Author Archives: Marnus Strydom

Maddy Behrens

Artist Spotlight: Maddy Behrens

Making it in the music industry is hard. In South Africa, even harder. The scene is small, good (paying) venues are scarce, and it takes time and hard work to get on to a festival line-up. Living for the music isn’t free.

Enter Maddy Behrens, a folk/pop musician reminiscent of Gabrielle Aplin and Lisa Mitchell.  The young musician traded her busking corners of KwaZulu-Natal for the hustle and bustle of the big city to pursue a career in music full time. And she’s not losing any momentum. We caught up with her on the cusp of her second Oppikoppi performance.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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Lush Festival 2017: A Photo Review

All images by Marnus Strydom and Henk Labuschagne.

All images by Marnus Strydom and Henk Labuschagne.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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Koos Kombuis Lush

Van die kombuisvloer na die verhoog – Koos Kombuis gaan Lush Festival toe

Suid Afrika is ‘n kulturele land, daar’s geen twyfel daarin in nie. Ons hardloop op diversiteit. En vir al ons verskille het ons almal een ding in gemeen; ons hou van partytjie. Die beste bewys hiervan is die menigde kuns – en musiekfeeste in ons land wat vir ons beskikbaar is.

Laas jaar is die nuweling Lush Festival op die been gebring, en het hy sy voete tussen die ou menere gevind. Dié jaar dans hy saam.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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Aidan Martin Band

End of Daze: Aidan Martin talks music, politics and Cape Town’s newest music festival

October saw the release of Aidan Martin‘s latest single Refugee, a tour-de-force rock and roll anthem perfectly fitted for tense political state of mind the world finds itself in lately.

Aidan Martin is the real deal. With a career stretching for almost a decade, Aidan has been touring, moving around and adapting. A true musical refugee in every sense of the word, never settling for what is given to him, swimming upstream from the norm for a place to call his own. Aidan Martin is one of the true few keeping rock & roll alive in South Africa.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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Kabaal klankbaan - Robot Girlfriend

Love In The Time Of The Robot Uprising – Kabaal klankbaan releases Robot Girlfriend

As we move further and further into the future of convenience and technology, new possibilities are arising to find love, be it scanning dating apps for the perfect partner, stalking the girl of your dreams online or building the perfect mechanical partner that passes the Turing test to keep you warm at night. The Stepford Wife generation.

Tuesday saw the release of the brand new single from the Pretoria based indie/folk act Kabaal klankbaan in which he explores the very real theme of building the perfect girlfriend. You know, one that would not break your heart.

World, meet ‘Robot Girlfriend’.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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Die Drie Edna's - Verplaas - Photo supplied by Die Drie Edna's

Verplaas – Song and Dance and Farm Murders

I don’t know much about theater or cabaret. I can’t remember the last time I went to such a production. I do know live music. And cinema. And I would like to think that I know good entertainment when I see it.

This changed when I broke my dry spell last Thursday with the stage production, Verplaas. Verplaas is a cabaret by Loané van Sandwyk, Anja van den Berg and Madelein Joubert. The project stemmed out of the three actresses doing their final practical for their honours degree at the University of Stellenbosch, and went on to sell out shows at US Woordfees and Vryfees this year. Not bad for a debut production.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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Graeme Watkins Project Love in Abundance

The Graeme Watkins Project – In Abundance

Love is a wonderful thing. It brightens up even the sorriest of existences, leaving the lovestruck victim radiating a vast array of colour to the world around him/her. A hormone on fire, lighting your way around the dark world. This feeling can be found personified in the new Graeme Watkins Project video for ‘Love in Abundance’. Colour jumps off every frame as the frontman, Graeme Watkins himself, states “We’ve got love in abundance’. Indeed.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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The Neon Demon 2016 movies

20 Exciting movies coming in 2016

A new year brings new films and character to fall in love with. Last year saw innovative pictures come to life. From an entire movie shot in a single take, shooting in the harshest conditions using only natural light, to George Miller’s masterpiece that is Mad Max: Fury Road. With cinema always pushing itself, it’s hard not to get excited about the new ideas coming to screen. So between all the reboots, comic book adaptions and indie features, here’s what I’m most looking forward to seeing in 2016.

Marnus Strydom

Less Wes Anderson, more Wes Craven.

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