Kalahari Surfers
| Kalahari Surfers | |
|---|---|
 Poster Beat Apartheid tour 1986 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | South Africa |
| Genres | Experimental |
| Years active | 1982–2007 |
| Labels | Recommended, African Dope |
| Associated acts | Felix Laband, Krushed & Sorted, The Real Estate Agents |
| Website | Kalahari Surfers homepage |
| Members | |
| Warrick Sony | |
| Past members | |
|
Recordings: Grenville Williams Teba Shumba |
|
The Kalahari Surfers is the moniker of South African composer and musician Warrick Sony. It began as a solo recording project in the early 1980s to subvert the total media and propaganda onslaught of P. W. Botha’s Apartheid South Africa. With guest musicians, the Kalahari Surfers recorded five albums, toured Europe and played concerts in East Berlin, Moscow, Riga and Leningrad.
Contents |
[edit] The 1980s
The Kalahari Surfers began with a 1981 home recorded cassette titled "Gross National Products". They then built a reputation as being one of the most politically radical musical forces in South Africa. Their second release was a double single package "Burning Tractors Keep Us Warm" released by Pure Freude Records. German group Can were involved with this label and, along with other,so called, krautrock bands, were an important influence on the Surfers sound at this time. Shifty Records tried to release their 1982 release album "Own-Affairs" [1] but could not find a vinyl pressing plant who would do it. The reasons given by EMI were that it was "too political".
Those who owned the means of production were controlled firstly by themselves (self-censorship i.e. those too afraid to put a step wrong made it impossible for others to realize their objectives) and then by the State: anything which had made it into the mainstream which was found undesirable was then banned.
Chris Cutler's London based Recommended Records pressed the album and set up an alliance that continues to this day. Cutler (ex-Henry Cow drummer) helped set up tours and in 1985 they put out the second album Living In The Heart Of The Beast to critical acclaim.[2][3] The album title was taken from the title of a Tim Hodgkinson composition, "Living in the Heart of the Beast" on the Henry Cow album In Praise of Learning (1975). A unique South African album, Living in the Heart of the Beast pushed the barriers of local independent music. Stylistically it ranged from dub-reggae, art rock, rap, and punk—Zappa-ish in places (with the use of rapid tape splice edits and juxtaposing of ironic bits of state propaganda broadcasts).
The Surfers moved to London to complete the third album Sleep Armed and to perform live concerts there and in Europe. The Kalahari Surfers were seen as far afield as the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Moscow, Leningrad, Riga, East Berlin and London. The 1980s ended with the release of a fourth album Bigger Than Jesus (Beachbomb) which was officially banned in South Africa followed by concerts in the Soviet Union and East Germany (the first South African rock group to do that).These albums are all available in their original form as downloads with inserts and scans of the covers etc at [2]
[edit] Post 1980s
The new millennium consolidated the New South Africa and new technologies influenced the Surfers sound. The avant garde moved into the mainstream and, in the clubs of Cape Town, the Surfers found a younger audience who were drawn to their eclectic electro world-dub, sound. The new millennium saw a number of releases through African Dope Records and Microdot Records:
- One Party State saw the licensing of tracks for various films commercials and television,
- Muti Media featured a sculpture by artist Brett Murray on the cover
- Conspiracy of Silence, and
- Panga Management followed.
Remix projects include work for M.E.L.T. 2000 on the Busi Mhlongo remix album as well as an "African Cheese" set for the BBC Food series Cooked in Africa.
- One Party State is the most recent release on Microdot and was debuted at the African Soul Rebels Tour 2010
[edit] Recent work
- the Wiesen Festival in Austria 2006 and the Unyazi Electronic Music symposium at Wits University, Johannesburg,
- Turbulence the South African art Exhibition in Salzburg—Red Bull's Hangar 7 event, March 2007.[4]
Recent work includes:
- the experimental sound design and final mix for the feature film SMS Sugarman
- Co-producing and arranging for the album The Triptic (2007) for Polish metal band Sweet Noise
- Composing and designing music with Dizu Plaatjies for the opening of "Turbulence" Salzburg—Red Bull's Hangar
- 12 concert tour of UK with "African Soul Rebels 2010" playing with Oumou Sangaré and Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou
[edit] Discography
- Gross National Products cassette (1982)
- Burning Tractors Keep Us Warm double-single (1983, Pure Freude-Germany)
- Own Affairs(1984, Recommended)
- Sleep Armed (1987, Recommended)
- Living in the Heart of the Beast (1986, Recommended)
- Bigger Than Jesus (Beachbomb in SA) (1989, Recommended/Shifty)
- End Beginnings (with Lesego Rampolokeng) (1989, Recommended/Shifty)
- The Eighties Volume 1 (Recommended)
- The Eighties Volume 2 (Microdot Records)
- Killing Time with Transsky (1997, tiktikbang)
- Paralyzer Ghetto Muffin (1999, Milestone)
- Akasic Record (1999, African Dope)
- Muti Media (2003, African Dope)
- Tall Horse (2005, Milestone)
- Conspiracy of Silence (2005, Microdot)
- Panga Management (2007, Microdot)
- One Party State (2010, Microdot)
[edit] Compilations
- Munen Muso 1 (Network 77)
- The Sound of Dub (Echo Beach)
- Breathe Sunshine (Amabala)
- The Mothers Township Sessions (Mr Bongo Recordings)
- Yehlisan'umoya Ma-Afrika—Urban Zulu Remixes (2000, M.E.L.T.)
- African Meltdown Volume One - with Greg Hunter
- The Rough Guide to the Music Of South Africa- Rough Guides
- Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation (Island Records OST1997)[5]
- U KNOW ? Mixes Vol. 1 (2000, M.E.L.T.)
- U KNOW ? Mixes Vol. 3 (2000, M.E.L.T.)
- U KNOW ? Mixes Vol. 4 (2000, M.E.L.T.)
- A Naartjie in our Sosaatie(Shifty)
- New Africa Rock (Shifty)
- Forces Favourites (Shifty)
- Rē Records Quarterly Vol.1 No.1 (1985, Recommended)
- RēR Quarterly Vol.4 No.1 (1994, Recommended)
- Art Bears: The Art Box (2003, Recommended)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "kagablog". http://kaganof.com/kagablog/category/contributors/christo-doherty/. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ "Viciously critical and historically intelligent", Jon Savage: New Statesman, 8 August 1986
- ^ "Kalahari Surfers bravely ignore the many paradoxes… throw in the gauntlet and preach succession", Dele Fadele: New Musical Express, 3 October 1986
- ^ Kalahari Surfers and Friends for Red Bull, Peak People blog
- ^ "Palm World Voices: Mandela". http://www.palmpictures.com/film/palm-world-voices-mandela.php. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- Melody Maker 5 September 1987
- TNT issue 214 p. 48
- MMN 18/81 sete8 (Germany)
- Bad Alchemy Vol. 8-1987
- banning: Weekly Mail September 1–7, 1989
- Unyazi: website- and Prof Jurgen Brauninger Vol15 No 1 [3]
