Reburn: One of SA's finest

The boys from Reburn.

I just realised that I haven’t made a single post about any local music or artist. It’s a true shame. South Africa is truly blessed with the amount of fantastic artists we have popping up left right and centre. One such band, that just happens to be my favourite local outfit, Reburn.

Reburn is an indie rock band straight from the Mother City. Nowadays indie is a very loosely used term, and all I can say is that these gents are very different from your usual indie band. The band is made up of Wade Brown (drums), Quinton van Rooyen (bass), Craig Hermanus (vocals & guitar), Alex McFarlane (guitar) and Scottie Moore (vocals).

I have to admit that last year was the very first time I had heard of them.  Quinton was interviewed at the station which I work at, so I obviously had to check them out. I listened to their single “No Other Place” and I was blown away. The song received quite a bit of airplay on one of South Africa’s national radio stations, 5fm. Next, I decided to share the song with some other local tracks to a few of my friends. Everyone loved the music, but one song stuck out....”No Other Place”. Some could not believe that they were a local band.

Where they truly hooked me, was when I saw them perform live. The guys were just phenomenal. It was evident that these boys absolutely love what they do. Most bands can pull a great live show off, but somehow this felt like so much more. It was just electrifying. They had me and the whole crowd dancing to songs we didn't even as if we did. One thing which I always admire in a band is variety. There is no point in having one sound and repeating it over and over. Reburn most definitely has variety, look no further than their latest offering "Won't Let Go".

They’re definitely a band to look out for. They’re going to be the talk of the country. Currently, the band is working on an album which will be available very soon.

P.S. Don’t believe me? What better way to judge a band than by hearing  them go raw and do an acoustic number:

Best Wrecking Ball Parodies

I have never been one to follow pop culture, but some things are so ridiculously in your face it is impossible to stay away from them. One such annoyance seems to be Miley Cyrus. Whatever happened to the acceptable Hannah Montana? At least there was a market for her then. Now she is just being controversial for the sake of being controversial. First that ridiculous performance at the VMAs and now comes this sorry excuse of a song and music video, Wrecking Ball.

I get more joy watching my dog lick peanut butter off of his snout, than seeing her lick a sledgehammer. Most guys would get excited hearing about a pop star showing some skin in a music video, but not in this case. There have been some fantastic responses to the video. Here are 5 of my favourites from YouTube.

5 – Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball (Nicolas Cage Edition)

Well...it’s Nicolas Cage as Miley swinging on a Wrecking Ball....kind of. Not entirely sure if it better or worse than the original. Now I wonder what the reaction would have been like had they used Mel Gibson, hmm.

4 – Wrecking Ball remake NAILED IT

Not much to this one. He...well....nailed it.

3 – Greg James does Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball........NAKED

BBC 1’s Greg James takes a swing at the video, naked....well...kinda, he does have a sock and a not so subtle “Subscribe Now” title covering his junk. Not too sure that you’ll feel the same after watching it, but hey it is does a great job at ripping on the original. The kiddies building blocks were a great touch.

2 – “Wrecking Ball” – Miley Cyrus (King The Kid COVER)

A mixture of a parody and cover by a band out of Oregon in the States called King the Kid. The video is funny. It is a remake of the original video with the three-man band putting own touch to it. The funny thing is that I actually enjoyed their rendition of the song. (Plus they lip sync the song better than Miley Cyrus....I mean how can you mess up Lip Syncing your own song)

1  –  Wrecking Ball Grand Valley State University Parody

The best parody by far. Short and...don’t exactly want to say sweet, but you get my point. It’s a seven second clip of a GVSU student swinging on a piece of art on the university’s campus. That video single headedly managed to have the piece taken down for “safety’ reasons. What a legend. 

Special mention

This vine was too good to pass up. It just sums everything up PERFECTLY. 

The question everyone wants answered - "What does the fox say?": This year's latest sensation by Ylvis.

“...but there’s one sound that no one knows. What does the fox say?”

These are the lyrics of the latest sensation to hit the internet and music world, “The Fox” by the Norwegian duo Ylvis.

To put it plain and simple, it’s crazy, absolutely crazy.  It will shock you for the first few seconds that you hear/see it, might even make you feel a bit dirty and not too sure what to expect next. But once you get passed the people dressed as animals and the initial shock factor, it grows on you...and it grows on you quickly.

Ylvis is made up of the Ylvisåker brothers,  Bård and Vegard, who host a television talk show. The video was initially created to promote the latest season of their talk show I kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis), and make a few Norwegians laugh. Little did they know that it was destined for viral success.

Many are calling it “this summer’s Gangnam Style”. Currently it is sitting well above 36 000 000 views on YouTube after a little more than 2 weeks. Will it be as popular as Gangnam Style? I have no idea. Is it awesome? HELL YES!!! It definitely has the potential to follow a similar path as Gangnam Style, but does it really matter? It in itself, to quote Borat, "is great success, I liiike!!!"

It’s just one of those videos which are an instant mood lifter. Surprisingly, “The Fox” made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 29. It’s definitely not your usual Billboard hit, but clearly people are loving it. The track has made it into the top 100 iTunes chart in over 20 countries. So these boys will be rolling in the cha-ching very shortly.

Love it or hate it, this song will become a worldwide hit for months to come. It’s only a matter of time before you find yourself doing the dance moves at your favourite club, so instead of fighting it...embrace it. 

Concert meets Oktoberfest meets Woodstock

 

 

Forget Rocking the Daisies, forget Oppikoppi, forget Tomorrow Land, forget Burning man, forget Glastonbury, matter of fact forget any big music festival you may have heard of or been to. Let me introduce you to something less commercial, more exotic, a little more wild and something you probably never even knew existed. Let me introduce you to the Guča (pronounced Goo-cha) trumpet festival. Yes...you read right...a trumpet festival.

The trumpet is a universally found instrument which is mostly associated with military wake up calls, wars, weddings and funerals. At the Guča festival, this instrument becomes the centre of one of the wildest parties found on the planet. Time magazine even listed it in its “Five Events You Won’t Want to Miss in 2013” at the beginning of this year. So it’s got to be good right? I don’t think any article I, or anyone else, writes will ever do Guča any justice. It’s one of those things you just have to experience. 

Guča is a three-day event held annually in the south-eastern European country of Serbia. More specifically, in the small town of Guča which is situated 3 hours west of Serbia’s Capital, Belgrade. The little town has a population of just over 2000 people. Come festival time Guča welcomes 300 000-600 000 visitors (you can just imagine how bad the traffic is getting into town). Unlike other festivals, the party never stops. If you're not by the stages, you're on the street drinking and partying it up. There’s no sleeping here. If you’re there, you’re there to party.

 

 

The festival is divided into three components: the opening concert on the Friday, Saturday’s celebration and then the final competition on Sunday. It’s a hedonist’s true paradise with phenomenal food to indulge in, lots of alcohol (in 2006, 4000 HECTOLITRES of beer alone was consumed), beautiful people surrounding you and of course the incredible vibe which one needs to experience to understand.

  

 

The music ranges from slow emotive songs, which seems to increase the beer consumption drastically, to upbeat Gypsy music which will have you forgetting all your worries and dancing the night and day away. Yes, Gypsy is a derogatory term. However, there is still an essence of mystic and beauty which is associated with the term. The fascinating part about all this is, while the Romani (the PC term for Gypsies) have a negative image and are horrendously treated around the rest of Europe. At Guča, the Romani music is celebrated to as if it were the end of the world.

 

 

 

At a fraction of the cost of any other festival, you will experience one of the craziest events on Europe’s summer calendar. It’s a festival where traditional meets the new, where the old party with the young, where no one is interested in your skin colour or your religion. It’s a festival which celebrates life in the most spectacular and unorthodox manner. Guča, August 2014....here I come.

Here are some clips documenting Kiera Chaplin's experience at Guča.....

1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9doYibxJ_A
2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8i_ZdCzkjs
3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gprp5sdlt8

 

Look at that I wrote that entire post without saying “it’ll blow you away” HAHA....YES, I know....I know…till next time

"Without music, life would be a mistake"- Friedrich Nietzsche 

 

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." - Bob Marley 

 

"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." - Lao Tzu 

 

"Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music." - Jimi Hendrix

 

We've all turned to music at the worst of times and we've all shared celebrations with music. Music has always been an integral part of human life, and as humans evolved so did the sweet sound of music. Music is a universally understood language, which can still express such intense emotion without a single word being said.

I am Nikola, a student living in the heart of the beautiful Cape Town. I am passionate about sport, but my soft spot is music. I have never really had the patience to become good at playing or making music but it is nevertheless still a big part of my life. It always has been. From road trips with the family, to studying for high school exams, to going crazy with friends. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hip Hop, Latin, Balkan folk, EDM, Rock, Jazz, Blues, I love it all.

Early last year I began presenting at an online radio station by the name of Zone Radio. I was instantly hooked. It is at Zone where I started discovering many South African artists, both established and up and comers. I was blown away. To this day I keep finding new artists who just wow me. It’s really gotten me excited. The South African music scene is no longer considered by many to be some joke. It is fantastic to see the support and demand grow for local talent. We are even seeing local acts make a name for themselves overseas. All I can say is, watch the SA music scene VERY closely....it’s just going to keep on booming. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store.

This blog is all about music: festivals, artists, latest trends, album reviews, gigs, news....anything and everything related to notes and beats.

 

Let’s share this musical journey together....