Warrick Sony

Warrick Sony
Background information
Birth name	Warrick Swinney
Also known as	Kalahari Surfer, Wreck Sony
Born	1958 Port Elizabeth
Origin	South Africa
Genres	electronic agit prop dubglitch world music
Occupations	Musician, record producer, composer, performer
Instruments	studio, guitar, drums, bass guitar, tabla, sitar, trombone
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Shifty Records African Dope, ReR, Microdot
Associated acts	Kalahari Surfers
Website	http://www.kalaharisurfers.co.za

Warrick Sony (born 1958) is a South African composer, producer, sonic artist, performer and sound designer, who has worked for two decades on a multitude of films, documentaries, art events, theatre, dance, and project albums. He was born Warrick Swinney in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in 1958.

He is the founder and sole member of the Kalahari Surfers, solo recording projects working from Shifty Studios (Johannesburg) in the mid-1980s. Known for five albums of politically radical musical song/satire banned for possession in South Africa, the Kalahari Surfers' work was released exclusively through the London-based Recommended Records. During this time the Surfers toured Europe with English session musicians and played concerts in East Berlin, Moscow, Riga and Leningrad.

Warrick has produced albums for Sony, BMG, Recommended, M.E.L.T. 2000, African Dope, Microdot, and Shifty Records and worked running the Shifty Music label at BMG (Africa) for two years in the mid-1990s, mostly concentrating on developing and promoting foreign African music in South Africa. He engineered the Brian Eno workshops at the Baxter Theatre.

Under the name Trans-Sky produced “Killing Time (CD)” and "Heaven To Touch " (E.P) with Brendan Jury and toured South Africa opening the Massive Attack tour.

Now based in Cape Town at Milestone Studios, Warrick has released four albums through African Dope and Microdot Records, and been involved in various art and music and DJ events in the city, including Faultlines, Soft Serve, Vortex, and Mother City Queer Party. He plays at He is currently in a creative partnership with Murray Anderson doing mostly commercials and film scores and music for theatre.

International performances include the 2005 Wiesen Festival in Austria.

Composing and performance at the opening of “Turbulence” with Dizu PLaatjies at the South African art Exhibition in Salzburg – Red Bull Hangar 7 event. March 2007

As a specialist sound designer he has worked on feature films like the Mangler, directed by Tobe Hooper., SMS Sugar Man dir Aryan Kaganof,the Shadowed Mind dir Cedric Sundstrom and multi media theatre productions such as William Kentridge's Ubu and the Truth Commission, Faustus in Africa and Handspring Puppet‘s “Tall Horse” and “The Chimp Project”, Akin Omotoso’s "Jesus and the Giant", Aryan Kaganof's "SMS Sugarman" as well as Museum installations like the San Rock Art Museum and contributions for the Dada South exhibition at the Cape Town National Gallery. In 2007 he co- arranged material for "The Triptic" a CD Polish metal band "Sweetnoise" working closely with Piotr "Glaca" Mohamed

He has been invited as a guest lecturer to Rhodes University in South Africa, running post-graduate masters classes in audio post-production and sound design and was invited to present a performance for Unyazi: International Electronic Music Symposium at Wits University Johannesburg as well as the Unyasi 2008 "Fear of the Unknown". He performed with Victor Gama and Dizu Plaatjies in "Makakata Musique" and "Turn to Traveller" at Grahamstown National Arts Festival July 2009. [2] and contributed sound design to a number of Baxter Theatre productions including "Cissie" directed by Nadia Davids, Sister Breyani directed by Lara Bye and "I am my-own wife" directed by Janice Honeyman A 2010 Kalahari Surfers album One Party State has been released through MicrodotRecords material of which was toured with the African Soul Rebels tour of UK 2010 alongside Oumou Sangaré & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou organized by Music Beyond Mainstream. Recent film composing commissions include "Jozi" a comedy directed by Craig Fremont produced by Thom Pictures &Anant Singh. and "Mr Bob" TV feature film for Canal Plus (France)

List of Collaborative Work

• Compositions and sound design for William Kentridge's theatre productions Faustus in Africa and Ubu and the Truth Commission
• Compositions and/or sound design with South African artists:
• Malcolm Payne on Faultlines,
• Tracy Rose - "Last Supper"
• Rodney Place
• "Couch Dancing" exhibition
• "World Service" for Adelaide Arts Festival
• Brett Murray - gave permission for the "Muti Media" cover which includes the Short Pants sculpture
• sound design for Lerato Shadi’s “Hema” shown at Michael Stevenson [3]
• Compositions and sound design for Handspring Puppet‘s theatre productions “Tall Horse” and “The Chimp Project”
• music for "Ochre and Water:Himba chronicles from the land of Kaoko" for Doxa Productions
• An album with Sowetan poet Lesego Rampolokeng, including a series of concerts in Brazil.
• Co-producing and composing with Louis Mhlanga notably the African Axemen album and Musiki Ye Afrika
• Turntabla, an electro-dub project with ex-Orb members Greg Hunter and Kris Weston
• Co-composed music (with Murray Anderson) for John Boorman In My Country
• Co-composed music (with Murray Anderson) for "Home Affairs" dir Minky Schlessinger
• Co-composed music (with Murray Anderson) forMadiba: The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela Canadian Broadcasting documentary awarded the Gemini Award for best music.
• Co-composing music with Murray Anderson for the Museum of Rock Art and "Origins" the film series from this
• Co-composed music (with Murray Anderson) for Lalela film music library [4]
• composed music, sound design and final mix for "Zimbabwe"feature film directed by Darryl Roodt.
• composed music, sound design and final mix for "End of the Road" TV feature dir Greg Latter
• composed music, sound design and final mix for "Ugugu No Andile" (Romeo & Juliet) TV six part series dir Minky Schlesinger
• Live performance at the Armchair Theatre with Felix Leband
• composed music, sound design and final mix for Akin Omotoso’s "Jesus and the Giant"
• sound design and final mix for Aryan Kaganof's "SMS Sugarman"
• sound design for "Dreamtime" dir Brett Bailey
• sound design for "Cissie"[5] dir Nadia Davids
• sound design for "I Am My Own Wife" The Baxter Theatre Directed by Janice Honeyman
• sound design for "Sister Breyani" The Baxter Theatre Directed by Lara Bye
• composed music, sound design and final mix for "Jacobs Cross"TV series for The Bomb Shelter
• composed music, sound design and final mix for "SIRI" Kenyan TV series for Alison Production
• composed music for "The Scribes of Timbuktu" dir Guy Spiller
• co- arranged material for (2007) The Triptic by Polish metal band "Sweetnoise" with Piotr "Glaca" Mohamed
• performed with Victor Gama and Dizu Plaatjies in "Makakata Musique" and "Turn to Traveller" at Grahamstown National Arts Festival July 2009. Musical Futurista

[6]

• final mix and sound design for "The Silver Fez" dir Lloyd Ross
• designed Kalahari Surfers drum modules for PureMagnetik for the Ableton Live music software

[7]

• composed music for "One Party State " Kalahari Surfers release through Microdot
• Toured Kalahari Surfers group with the African Soul Rebels tour of UK 2010

alongside Oumou Sangaré & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou organized by Music Beyond Mainstream

• composed music for "Jozi" dir Craig Freimont
• composed music for "Mr Bob" dir Thomas Vincent

References

• 24
• ArtThrob - the Limitations of Technique
• ArtThrob - the Limitations of Technique
• Bräuninger, Prof Jürgen
• Chimp Project composers notes
• Chimp Project composers notes
• Handspring Sogolon Puppets - Tall Horse
• Kagablog*Milestone Studio
• New York Times

External links

• Artthrob
• Kaganof