In 1987 a young protest singer by the name of André le Toit, who would later become known as Koos Kombuis came across an album by Bernoldus Niemand at a flea market in Greenmarket Square. Kombuis was so inspired by the lyrics and music of this album that he recorded a demo of his own music and sent it off… Read more →
Thirty years ago in March 1989 the Eet Kreef! album by die Gereformeerde Blues Band was released. Read more →
Medicine boy resuscitate the Alternative for a new generation I loved Medicine boy’s 2016 album, Kinda like Electricity and rated it as one of the best albums of that year. Last year, the South African group, who are currently based in Berlin released the follow up record, Lower. The 2018 album started out with some very strong songs but midway… Read more →
It is acknowledged that Joan Jett has been an inspirational figure for female musicians since the 1970s. Not a musician but just a young teenaged, girl growing up in apartheid South Africa, her questioning of gender stereotypes gave me hope for a better future. Read more →
We are very excited about the movie Johnny is nie Dood nie, which hits South African Cinemas on 5th May 2017. Here is a synopsis of the plot, kindly provided to us by the team behind this new movie. It’s 2002. Four friends are having a braai on the Sunday after Johannes Kerkorrel’s suicide. They reminisce about their days as… Read more →
Before Bernoldus Niemand, before Johannes Kerkorrel and before Voëlvry there was a South African punk band called Wild Youth. Exploding out of Durban, for a few years they blazed their way through South Africa, leaving many lesser bands in their wake. Known for their incendiary performances which left even James Phillips (who would later record under the alias Bernoldus Niemand)… Read more →
This is a story, written by Michael Markovitz with photos by Steve Hilton-Barber, about Voëlvry that appeared in the Sunday Star on the 30th July 1989. Thanks to Mark Pautz for sharing this wonderful piece of memorabilia. Read more →
Skemervonkel In 1980 Ralph Rabie did one of his first live performances at a Skemervonkel event at the University of Potchefstroom. The setlist for that evening makes interesting reading because it reveals that, at that time, Rabie was still performing mainly cover versions of songs with English lyrics. The set included one original Rabie composition, which was also in English.… Read more →
A video that was made for the song, “Die Ander Kant”, which appeared on Johannes Kerkorrel’s last album, later took on much more significance in the wake of Rabie’s suicide. In an interview, the poet, Johann de Lange, who was a close friend of Kerkorrel, described how alarmed he had been by the imagery of the video. Rabie appears in… Read more →
These are the liner notes from the Johannes Kerkorrel compilation album, “Pêrels voor die Swyne”, which was released after his death. The liner notes give a very complete overview of Johannes Kerkorrel’s life and are reproduced in full and unedited by me. It’s a big read, but very worthwhile because you will learn a lot about the life and times… Read more →