Note: This is part two of my interview with We Are Charlie. Completists should probably read part 1 first. I’ve been sitting down with two members of We Are Charlie at Pop Filter Studios in Pretoria. I’m intrigued by what they tell me about their recording process. Beyond their straight-cut lyrics, they Continue Reading
Floris Groenewald
Floris sometimes writes things when he's not watching movies or playing video games or editing videos or folk-rock singing/songwriting.
Suicide Squad: Unconventional heroes, conventionally
One thing Suicide Squad (the latest film in DC Extended Universe film series that started with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) did right, was choosing a title that’s hard and awkward to portmanteau the word suck or meh or boring with. Unfortunately, the movie is still pretty meh. Sui-SUCK Squad, Continue Reading
Staring at the Sun, and how We Are Charlie write honest songs
I met Dylan Christie and Wesley Reinecke on an ice-cold night at Pop Filter Studios in Pretoria. It’s right behind Menlyn. The third member (and bassist) of We Are Charlie, Rowan van Eeden, was away on a trip to Germany. But between Dylan & Wesley, they had more than enough to say. Continue Reading
Onder Ou Tafelberg: Akkedis kyk terug na 20 jaar
Akkedis bestaan uit die bebaarde langhaar tweelingbroers van Somerset-Wes, Rudolph en Arthur Dennis, met AJ Graham as derde lid. Hulle musiek het ‘n element van klassieke eenvoud, ten spyte van hulle voorkoms. Dis ‘n soort pseudo-folk blues-rock met ‘n groot fokus op lirieke, en sterk Afrika- invloede. Hulle sing hoofsaaklik in Afrikaans, met Continue Reading
Gazing Vacantly? Boketto releases their debut album, About You
The last time I heard a groovy jazz-rock band who named themselves after a Japanese word with no English translation – oh wait, that’s never happened before. Enter Boketto. Apparently roughly translated, it means ‘The act of gazing vacantly into the distance, without thinking.’ Which is a pretty cool name for Continue Reading
Q&A: Jerain tells of her journey in music with new single, Gold
Jerain, a Namibian-born urban alt-pop singer-songwriter currently based in Cape Town, just released her newest single, Gold, today. It’s an interesting song, lyrically, that explores the inside of the music business, and addresses some of the challenges and ups-and-downs that come with writing and recording songs.
Independence Day: Resurgence only increases in destruction and repetition
It’s not like Independence Day is really that much of a classic. Mostly for the fact that it hasn’t aged that well. It has Michael Bay-like levels of senseless spectacle, overstated American patriotism, an overly romantic view of characters and plotlines, and special effects that don’t hold up to modern viewing. But Continue Reading
Life on the road with Gerald Clark and the Goldengoose
If you haven’t heard of Gerald Clark yet, you’ll almost certainly recognise him as the cool and lively “Afroboer” bluesman who regularly pops up on festival and other stages throughout South Africa. Last year he released his fourth album, titled Afroboer & the GoldenGoose, which was largely inspired by his meeting his girlfriend, Continue Reading
Gerald Clark – Hesitate [Live at STRAB 2016]
This movie is NOT porn: Springbok Nude Girls
Before Fokofpolisiekar and The Parlotones, the breakthrough, height-of-alternative rock band from South Africa was Springbok Nude Girls. I don’t know if they were really “a band who captured the imagination of a generation” [the film’s tagline], but they were definitely big, important, and defining in the history of South African music. The Continue Reading