck".I hate to sound like an asshole and know I should say positive and affirming things about our local talent BUT... As with all the others in my opinion there's very little depth or songwriting skills here..or musicianship. (I don't hear any guitar anywhere) Cute voice and face and a "producer"on a computer.
Most of the music here is made from loops and phrases pasted together in a pretty repetitious form so typical of this genre. Harmonic structure(chord structure) is primitive but compensated by lush production (lots of ear-candy) and groovin' rythm loops.
Most of the South African bands I've heard are (in my opinion)mediocre American/Brit wannabe's singing in their fake overseas accents or Kwaito-morons. (including most of the "premium" concert headliners.
(sigh)Rant over..
Thankyou for your patience, I feel better now.
guyfeld
Many moons ago, when I used to visit clubs and pubs, and go watch live bands.. I got annoyed with how the sound set up was done..
If you took the same song and
studio album
It sounded like a song, could hear the vocals, guitar at the correct levels exctra
Live performance
guitar levels way too loud, could never hear the vocals.. it basically was a messy wall of sound that sounded crap.
I ended up hating walking into a place that had live sound. and once confronted the sound guy.. was told "thats how its supposed to sound live"
yet go listen to A Big band, they sound like there studio album, neat and polished. with vocals clear, guitars levels where they not overpowering etc..
basically what I'm trying to say, is we need to get the level of professionalism up from grass roots .. it will then filter to what gets the big promotions. we have the ability like with anything in SA to be leaders, we may just need a helping hand how to get there. and not to do the standard copy paste album.
As for your feedback on "Goodluck". Ja I about 100% agree!
The only song I enjoyed here is Kwesta. Nice groove. It's all about getting drunk which is soooo far away from what I wanna do or what I care about but it sounds awesome.
It's like Metallica's "Fuel". All about petrol heads. Not my thing. But I love the song ?
Gotta say, when I read the word "Musician" I think more of music involving instruments. Not dance music or digital music. But then, I'm not everyone. To my wife, an "instrumental" song isn't a song. No words? Not a song ?
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guyfeld Rant over..
Thankyou for your patience, I feel better now.
I largely agree - though, I thought the vocals for Black Coffee and Goodluck are decent, no? Production isn't bad either and all have slick enough video's.
I rather like the love that is shown for the venerable box-shape E30 BMW in Kwesta...#petrolhead
I read a lot about Casper, but had never heard anything. Now that I have, I'm good for a while.
So @guyfeld - what's local that we havn't heard of yet?
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I guess I'm just feeling frustrated and uninspired by what I see around me now. I know it's all a matter of taste and some would say I have no right to be so critical especially as I've never recorded or released anything myself. It just seems that there's tons of mediocre stuff being put out by anyone who can manipulate a computer and it just means I have to wade through mountains of arb music to find something that may blow my hair back. Don't get me wrong..there's nothing bad about using samples,loops and grooves to make music but it just seems that most of the people doing it are musical primitives..there are usually only 2 or 3 chords in their songs and the chord structure is boringly predictable..
I thought The Blues Broers were sounding great with wonderful (not typical boring blues)songs on their album "Out of the Blue" about two years back. Since their guitarist Albert Frost left them to go solo and they got a new guitarist Basson Laubser, I haven't heard them since but I'm looking forward to it.
I'm playing in Gian Groen's band as guitarist and he's a great Afrikaans song-writer..he's just released a new cd and although some would say it's a bit "middle of the road," there are definitely some cool moments I think.
Well ok.
I like some and I don't like some, but that is probably due to my preference (Read: Perception & Bias) for 'real' music with real instruments.
I generally don't enjoy iffy pop songs about boyfriends and alcohol but am more inclined to music that challenges conventional thinking and pop culture. Music that means something, you know?
But, I have also learnt that music means different things for different people and what is 'real' for some is fake to another. Matters of preference, personal challenges and culture.
I recently wrote an Afrikaans song directed at Afrikaans...erm.... music makers. (I will not call them musicians, not all of them)
The songs ask the question: 'Where is YOUR song?', because I am pretty gatvol of music that is on mass production and my ears can't take another song with a nursery rhyme theme, standard set of chords, same lead sound and drum pattern as everyone else. Enough!! But it's probably a rage against the machine anyway.
I get what @guyfeld is saying and agree, just not the 'not PC' part.
My 50 cents deposited.
guyfeld i get what you saying..
what really REALLY puts me off south african songwriters, is the fact that they all seem to used the exact same Grade 6 Rhyming dictionary to write their lyrics. its awful to be that predictable..
at the risk of getting banned from this site for daring to say what i am about to say.. Tony Cox.. my goodness... last week driving to work they played something of him playing and singing.. one of the most awful things I have ever heard..
seemed like a typical 12 bar blues number he was playing, but whoever told him he could sing or write lyrics was really just having him on..
so never mind musical composition - the really poor song writing ability of south african musicians is why I dont have any favorites.
A south African band worth watching..
NorioDS and just to clarify, i am not talking musical ability..
if @guyfeld is the Guy I am thinking of, he is pretty shiitte hot on guitar.. !
its the pathetic lyrical attempts of most south africans.. take a gander on youtube of some of the '80's "stars" trying to revive their careers... scary stuff how they feel the last word of every sentence must rhyme like a grade 6 poetry class.
StephenG
Actually, I don't think S African songwriters are any worse than anyone else... it's a world-wide thing.
I think in the distant past songwriting was a craft that took time to develop and if you had an album out it meant that usually someone or or some company believed in you. (you mostly had to be something special)
Today anyone with a computer and a collection of loops and samples can churn out an album and they do.
(Hell, I've downloaded my share of free mp3's and indulged in manipulating loops and samples and midi as well..)
But the result is that Music has become so accessible to the masses(making and listening to music) that it's become devalued now..the industry has become saturated.(the book industry has also gone this way, I think. I'm an avid reader and I've walked through discount warehouses full of books by new authors selling for nothing)
It is what it is, I guess.
Regarding Tony Cox...we can't all be great songwriters or singers...but.I do think he's a great guitarist in his own right.