Die Heuwels Fantasties – Our Heritage
Hip indie dance rock combo celebrate Heritage Day (aka Braai Day) by hooking up with heavyweight hip-hop players HHP and JR, and the Grammy winning Soweto Gospel Choir. It’s a contagiously fun colab with Die Heuwels’ Pierre Greeff singing in English, HHP and JR keeping it real and the Soweto Gospel Choir adding their soaring African harmonies: “So it’s a flyday. We call it a braai day….”
Koos Kombuis – Lisa se Klavier
Legendary singer songwriter maps the moment he morphed from Andre Letoit into mythical alternative Afrikaans troubadour Koos Kombuis on this classic Voelvry-era acoustic ballad off his excellent debut, ‘Niemandsland & Beyond!’.
Pretty Blue Guns – Devil Do
Garage rock, blues and country meet at the crossroads on this deceptively laid back ballad about selling your soul for rock ‘n roll. Off the CT combo’s debut album, ‘Cutting Heads’, produced by the multi award-winning Schalk Joubert.
New Holland – Something To Believe In
Bored by those Bellville Rock City stereotypes? Well, if this breezy new exclusive single off their forthcoming album is any indictaion, then these upwardly mobile Stellenbosch indie rockers are destined for the big time.
aKING – The Heart Of A Fool
“I know my language has always been my limit…/the heart of the fool lives inside of his mouth,” serenades Laudo on this spanking new symphonic rock power ballad off the indie rock darlings’ brand new CD, ‘Against All Odds’. Produced by the multiple award-winning Theo Crous.
Ella Joyce Buckley – The Birds
Nu-folk songbird gives fans of Joanna Newsom their fix on this chiaroscuro ballad draped in moody narratives drawn from dream imagery in sublime arrangements for piano, guitar and zither. Off her critically-acclaimed album ‘For Astraea’.
The Genuines – Struggle
Mac McKenzie (guitar), Hilton Schilder (piano) and Ian Herman (drums) kick out this goema-punk rock protest blast from the past. Off the ‘Shotdown: Resistance Music from Apartheid South Africa’ soundtrack compilation album released by the seminal Shifty Records.
Rus Nerwich – For The Love Of Jazz
Funky Mother City sax man gives jazz giants Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Smith, Dexter Gordon and more a shout out on this percolated jazz joint off his Sama-nominated album, Under the Poetree.
Dance You’re On Fire – Even When He Wins He Fails
Joburg-based indie rockers bid their vocalist/keyboardist Nic Simmonds farewell with this progressive rock riff and wail workout that’s taiolr made for fans of Muse.
Felix Laband – Run Alive Run
Pioneering South African illetronica composer shares this dreamy downtempo sigh off his now classic debut album, ‘Thin Shoes in June’. Or as his label African Dope put it: “File under: lay me in a hammock with a phat one”.
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