New single from Zebra & Giraffe

Zebra & Giraffe have been relatively quiet for quite some time now, but that's mostly because they've been recording their fourth studio album, Knuckles. I wasn't able to make their recent stint of acoustic shows in Johanesburg, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to their new album any less. In fact, after hearing the new single, I've been bad, I'm looking forward to the new album even more, and regret not making the at least one of the acoustic shows last month.

The video shows the band performing for a group of people who wouldn't look out of place at a Sons of Anarchy barbecue.

Kahn live: An anti-review

Last night I got roped into attending the début solo performance of local musician, Kahn Morbee (The Parlotones). Following Kahn's advice of, 'not writing about what I don't like,' I'll simply tell you about my favourite part of the evening, and that I like the project's logo.

After playing a few new songs, Kahn asked if the audience wanted to hear a Parlotones song, which was met with several people in the audience cheering. Kahn asked for suggestions, at which point someone shouted "Shallow waters."

The irony is probably lost on foreign readers here, so I'll explain; Shallow waters is a song written and performed by another local band, Just Jinjer.

If you wish to hear what Kahn's solo effort sounds like, The candle is available on his website as a free download. It's not my cup of tea, but I'm sharing it anyway.

Foo Fighters South African Tour details

Following this morning's announcement that Foo Fighters will be touring South Africa this year, here are some of the tour details.

At present there are only two shows scheduled:

10 December - Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

13 December - FNB Stadium, Johannesburg

The opening acts are Kaiser Chiefs (U.K.) and local alt. rockers Blk Jks [pronounced Black Jacks].

Several years ago a couple of the members from Blk Jks joined us for a braai at our student commune. At the time they were still relatively unknown on the local scene, but had already travelled to, and gathered quite a following on the other side of the Atlantic. 

When I traversed the Atlantic in 2011, I was able to attend a Foo Fighters performance on the last night of my stay in New York. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended, and I promised my friends that if Foo Fighters ever came to South Africa, I'd be getting standing tickets.

Tickets go on sale at 09:00 (local time) this Thursday, and I am already dreaming of attending both gigs. If the Jo'burg concert was first, this would have been more likely, but either way I aim to attend at least one of these events.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the Foo Fighters perform live again, and I am relieved that the promoters have chosen artists worthy of opening for the band.

Now to wait for news on the first single from 'Studio Album Eight,' the premier date for Sonic Highways, and ticket sales to open.

Free download from Liver

Local electro musician Liver has dropped another gritty, hip-hop influenced single. Download Cight Flub in the widget below, listen to some of his more chilled beats over on his Soundcloud page, and check out this compilation which features Liver and the rest of the Gravy Crew.

Minnaar - Volcano (Yesterday's Pupil remix)

A couple of months back, brother and sister duo Minnaar released their début EP Volcano as a free download. Minnaar have just 're-released' the Volcano EP, with an additional remix by Yesterday's Pupil. 

At the moment it seems that the remix is not available as a separate download, meaning that if you had previously downloaded the Volcano EP,  and just wanted to download the remix, you can't. You'll have to download the entire EP again just to get the Yesterday's Pupil remix.

-

Foolishly I've left my earphones at home, so I won't be able to listen to this in my office. Nor will I be able to download the new Ladyscraper album that I've been waiting to listen to all weekend.

Free single from Haezer

Local noise-maker, Haezer, has released his newest single for free via Trashbags. You can download Shango here.

Haezer is well for his bass-heavy, groovy electro, and this single will not disappoint fans of the electro genre. Shango has a slightly more commercial feel and sound to it than some of Haezer's previous offerings, but if you're unfamiliar to the man, then this is a great introductory track.

You can download and listen to some of Haezer's earlier work and remixes over at his Soundcloud page.

How to turn a Nissan Juke into an instrument

South African musicians Peach van Peltzen (Yesterday's Pupil & Bittereinder) and Richard Brokensha (Kidofdoom & Iso) collaborated with Nissan South Africa to create the a piece of music, mostly using recordings of the sounds made by a Nissan Juke.



Incredible to see what can come from a just little bit of imagination and creativity. It also reminded me of this.

Mr. Lif & DJ Qbert freestyle Magnet Jam

A little while ago Sibot released his Magnet Jam EP to critical acclaim. Then along came Mr. Lif and DJ Qbert. They got hold of a vinyl pressing with the title track, and created the following:

Beast like to Smoke, Swig & Swear

What do you get when two bassists, a drummer and a trained opera singer get together and form a band? The answer is Beast, a group of immensely talented musicians with diverse backgrounds, yet a single goal; to make powerful rock 'n roll music.

After having taken a quick listen to Smoke Swig Swear, the stand out track for me was Hand of God. It's a track that should played every day, by every radio station, everywhere. It's just that good. 

If you'd like to hear what Beast's music sounds like, you're in luck, as their first album Smoke Swig Swear is currently available as a free download. 

Free download of Goldfish's new single

Cape Town duo, Goldfish have made their new single Take back tomorrow available for free download via their Facebook page until Friday 1 February. Goldfish is South Africa's the hottest music export in recent years, as they took the global club scene by storm with their infectious, jazz-inspired tunes.

Take back tomorrow is the first single off the group's fourth studio album, set for release later this year. There will be a world tour to coincide with the album release, for which details may be found here.

Kidofdoom awakens to release music for free

Kidofdoom is a local band, that has been largely off the radar for the last few years. They describe their music as 'deep space champion pop,' which pretty much sums up their sound. I last saw them perform in 2009 for the launch of their album 'My Faith in War' at a venue that has subsequently closed down.

I have fond memories of that night. I couldn't convince any of my friends to come with me. They were all put off by the fact that the band had 'doom,' and didn't think they would enjoy the music. After a little deliberation, I decided to go alone. I forget who the opening band was, or if there even was one. I was too busy indulging in double brandy and cokes. While standing on my own a fellow student approached me asking for 10c so that he could make up a Rand to put into the foosball table. I didn't have 10c, but I saw what he was up to and gave him R2 and said have a game on me. He said thanks, and then invited me to play as there were three of them, and if I joined we could have a game of doubles.

Several games later, and after a few more double brandies, Kidofdoom started to play. I moved closer to the stage and watched spell bound for the duration of their set. Kidofdoom tore through renditions of various tracks from both their albums. I was so engulfed in the music that I can't tell you how long they played for, but what I do remember is that the band was sweating from the excursion they had put into their performance. The effort was reciprocated by the crowd, as we were all drenched in sweat too.

Kidofdoom played their last song, put down their instruments, and to my disappointment went off stage. My disappointment was short lived however, as after a short interval the air was once again filled with music, this time by Haezer, who at the time was still a largely unknown act.

I remember jamming with my foosball colleagues for a bit, and then on my own. It was then that I was approached by Kidofdoom's drummer, who had smile on his face, and an outstretched arm. In his hand he had a copy of Kidofdoom's new album. He gave it to me. I was too taken aback, and or drunk, at the time to think of asking the band to sign the album. That's probably enough reminiscing for today.

What spurred on those fantastic memories was a post on Kidofdoom's Facebook page announcing that all of their music is available for free download. These will be limited to 100 downloads per track, so be quick. I'm really hoping that the recent increase of activity means that there are some future performances by the group on the cards, although a new track or two would be just as exciting.

Here's a neat remix of Kidofdoom's Gotham City by Haezer:

Futuristic South African beats, courtesy of Sibot

Local DJ and hip-hop genius, Sibot has kicked of the new year by releasing a 3-track EP of futuristic hip-hop beats. Magnet Jam can be downloaded here for free. As you can see from the thumbnail below, the EP cover depicts some nudity, so be cautious if you're downloading this on a work/ school computer or in a public place.

Mad Decent wrote the following about the release:

Africa is a hub for some of the most out there Hip-Hop and Sibot has been a huge staple in the scene. From doing projects with Ninja (Die Antwoord) to Spoek mathabo and others to winning the SA Battle Championships in 2002 he's done it all. Now see's his first jeffree with is a packed release with weird but catchy futuristic beats from the beathead genius. The title track "Magnet Jam" and "No Question" sound like Q-bert's "Wave Twisters" for a new generation, weird spacey reverse suction beats for droids and punk robots. The final track is like a lost tune from an unheard cantina band from Star Wars, its like future funk for midget aliens that dance on the bar tops for bit coins. This said Sibot has clearly lost his mind, these are sounds you've never heard before that make you dance in unthought of ways.

I'm really hoping to catch Sibot performing live at one of the local festivals this year.

Minnaar: Dance-inspired operatic ballads

A musical collaboration between Louis Minnaar (graphic artist, music video director, composer and animator) and his sister Magdalene Minnaar (opera singer, actress, lyricist and producer). Both siblings attended art schools at secondary and tertiary levels in Pretoria, Cape Town and New York. Having chosen their respective artistic direction, Louis the visual arts and Magdalene the performance arts, they have continued to pursue their shared love for a multitude of art forms, which eventually culminated in the formation of their new musical collaboration, aptly named Minnaar, which means "lover" in Dutch.

Volcano, the first release from Minnaar, represents an explosive, symbiotic project crafting from dramatic lyrics, soaring melodies and crunching beats. Not limited to a single genre, Minnaar's music weaves a tapestry of electronic beats accented by various vocal styles, creating an enchanting fusion of epic dance-inspired operatic ballads. Volcano, a 5-track EP, is available as a free download here.

Corax: Doom/ sludge metal from Johannesburg

Corax was conceived by Brent and Patrick during May 2010, and they have been jamming intermittently since. After two years of writing material, the duo recorded their début, self-titled album in approximately 18 hours during April 2012. 

You can listen to the opening track below, or follow this link to download the entire album for free. While doing so you can read a review of the album across on The Sludgelord.

Chromium return with new video

Easily one of the most talented metal bands in the local music scene, Chromium have been around since 2008. While having been relatively quiet for the last few months, they've just released the video for the first track Half Life, taken off their forthcoming EP Bloodlust. The track sounds exceptionally promising.

Listen to more of Chromium's tracks here, including the theme from local horror film Night Drive.

Bittereinder | Free download

Unless you're from South Africa, you probably haven't heard of Bittereinder. Chances are, even if you are from South Africa, you haven't heard of Bittereinder. Such is the stranglehold of local radio stations and their continuous playing of overrated local and international acts.

Bittereinder [Bitter-ender], an Afrikaans trio from Pretoria, who have been around since before Die Antwoord were known as Die Antwoord, and Jack Parow was still an unknown. Sadly however, Bittereinder have a much smaller fan base than these acts, despite having been nominated for several local awards, and winning a SAMA (South African Music Award) in 2011 for their début album, 'n Ware Verhaal [A True Story]. 

This was the first track I heard from Bittereinder, and it's a favourite.

Bittereinder are set to deliver their sophomore album Die Dinkdansmasjien [The Thinking, Dancing Machine] this month, and have released the title track for free download. The Afrikaans lyrics are cleverly crafted and presented by Jaco van der Merwe. Despite many people not being unable to understand the lyrics, the music laid down by Peach van Pletzen and Louis Minnaar will be more than enough to get any non-Afrikaans speaker moving to the beat.

For more information about the band, here's an interview with lyricist/ rapper Jaco van der Merwe.