Tomorrow we Jump

"You my friend, are a crazy rebel"

The interview I did with Desmond & The Tutus at Arcade Empire is out in this week's Perdeby. Don't forget, you can click on the article to read it in fullscreen!

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Ndo'yika iThambo

Almost half way through the week. Yes! That means it's one day closer to the PHFat album launch on Thursday night and the much-anticipated Two Door Cinema Club on Friday. Life is good.
In the meantime, you should take a listen to this song, Ndo'yika iThambo by Sindy Dondolo. It's great. I came across it on the splendidly put together Zoo City soundtrack.
Also, if anyone comes across any cool artists that you think I should know about, leave me a comment or drop me an email. I'm keen to get my hands on some new stuff!

Rag Interviews

I just discovered how to embed. Yay. Ok, yes, laugh all you want. I admit it, I'm a bit slow when it comes to technology. But anyway, here's the interviews I did at Rag with Tumi Molekane, Southern Gypsey Queen, Dance, You're on Fire, The December Streets and Fokofpolisiekar.The full interviews are still on the Perdeby website.You can check out the whole paper while you're at it. Enjoy!

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Oscar favourites

Jirey

'Jirey' by Holiday Murray. Such a feel good song. Mad love for this video as well. They're playing in Joburg on 16 March at Townhall (event link). Makes me sad that I won't be able to see them. I'm going to be away that weekend. Yo Holiday Murray, pretty please visit P-Town soon!

Tricksy

LARK & YESTERDAY'S PUPIL- ARCADE EMPIRE 

I love words. I love how they sound. I love how when you put them all together, they tell a little story. Most of all, I love the pictures they are able to paint in your imagination.

As much as I adore words, there is just no way that I could sufficiently describe Friday night for you unless you were there, so I apologize in advance. Yesterday's Pupil got the crowd warmed up for Lark. I'd like to think of Peach van Pletzen as the King Midas of the South African music industry- everything he touches turns to gold. Yesterday's Pupil is no exception. Peach played his new song, 'The Beast', which features Tumi Molekane. What a remarkable collaboration. If you haven't downloaded the new Yesterday's Pupil, I suggest you get on it pronto by going here. It's all kinds of greatness.

Then it was time for Lark. Watching this band is something of an out of body experience. Paul Rez pounding on the drum reminds me of some sort of ancient tribal dance that Inge Beckmann joins in on. Her vocal range is just incredible. I looked around me to see the audience's reaction to the infectious music. It's like we were all part of a trance. Lark does that to you though. It's just mind-blowing. I walked out of Arcade Empire in a bit of a daze, not really knowing what to do with myself but smiling contently from ear to ear. What a show.

Peach van Pletzen- Yesterday's Pupil

Inge Beckmann- Lark

Too cool for school

Rabele Mokone

"I just want to sing, I love you baby"

Mirah (left) and Inge Beckmann from Lark (right)

Today's Song of the Day is The Garden, by Mirah. It reminds me a bit of one of the most epic South African bands,  Lark. Speaking of Lark, they're playing tonight at Arcade Empire. Hells yes. What a way to end the week. Arcade, your lineups have been making me very happy indeed. Thank you kindly.

"Everyone knows about it, from the Queen of England to the hounds of hell"

Using real footage and sounds from a working science lab, the Inside Knowledge team have reconstructed the White Stripes song Seven Nation Army from scratch.

We spent an afternoon recording members of the lab as they performed repeated blast tests. The work would seem familiar to any musician – tuning instruments, setting up recording devices and repeating the same actions to get the desired result.While it may seem lighthearted, there’s a strong message behind the video. The finished product of a scientific investigation, like a song, is inevitably the result of days of practice, experimentation and collaboration. A scientist might have an idea of what they want their investigation to sound like, but the process of science will throw up challenges, test creativity and occasionally uncover entirely new melodies.

Instruments used:

Bass Guitar: Main sensor output cable

Bass Drum: Blast Rig

Toms: Hammer & Storm Case

Hi-Hat: Oil Spray

Cymbal: Blast Plate

'Vocals': Laces to contain dummy leg during blast

'Guitar': Accelerometer cable & Fastening Strings

Tutti Frutti

I came across Cristina Otero's work on My Modern Metropolis and was completely blown away. This talented Spanish photographer is only 16 (yes, you read right). Her collection of self-portraits is called Tutti Frutti. I love the vibrant colours. They just scream summer. 

If you want to see more of Cristina's awe-inspiring work, visit her website by clicking here,

find her on Twitter over here or you can even give her Facebook page a shot.  

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us"

A really incredible cover of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit by Patti Smith. It incorporates a bit of her poetry as well. Enjoy!

"Your high fives are far too hard"

On Friday night, Desmond and The Tutus played at Arcade Empire. Holey moley, what a  show. They don't play in P-Town very often so it's easy to forget just how much fun they are. It irritates me that they never get nominated for any awards. They're constantly overlooked so I'm going to dub them the band with the wildest dance moves in the local music industry. And the band with the most impressive amount of collective facial hair. Ha. Thanks for the jive, Desmond. 

(You can catch my interview with the band in Perdeby on 27 February)

"Rollin' down the street, smokin' endo, sippin' on gin and juice"

Local musician, Gil Hockman, did this cover of Snoop Dogg's 'Gin and Juice'. Could they be any more different? I think not. I love Gil Hockman's voice though. I think I need to get my hands on his album pronto. Below is a video of Snoop's version so you can make a proper comparison. 

"I shot a man down"

 

Today we're going back to the 50s with new kids on the block, Peachy Keen. The song is called 'I Shot a Man Down' and is the Cape Town-based rockabilly band's first single. I love the music video- reminds me a bit of Thelma and Louise. Brilliant. 

Fancy some street style?

I've always wanted to include bit of street style on Are You Charlie? I think it's a lot more inspiring than seeing looks from the runway. It's all about how real people make clothes their own. For my very first street style post, this is my dear friend, Liandri. You can expect to see a lot more of her. She has a wardrobe I wouldn't mind raiding any day. 

"Theme from Rocky, the theme from Speed, all end with me wishing I was Keanu Reeves"

 I'm starting a new feature on my little blog. I' ll be posting a rad tune for you guys everyday.  Easy as that.

The first song is by Shortstraw. It pays homage to the one and only Keanu Reeves. The nonsensical lyrics are hilarious. I like it when bands don't take themselves too seriously- it's refreshing. Thanks for the laugh, Shortstraw.   

Good news for all you P-Towners. Shortstraw are gigging at Arcade Empire on 9 March along with Fulka and Wrestlerish.

Valentines Shmalentines

Some call it Valentine's Day. I call it Tuesday. I still like this card though. Forgive me for posting this picture without citing a source, I can't for the life of me find it and I really wanted to share it anyway. 

In other news, I interviewed a couple of bands at the UP Beats Festival last week Friday. If you are keen to take a look, you can go here. I had the most amazing time and the best part is, I think I'm one step closer to finding out what I want to do with my life. Yay me.

I wanna dance with somebody

A little tribute to Whitney Houston- Fleet Foxes' awesome cover of I Wanna Dance With Somebody. The video isn't anything to write home about, but the song definitely is. Enjoy!

Jozi Film Festival

10-12 February 2012

Finally, a film festival for Joburgers, by Joburgers. Next Friday will see the start of what hopes to be an annual event in every Joburger’s calendar. The festival will be hosted at two venues- The Bioscope situated in the very ‘seen’ Fox Street (Johannesburg CBD) as well as The Kensington Club (Kensington, east of Johannesburg). Prominent sponsors of the event include Fort Greene Filmworks and Wits Film and Television Department.

The festival will showcase not only some of South Africa’s more established film-makers, like Jyoti Mistry (I Mike What I Like) but also up-and-coming ones like Michael Rix (Tengers). What sets this festival apart from other South Africa film ones (such as Durban’s DIFF or Encounter’s Documentary Festival) is that entrants must be from Johannesburg, or their film must be about Johannesburg. While critics of the fest might grumble at this exclusivity, there is a method to this madness. It aims to reflect the dynamic, vibrant and ever changing city by those who know it best- its inhabitants. Broadly speaking, the films could perhaps be considered love letters to a city commonly referred to as the “New York of Africa”.

The organizers hope that one of the main appealing factors of the festival is that the films will be  widely accessible. For this reason, the admission fees are very reasonable, with some screenings being free and others at R20 per viewing, thus, not only drawing industry pros and arts students but also locals. On Sunday 12 February, Taku Kaskela, HOD of Wits Film and Television will be hosting free seminar workshops at the Kensington venue.

On the final night of the festival (Sunday 12 February), awards will be handed out. Categories include: Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Animated Film, Best Fiction and Non Fiction Short, Best Mobile Phone Film, Best Student Film, and Audience Choice Award.

For more information and a full guide to the films visit www.jozifilmfestival.co.za or email brendon@jozifilmfestival.co.za or shareen@jozifilmfestival.co.za

I made a cake

For some odd reason, I have never been able to bake a cake that doesn't end up getting chucked in the bin. The other day I made this sticky lemon cake and what do you know, it was a success. Yes! This cake is very similar to the Greek cake, revani. The biggest difference is that revani is made with semolina. It's a light, fresh alternative to something rich and chocolatey. Not that there's anything wrong with that either.

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, at room temperature

250g caster sugar

2 lemons

3 eggs

75g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

150g ground almonds

150g natural yoghurt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Set aside.

2. Cream together the butter and 150g caster sugar in a large bowl. Grate the zest from both lemons, add to the bowl, and mix together. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time. If the mixture shows signs of curdling, add 1 tsp of flour.

3. Mix the flour, baking powder, and ground almonds together. Sift into a seperate bowl, then fold into the butter and eggs with a metal spoon. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the yogurt. Pour the mixture into the tin.

4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the centre of the cake is just firm to the touch. Do not open the oven door for the first 20 minutes.
5. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Heat the remaining sugar and the juice from the remaining lemon in a saucepan. Pierce the cake several times with a skewer, then drizzle the syrup over the cake. Leave to cool before removing the cake from the tin.

David Beckham for H&M

David Beckham's new underwear collection for H&M hits the streets today. Now, I'm not usually a fan of dear ol' Becks. His appeal instantly disappears when he opens his mouth but these pictures have silenced me for good. Probably because they can't speak. Ha.

(Found via Vogue)

Die Antwoord- I Fink You Freeky

So here's the new Die Antwoord video, I Fink U Freeky. Is it so wrong that it's right or have they just gone too far this time? You decide. There are just two things I know for sure- 1. They are skilled at causing a stir and 2. They are, without a doubt, mother flippin' crazy.

Water Knot

It's rather interesting to see how up-and-coming bands are using Twitter to promote their music. Every now and then one of them follow me on Twitter and every now and then I indulge them by listening to their music. More often than not, they're pretty average and forgettable. But then I came across Water Knot, a four-piece band from the States, and I actually quite liked them, so much so that I want to share their music with all of you. This track is called Big Brother and if your ears like what you hear, you can download it here. So, well done Water Knot- awesome track and awesome PR skills. You've won me over.

Blackboard brooches

These awesome blackboard brooches are by Zoe Brand. They come with a little piece of chalk so you can change the message as often as you like.  Quite cute, yes? (Found here.)