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Love, Sechaba

“Godot”

IG: @lovesechaba FB: Sechaba Sakhile Ramphele

Sechaba Ramphele, known on stage as Love, Sechaba, is a singersongwriter and music producer from Johannesburg. His music draws inspiration from 80s and 90s pop and channels modern alternative music. He describes his music as “experimental”. His music is available on most major streaming platforms.

Dave Starke

“Ghost Train Through the Freestate”

IG: @davestarke FB: Dave Starke

Dave Starke is a South African singer-songwriter whose music “strives to capture human moments in musical form”. His music is lyric-driven and mainly performed on guitar with the occasional addition of percussion and piano. Dave’s folksy music is all about telling stories, his vocals are therefore his most important instrument. His music is available on most major streaming platforms.

Wren Hinds

“The Dance of Life”

IG: @wrenhinds FB: Wren Hinds

Wren Hinds is a singer songwriter and music producer who hails from the east coast of South Africa. Hinds adopts an honest approach to crafting songs and delivers an, acoustically driven sound with a reflective and honest lyrical sensibility. His music is available on most streaming platforms.

Local publishers to support during COVID-19 (and always)

Ashleigh Pascoe

The impact of COVID-19 has been detrimental to small businesses and the world of small publishing companies is no stranger to these difficult times. Here are a few local publishers that deserve your support, not only during COVID-19, but always.

Modjaji Books

Modjaji Books is an independent feminist publishing house that “fills a gap by providing a platform for serious and groundbreaking writing by new and established women writers with brave voices”. Colleen Higgs started this publishing house in 2007 after she recognised the need for small South African publishers with big causes. Modjaji has a diverse range for you to choose from, whether you are interested in short stories, biographies, memoirs, essays, crime fiction, drama, or poetry. If your choices are overwhelming, you can always start off with the publishing house’s best seller, The Pride of Noonlay, by Shanice Ndlovu.

Image: facebook.com

Blackbird Books South Africa

Blackbird Books is a publishing house that started as an imprint of Jacana Media in 2015, with the goal of becoming a platform for more black voices. As of 2020, Blackbird Books became an independent publisher, and this can all be attributed to the vision of publisher Thabiso Mahlape. Blackbird can describe this development as “a groundbreaking move for the South African literary landscape” because of how it has “established a home” for stories from African perspectives, especially the perspectives of black authors. Blackbird also publishes books for queer audiences, audiences rooted in faith, a vast array of African audiences, female audiences, and just generally for people who wish to see perspectives that are not always portrayed in mainstream publishing. We recommend BBB title, The Eternal Audience of One, which was recently republished in America under the same title.

African Perspectives

African Perspectives is a Johannesburg-based publishing house with the philosophy of: “Your perspective creates your thoughts, the way to change your thoughts is to change your perspective”. This publishing house publishes for people of the African continent and has the goal of diversifying African publishing to the point where it simply becomes an integral and normalised part of the South African publishing industry. African Perspectives focuses on their “ability to define variables rather than dismissing them”. These “variables” result in the publication of books with themes that encourage deeper questioning, such as: The Empowered Native by Letepe Maisela, Memory is the Weapon by don Mattera, and Mayibuye: 25 Years of Democracy in South Africa by Lawrence Mdudduzi. This is the publisher that will feed your cravings for insightful and philosophical questions about the role of race and culture in society.

Entertainment Editor’s Picks #1

Black Letter Media

This company is an interesting one, as it is not only just a publisher, but a media company. This company promotes the works of African authors through film, television, poetry and book publishing. The entire structure of this company encourages different and “new forms of creative writing in English and indigenous languages”. They are a publishing house designed to challenge the content that is currently in the field of South Africa. The most interesting thing about this company is that they do not choose set genres to publish, but rather publish whatever they feel really sparks the “narrative discussions” about “literary aesthetics”. Even if you are not a book worm, take a look into this company, and enjoy the importance for current literature being used to “build on the gains of past movements”.

Image: blackletterm.com

Image: Blackbirdbooks.africa

Some local tunes to get you in the groove for the new semester: 1. Stars – Kiash Arjun 2. One More Day – Martin Gill 3. Find Barry – Zen Garden 4. Sorry Mom – Zebra 5. Cocoon – Reets 6. Your Eyes Through Mine – Steve Umculo 7. 22 – December Streets 8. The Latin Tune – Pedro Barbosa 9. Drinking by Myself – Lourens vd Berg 10. Could She – Carla Franco 11. Run It – Joy Club Cassidy Cassidy 12. Methane – Myburgh 13. Restless – The Stinging Rogers 14. Stick It to the Man – We Kill Cowboys 15. She – Upper Mill

COVID Testing at Loftus Park Shopping Centre

Image:africanperspectives.co.za • 24 Hour turnaround time on PCR testing • 1 hour turnaround on Antigen and Antibody testing • Convenient drive-through testing sites • Open 7 days a week • No bookings required • Travel certificates when required • Dedicated call centre for any follow up queries. Loftus Park Shopping Centre Undercover Parking, 416 Kirkness St, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0007