THE LAKE #006 by THE LAKE MAGAZINE

ELIXER Nine Million Rainy Days

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THE LAKE WE ARE FOOLISHLY Ambitious

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Nine Million Rainy Days “Since a three-dimensional object casts a two-dimensional shadow, we should be able to imagine the unknown four-dimensional object whose shadow we are. I for my part am fascinated by the search for a one-dimensional object that casts no shadow at all.” - Marcel Duchamp

CONTENTS REGULARS:

PUBLISHER

News 06 Print Run 56 Fashion Mens 58 Fashion Ladies 60 Plimsoll 62 ART: Leonce Raphael Lindy Sales

18 44

14 40 52

MUSIC: Thomas Krane Medicine Boy Wax Junkie

Editor / Art Direction Stefan Naude’ stefan@thelake.co Existential ADVISOR Brendan Body brendan@thelake.co

PHOTOGRAPHY: Stalker Misty Cliffs Quick fix

THE LAKE MAGAZINE PTY LTD info@thelake.co

24 32 54

LIFESTYLE: Aberdeen 12 Not Seen 16 Ashanti 26 Sartists 28 Jungle Jim 36 Thirteen Hof 50

COVER Hayden Phipps Photography Cover Medicine Boy Kristi Vlok Art Direction / Styling Studio The Ground Floor Studio Lighting Big Time Studios Retouching Frances van Jaarsveldt

photographers

FASHION

Hayden Phipps Oliver Kruger Jacqui Van Staden Anke Loots Allister Charles Christie Duran Levinson Andile Buka David East

Kristi Vlok kristi@thelake.co

CONTENTS PHOTO Duran Levinson www.duranlevinson.com @durannite

Contributors Fred De Fries Simone Schultz Ruan Scott Rick De La Ray Lani Spice Rachel Kelly

Advertising / MARKETING Brett Bellairs brett@thelake.co Brendan Body brendan@thelake.co INTERN Illana Welman lani@thelake.co COPY EDITING Christine Stewart ONLINE / SOCIAL thelake.co.za Submissions info@thelake.co

The views and opinions expressed within the editorial and advertisements of THE LAKE do not necessarily reflect those of its staff, nor any of its associates.THE LAKE and anything contained within is copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, copied or stored electronically without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

PRINTING Hansa Reproprint 11 Cornwall St, Woodstock +27 21 448 7894

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SANDTON CITY | ROSEBANK MALL | MENLYN PARK | V&A WATERFRONT

NEWS Bantu Wax In 2010, Ethiopian born entrepreneur, Yodit Eklund started her African inspired surf brand Bantu Wax. The brand has previously only been available in international retailers like Barney’s in New York, Opening Ceremony stores internationally and Cape Town’s Merchant’s on Long. However, Eklund knew the only way the brand could be sustainable was to open her own Bantu stores in Africa and to focus on product produced locally and thoughtfully. Bantu is a surf brand inspired by merging the rich history of African art and textiles with Africa’s deeply rooted surf culture. From the bespoke surfboards to the swimwear inspired by African wax printed fabrics; everything is made in Africa, by Africans; sustainably and fairly, and that will never change. Bantu is the vision of a future without borders, founded on using surfing as a non-territorial and cultural medium that would connect Africa and the rest of the world. INFO: www.bantuwax.com

VANS

CASIO RETRO

Vans is excited to join hands with Disney for a magical adventure reimagining beloved Disney characters across a collection of footwear. The collaboration provides a unique interpretation from Vans of iconic Disney characters that remain true to the Vans’ design aesthetic with added details that make this collection truly one-of-a-kind.

CASIO RETRO GOLD Casio is proud the present its outstanding collection of Casio watches which fall under the standard collection and retro range. These models are great value for money and are made with Casio’s usual outstanding quality. CASIO DATABANK Because life is not always black and white…these databank watches will bring you back to your school days with all the awesome databank functionality you’ve come to know from Casio, you’ll want one in every color. “Geek-Chic” never looked so good.

INFO: www.vans.com

INFO: www.thecasioshop.co.za

NOT SEEN

Bose Soundlink OE BT

Enjoy the power of your music in brilliant detail with the first on-ear wireless headphones from Bose. Clear, rich audio, a featherweight fit and a long-lasting rechargeable battery will keep you listening all day. Switching to an incoming call is easy with voice prompts and intuitive controls. And those calls come through loud and clear, even in windy or noisy environments.

Not Seen Store is lifestyle branding concept. We produce locally hand crafted product made in Cape Town. Our aim is to create functional product that supports everyday activities and to improve ones daily experiences with a strong, durable and practical approach. Available exclusively via Instagram @notseenstore.

Get ready for performance that raises the bar for Bluetooth headphones. Detailed and balanced sound you can enjoy everywhere you go. Bose TriPort technology works with Active EQ to deliver music as dynamic as our best wired headphones. INFO: Instagram @notseenstore

INFO: www.digicape.co.za

PUMA / R698 SOFT PACK

Star Wars BB-8 Droid

PUMA releases the latest addition to its Trinomic R698 range – the delectable R698 Soft Pack features the richness of a plush suede upper with subtle perforations for a lightweight finish in a choice of grey, pastel pink, black or teal.

Meet BB-8 - the app-enabled Droid whose movements and personality are as authentic as they are advanced. Based on your interactions, BB-8 will show a range of expressions and perk up when you give voice commands. Watch your Droid explore autonomously, guide BB-8 yourself, or create and view holographic recordings. BB-8 is more than a toy - it’s your companion.

Originally designed as a performance runner in the ‘90s, the shoe sped off the track to become synonymous with urban street style. Since its debut, the Trinomic R698 has been re-issued in several iterations with a host of celebrated collaborations that cemented its iconic position in sneaker history. The new R698 Soft Pack employs all the classic features you’d expect including the hexagonal Trinomic system technology to ensure maximum comfort. INFO: www.puma.com 06

INFO: www.musica.co.za THE LAKE

DOUBT FIND

EVERY THING...

YOUR

OWN

LIGHT...

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NEWS Oakley / LATCH Latch™ is a tribute to the creative and collaborative mindset that exists in the skate community. Inspired by skate icon Eric Koston, renowned photographer Atiba Jefferson and two of the sport’s brightest young talents, Sean Malto and Curren Caples, Oakley’s latest lifestyle sunglass is a nod to style and functionality that will transcend the sport of skateboarding.A fresh path from the trailblazers of style, this design inspired by influential athletes is shaped with a classic keyhole bridge and the curves of rounded lens orbitals. A clip hinge mechanism enables the eyewear to securely “latch” onto t-shirts when not worn INFO: www.oakley.com

** WIN NIRVAN LP ! **

**WIN with Quiksilver AG47 **

Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group’s first release on DGC Records. Frontman Kurt Cobain sought to make music outside the restrictive confines of the Seattle grunge scene, drawing influence from groups such as the Pixies and their use of “loud/quiet” dynamics. It is their first album to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Despite low commercial expectations by the band and its record label, Nevermind became a surprise success in late 1991, largely due to the popularity of its first single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

Purchase any pair of Quiksilver AG47 Boardshorts this summer and stand a chance to win one of three custom made Channel Islands Surfboards, valued at over R6 500 each.

TO WIN - Send us a email at info@thelake.co and tel us why you should win this record ! INFO: www.ulocker.udiscovermusic.com

ADIDAS / TUBULAR

With its monochrome colour palette, eye-catching EVA sole unit and challenging silhouette, the Tubular family is defined by a high-octane energy and an aggressive attitude. The dynamic Tubular concept reinforces adidas Originals’ established dedication to push the boundaries of what traditional footwear design looks like. As such, the Tubular signals the latest evolution for adidas Originals, resulting in a silhouette that marries the innovative spirit inherent to adidas with a dynamic, new design aesthetic. 2015’s new silhouette continues its story with a range of new releases that bring tech and aesthetics closer than ever before with two new releases: the Tubular X Primeknit and the Tubular X Circular Knit - dynamic mid-cut silhouettes with the neo08

AG47 Boardshort Features: * Traceable REPREVE® recycled dry flight 4-way stretch with Scotchgard protector repellent * Rubberized embroidered eyelet closure with cinch lock draw cord * Heat welded zippered side pocket * 20 inch outseam * REPREVE fibers: Made from recycled plastic bottles, creating a reprieve for the planet

INFO: www.quiksilver.co.za

prene sock-fit design. The Tubular Mid combines an engineered upper with vacuum-formed adiFilm overlays to ensure structure and comfort, finished with a striking midsole tooling to provide a fashion-forward design. The shoe, which is born in sports and raised in fashion, is an unparalleled blend of form and function, and is setting the pace in progressive fashion footwear in 2015. Its clean visual references and intuitive tech is a testament to performance footwear with uncompromised style. The Tubular X Primeknit snake pack (retailing at R2499.00) and the Tubular X Circular knit pack (retailing at R1599.00) will be available from adidas Originals stores well as selected retail partners nationwide from 1 September. INFO: www.adidas.com/tubular THE LAKE

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NEWS Marshall / Stanmore Small in size, but not subtle in sound, the Stanmore is a compact active stereo speaker that yields clean and precise sound even at high levels. Its classic design is a throwback to the golden days of rock ‘n’ roll, and the analogue interaction knobs give you custom control of your music. With a vintage-looking front face, brass details, and iconic script logo, the Stanmore is right at home with the rest of your Marshall collection. Hook it up wirelessly via Bluetooth, use the RCA input to plug in your record player, or simply connect the coil cord to your phone using the 3.5mm auxiliary input. The Stanmore is also compatible with devices with optical output, like Apple TV. INFO: www.superbalist.com

Lomo’Instant Sanremo + 3 Lenses

Oakley Voltage Eyeglasses

The Lomo’Instant Sanremo is the perfectly sized instant camera to take wherever you go! The camera has a classy, retro brown design and it’s the most creative way to shoot marvelous photos which you can share anywhere and with everyone in an instant. The Lomo’Instant has an auto flash shooting mode so you can easily shoot fantastic instant photos with flash in the touch of a button. You can also switch to the two manual shooting modes to open up all kinds of experimental shooting possibilities.The camera has a built-in wide-angle lens and is compatible with multiple lens attachments that can be screwed onto the Lomo’Instant for tons of creative and experimental photography options.

The Oakley brand is universally recognized and is synonymous with innovative, quality craftsmanship. Oakley is a leading name in sports eyewear because it offers athletes stylish eyewear that is made with cutting-edge design and technology so that it not only looks good but can also withstand harsh environments and truly extreme conditions.

INFO:www.exposuregallery.co.za

INFO:www.oakley.com

Oakley builds its optical frames with care and precision, and Oakley’s eyeglasses also feature top-quality materials, like O Matter® and Unobtainium®. Oakley glasses are made with a three-point fit system, which maximizes optical performance by holding the lenses in precise optical alignment.

havaianas The first pair of Havaianas was born in 1962 and was inspired by the Zori, a typical Japanese sandals made of fabric straps and rice straw soles. It is for this reason that the sole of all Havaianas have a textured rice pattern, one of its many unmistakable features. Havaianas were the first style of flip-flops to be made out of rubber thus guaranteeing comfort and durability. They are designed and manufactured in Brazil to reflect the Brazilian style, attitude and climate. Over the past 48 years Havaianas have become a symbol of Brazil, one of the few products in the world sold to consumers of all social classes, races, beliefs, ages or religion, with no prejudice or discrimination. INFO: www.havaianas.com

Asics Gel Lyte III “Kakishibu”

ASICS Gel Lyte III Kimono Denim

ASICS Tiger celebrates Japanese craftsmanship and focuses on sophisticated design and luxury details. The ASICS Gel Lyte III Kakishibu is the latest colourway to release from the Japanese footwear giant.

ASICS take inspiration from Japan with their latest GEL-Lyte III release, which sees the silhouette wrapped in selvedge denim and an oriental floral print.

The shoe is presented in a premium tan leather and canvas construction which has a premium feel and quality. Highlighted with a purple heel counter which matches the outsole and heel tab, working perfectly with the tan leather upper. Branding is seen on the midsole, ankle, heel and tongue, and the pair come with a set of tan coloured flat laces.

INFO: www.asics.co.za 10

The contrast between the denim and kimono fabrics honors the merging of two different eras in Japanese history, while making for an extremely attractive colorway. The design sits atop a red and white midsole and is finished with red eyelets and indigo laces.

INFO: www.asics.co.za THE LAKE

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ABERDEEN COME AS YOU ARE WRITER - FRED DE FRIES

PHOTOGRAPHY - SUPPLIED

In 1994, shortly after Kurt Cobain’s suicide, I was interviewed by Barry Berk for an SABC TV special about Cobain’s premature death and what it meant for grunge. I stubbornly kept stressing that Mudhoney was much more of an archetypical grunge band than Nirvana. And they were still alive, so grunge wouldn’t die. Of course, in the end they cut out all the Mudhoney references and focused on Nirvana. And rightly so. In hindsight, Mudhoney were merely good garage rock I guess I just wanted to be otherwise, because I was actually very fond of Nirvana. And I still am. I love their ability to match melodic sensibility with the muddy grind of early Black Sabbath and the anger of Black Flag. And then there’s that voice: the pain and the fury, the pure white light of rock ‘n’ roll; right there in vocal heaven now, singing harmonies with John Lennon and James Brown. I saw Nirvana live twice, once in Rotterdam in January 1991, shortly before Nevermind, and then ten months later in Amsterdam’s Paradiso, after the unexpected global triumph of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Both gigs were absolutely stunning; the first one mad, drunk, raw, out of tune and aggressive - a true epiphany, while the Paradiso one was more professional and tighter, with a sea of bodies slam dancing and singing along to each and every tune. ‘Here we are now, entertain us!’ had become the anthem for Generation X, breaking punk rock to the masses. Four songs from the Paradiso gig ended up on the posthumous live album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. This is all whirling in my head when 24 years later I find myself on those very same muddy banks of the Wishkah in the small town of Aberdeen, Washington, where Kurt spent more than two thirds of his life. This is where the hyper-active boy was given Ritalin when he was eight, and where he had to grapple with his parents’ divorce the next year. In his book Heavier Than Heaven biographer Charles Cross calls the backlash of that separation ‘an emotional holocaust.’ ‘No single event in his life had more of an effect on the shaping of his personality,’ he writes.

KURTS HOUSE - FRED DE FRIES

Aberdeen is a two-hour drive from the grunge capital Seattle, where Cobain lived for two years and killed himself on the 5th of April, 1994. Here the legacy of Nirvana and the other loud local 90s bands such as Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Melvins is celebrated in an excellent multi-media exhibition at the EMP Museum called Nirvana: Taking punk to the masses. One of the highlights is Kurt’s battered black Stratocaster with a sticker from punk band the Feederz that says ‘Vandalism beautiful as a rock in a cop’s face.’ Although Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks all have their headquarters in Seattle, it’s still quite a grungy place with several excellent record shops, drunkards, beggars, junkies, seedy bars, tattooed rockers and blonde starlets who look as if they have walked straight out of a David Lynch movie.

years. Here he transformed from a happy blond boy into a wayward teenager, a gloomy outsider who began experimenting with drugs (dagga and LSD) in eighth grade, was beaten up by redneck highschool kids, got addicted to the sound of loud electric guitars, pawned his mother’s guns for a Fender amp, wrote some of the songs for the Nirvana debut Bleach, dropped out of school, became homeless, and was repeatedly arrested for underage drinking, vandalism and trespassing. When he was twenty he tried heroin for the first time, still in Aberdeen. Yet, there’s still very little evidence that Cobain actually lived here. Sure, as you enter the town you’re greeted by a green sign that says ‘Welcome to Aberdeen’ with underneath as a small Kurt tribute the words: ‘Come as you are.’ And Aberdeen now celebrates Kurt Cobain Day on the 20th of February, his birthday. But this is no Graceland or even Penny Lane. There is no Nirvana tour (bassist Novoselic also hails from Aberdeen), not even a sign that easily directs you to the main Cobain memorial, tucked away at the end of a dead-end street at those banks of the muddy Wishkah. Finally we find it. We stare at a brownish river and a nondescript small bridge, the Young Street Bridge, the very one that Kurt referred to in his saddest, loneliest song ‘Something in the Way’, whose poignant lyrics have been written down on a nearby memorial. ‘Underneath the bridge/ The tarp has sprung a leak/ And the animals I’ve trapped/ Have all become my pets/ And I’m living off the grass and the drippings from the ceiling/ It’s ok to eat fish, cause they don’t have any feelings.’

All that Seattle rock glamour, however, rapidly fades away as you drive 150 kilometres southwest to Aberdeen. With its 17.000 inhabitants this timber town always had a rough reputation. In the fifties it was notorious for its brothels, and in the sixties for its big number of drinking dens. Later, with the logging business in decline, it became known for its unemployment, alcoholism, domestic violence and suicides. Kurt hated the place with a passion. And the dislike seems mutual. The day after Kurt’s suicide ‘there was not a single sign in Aberdeen that he had lived or died,’ said journalist Grant Alden in the oral history of grunge Everybody Loves Our Town. ‘They didn’t approve of him alive, they didn’t approve of him dead.’

'Underneath the bridge' is actually a fetid cavern, filthy, cold and damp, and an explosion of graffiti. There are some pieces of wet, shapeless clothing lying on the sloping rock that tapers down to a hollow; this spot must have been (and probably still is) an ideal venue for American teenagers who skip school, to fight off boredom with alcohol and drugs. Apart from a lot of messy scribbles the graffiti includes an ‘R.I.P Kurt’, signed by a punk from Ipswich, UK, and a stencilled portrait of Cobain at his most feminine, with round plastic sunglasses and half long hair. Biographer Cross highly doubts whether Kurt actually slept underneath this bridge. He quotes Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic who says that he did hang out there, but that it was impossible to live there, given the crammed space and the highly fluctuating tide.

Aberdeen, however, was essential to Kurt’s formative

There’s more Kurt stuff in this overgrown Riverfront Park

where the Kurt Cobain Memorial Foundation in 2011 created a Kurt Cobain Landing. We stumble upon a shiny purple metal structure, with a plaque that says ‘Kurt’s air guitar’, and there’s also a statue of a proper guitar, made by two local artists, accompanied by the words ‘As you were’, lifted from the Nirvana song ‘Come As You Are’. Oh, and let’s not forget the headstone with Kurt quotes, including such wisdoms as ‘I’m a walking bacterial infection’ and ‘Drugs are bad for you, they will f*** you up.’ We leave, and drive past some of the Aberdeen houses that he used to stay in (in total he lived in ten houses with ten different families), including the parental home on 1210 East First Street, where he moved when he was two (he was born in the neighbouring town of Hoqiuam, smaller and less grubby than Aberdeen), and the shack on 1000 ½ East Second Street, the first place he could call his own. It reminds me of KZN and Free State towns such as Greytown and Vrede. Most of the houses are shabby wooden bungalows in various lower middle-class neighbourhoods (dad Don was a mechanic), which Kurt has described as ‘white trash, posing as middle-class.’ The area around 1210 East First Street was nicknamed ‘Felony Flats.’ Next stop is the oddly named Sucher & Sons Star Wars Shop & Kurt Cobain Memorabilia & Info Centre, which sells exactly what its name promises: Star Wars and Cobain collectables. It has a little Kurt/Nirvana shrine, and apart from the ubiquitous Nirvana photos, posters and T-shirts you can buy a $4 mud jug ‘for carrying water from the muddy Wishkah’. We keep the four dollars for coffee at the local Starbucks. Equally quaint is the Aberdeen Museum of History,

which has two corners of its vast space (lots of timber history and pictures of the Aberdeen bourgeoisie) devoted to its most famous son. Immediately on your right as you enter is Kurt Cobain’s Cement Resurrection, a big grey statue of a seated, guitar-playing Kurt with a tear rolling down his cheek. It’s made by local, self-confessed Christian grunge artist Randi Hubbard. Its disproportional awkwardness recalls the equally embarrassing Mandela statue on Sandton Square. The piece was initially meant for a park, but when the City of Aberdeen learned about Cobain’s disdain for their town they refused to display it. Eventually it ended up in the museum, where, in a different corner, you can also see a Cobain-on-stage photo, a poster with some anti-drugs advice from the famous heroin junkie and one of the numerous sofas that he slept on (this particular one came from the Shillinger family, with whom he lived from late 1985 until August 1986). All in all it’s a sad affair. But somehow the dismal trip is also quite illuminating. It gives you as a fan psycho-geographical insight into what influenced Cobain’s savage, wild and contradictory mind. It partly explains his despair and certainly his obsessive desire to escape. In fact, driving along the one main street with its boarded-up shops (among them Rosevear’s, where Kurt bought his first guitar), burly rednecks, the odd skinhead and some wannabe gangsters, you wonder how he actually did manage to get away, given that at the age of sixteen he had become a dope smoking, acid dropping outcast, hanging out with the stoner crowd, going nowhere as fast as he could. What moved him? What gave him the willpower to leave this suffocating, dead-end, redneck town? The answer is in his journal. His epiphany came in the summer of 1983, when he went to a small gig on a parking lot in Montesano, sixteen kilometres east of Aberdeen. It was advertised as The Them Festival. The band that played was called the Melvins, three maladjusted, ugly local freaks. A mesmerized Kurt, who was still into his Led Zeppelin and Sammy Hagar, wrote: ‘They played faster than I ever imagined music could be played and with more energy than my Iron Maiden records could provide. This was the thing I was looking for. Ah, punk rock. The other stoners were bored and kept shouting “Play some Def Leppard.” God, I hated those fucks even more than ever. I came to the promised land of a grocery store parking lot and I found my special purpose.’

The Long Road to Grunge in Five Albums Blue Cheer Vincebus Eruptum 1968

The Stooges Fun House 1970

Black Sabbath Masters of Reality 1971

Flipper Generic Flipper 1982

Melvins! Six Songs 1986

Philips

Elektra

Vertigo

Subterranean

Ipecac

THE LAKE

STALKER DURAN LEVINSON QUESTIONS - LANI SPICE

PHOTOGRAPHY - DURAN LEVINSON

“Travel and street photography really appeals to me. I find myself constantly pre-visualizing situations and looking into what I think would make for a pleasing image. Getting to travel into the unknown usually leads to good results and memories.” When did you first get into analog? Has it always been a medium of choice? I started shooting on disposable cameras as a teenager and getting the photos developed at my dad’s pharmacy. After finishing school I went traveling for a year then came back and enrolled in film school. I fell in love with cinematography and the psychotic-like aspects of filmmaking. I was fortunate to be shooting film while studying. Soon I was shooting a lot and as things progressed into the digital age, shooting on film was not only enjoyable but made me realize how to use a camera to tell stories. Is there any specific types of film you prefer? I’ve only been shooting film seriously for about two years now but my favorite stocks are Kodak Porta, Image Pro 100, and Fuji Superia for color. I use Ilford Delta 400 / 3200 and Kodak Tri-X for black and white. At the moment I’m mainly shooting with Fuji as it’s affordable and produces pretty colors. You are also a cinematographer, so what is your relationship with digital photography? Shooting on digital is a large part of my income and I enjoy it, but it’s always about striving for perfection and razor sharp images. I’m lucky enough to be in a position where I get to work with some of the best DPs in the world and learn how they light and shoot Hollywood-scale movies. It’s amazing but always an extremely clinical process. Can you tell us what’s taken you to these places and what would be your dream destination to shoot? Getting to work in the film industry has opened me up to a lot of people and situations I wouldn’t normally find myself in. Also the majority of my friends are musicians and artists, so there’s always ideas and plans being made for collaborations and future projects. Last year I was able to travel to China for a month, trying my hand for the first time at a film-photography project. I was also able to go on tour with one of my favorite local bands, The Plastics. It was a wild experience and made me realize how much I enjoy shooting film and travelling with friends. Mexico is on the top of my list. Japan, Korea, Israel and Ethiopia are places I’m planning on visiting in the near future.

PORTRAIT - JACQUI VAN STADEN

Your work consists of travel, fashion and portraiture; what would you say is your preferred discipline and why? Travel and street photography really appeals to me. I find myself constantly pre-visualizing situations and looking into what I think would make for a pleasing image. Getting to travel into the unknown usually leads to good results and memories. Shooting film allows me to slow down, think about the moment and try capturing a fleeting instant in a way that can potentially still feel vivid and tangible decades later.

All of your travel photographs are in black and white and are of a typical analog style; however your latest series in Rwanda is in colour and quite sharp, why is that? Purely for the fact that I believed shooting entirely in B&W in Rwanda just wouldn’t do the story justice. There is color and texture everywhere, and I didn’t want to be a purist and lose out on the opportunity to document the vibrancy of the country and the people who occupy it. You seem to be quite connected to this series, is this a kind of documentary in Africa you will continue to explore? The project itself is a contemporary African piece from an outsider’s perspective. I was looking to document everyday scenarios in a way that would be interesting to the viewer. I wrote an essay along with the photos, which is on my website. I grew very fond of East Africa while I was there. I went up to shoot a commercial but ended up staying a few extra weeks and working on the project. It was a really positive and eye-opening experience that led to a lot of self-actualization. I can’t wait to go back to East & North Africa in the near future. What truly draws you to shooting on film and what are the biggest frustrations around it, if any? Film has pushed me into being more creative with my photography than in the past. I feel extremely detached from most digital photography these days. With film the beauty lies in the imperfections and not knowing what the result will be. The look of film appeals more to me than anything digital can offer. There is something special about capturing moments and only seeing the result weeks later. I prefer taking photos in a traditional way and enjoying the whole experience of loading film, shooting, waiting, developing, waiting some more and finally seeing the result. Also, for archival purposes, I would choose storing photo negatives, instead of just purely digital files, on a hard drive any day. Your subject matter can be quite experimental, can you tell us about this process? I try to shoot things I find strange, enticing and beautiful. I look for interesting people, good light, and scenarios that I think will make for a strong image with some sort of a story behind it. Your Instagram account is quite popular, would you say you use it as a platform to share your analog work only or do you use it for both?

alog film community with thousands of film photographers. It’s a great platform and has been pretty beneficial to me lately. I should probably be posting a lot more, but I’m pretty bad at that type of thing.

worth it. Everyone’s entitled to at least one expensive hobby, so fuck it.

What cameras are you currently using and what is your dream model?

Photographers who immediately come to mind are Roger Ballen, Pieter Hugo, Gordon Clarke. Jürgen Schadeberg and David Lurie. Storytellers & cinematographers such as Alejandro Jodorowsky, Roger Deakins, Lance Acord, Emmanuel Lubezki, and Jeff Cronenweth are all big inspirations to me.

I’m currently shooting on a Pentax Me Super and a Leica Minilux. I’ve finally understood how people become obsessed with collecting analog cameras. I want more point & shoot cameras; a Contax T2 would be nice. I’m keen to branch out into medium format soon and would kill for a Plaubel Makina 67. What are your thoughts on film being a dying art? I doubt film will ever completely die as there seems to be a resurgence in analog photography. It will probably become more expensive and harder to track down rarer stocks but it will still be totally

Who else inspires you, are there any photographers or artists local or abroad?

Any projects you are working on at the moment? I’m currently doing on-set work for the new Resident Evil film until the end of the year. I’m simultaneously working on a portraits series, a doccie, planning some trips, and releasing my first self-published photo book towards the end of the year. INFO: www.duranlevinson.com / @duranite

TOP FIVES Converge

rolo tomassi

jane doe

grievances

2015

Why? Alopecia 2008

danny brown XXX 2011

2001 Equal Vision

Holy Roar Records

Anticon

Fool’s Gold

The Dillinger Escape plan Miss Machine 2004 Relapse Records

I’m pretty indifferent to most social media platforms and I’m not really into updating people on my life and accomplishments on Facebook or whatever, but Instagram is a good tool for photographers. I use my account to post my film work and connect with like-minded people. Instagram has a huge anTHE LAKE

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NOT SEEN LUKE ALISTAIR MARITZ INTERVIEW - LANI SPICE

PHOTOGRAPHY - OLIVER KRUGER

“My inspiration is everyday people. People who don’t have their future handed to them on a silver platter, people who work really hard for what they want.” you’ve managed to bring the moon bag back in a functional and modern form, from its design to the way it’s worn. Could you tell us how “Not Seen” started?

for the colors, I have merely used what is available to me within my budget, and have been exploring the ideas of how the color changes the feel of the product.

to take my camera with me wherever I go is something I incorporate into the bags. A lot of the people who purchase the bags use them for photography. They complement each other well.

The moon bag is something I saw somebody wearing, they were wearing it in a kind of new way I had never seen before and because I carry so much stuff on me, it just made perfect sense to have it all in one safe place. I searched for one for a while and I did eventually find one and I used it every day, it was great. Then when I left my job, I wanted to do something for myself, I wanted to create something that nurtured what I was doing and that seemed like petrol, you know fuel for the fire. I then found someone to make the bags, the process initially took two months of building a relationship and understanding before the first sample was produced.

What are the challenges of running your brand?

You recently spent a bit of time overseas, where did you go and what did you discover?

I just went on a thought, I didn’t really see where it was going to go. I had no idea, I just knew no one else was doing it and it made perfect sense to do something that was new. It’s the only thing I want to do, to create things that don’t necessarily exist yet for people that will use them, in form and function. As a guy that’s fashion and functionality conscious I want to focus it towards men, as a guy that’s where my strengths lie. But then again women have similar items to lug around, they have taken the other route, they’ve gone from taking a handbag to a smaller bag even if it’s just for an evening out. And for the guys it’s perfect. What is your philosophy behind your brand? To just keep on creating new things, functional products that I would want to wear/use and see a large variety of people using. It’s not a hype brand, it’s a functional lifestyle brand concept. Something that is related to a sport or a way of living, it has to have function. Function is the philosophy. You’ve since ventured into different shapes and sizes and different styles, such as backpacks as well as rain ponchos etc. Tell us about these other products. So it started with the moon bag and after that did really well, I had something to work with so it became something more than I expected it to be. In the beginning it was just a side project for my creativity to thrive, I decided to grow on that and create bigger products that emphasised Not Seen as a brand that shows its worth. It’s not just for this year, I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here and I want it to grow and all the philosophy sides of it will grow too. I’m trying to explore its worth. Your fabrics and colors are also quite specific, why is that? The fabric is Ripstop, a kind of nylon which is weather coated, it’s a really functional bag fabric, in fact it’s the most functional one I could find so far, also quality-wise it’s the best, it will last long and wear really nicely. It’s well recognised around the world and as a good fabric, it has good functionality. As

I don’t stock shops so when I deal with people I deal with them on a one-on-one basis and that can be difficult sometimes. It’s a tough one. People’s attitudes are so important and to keep that in mind without getting myself personally attached to what I’m doing is the most important thing. I’m trying to see it as something separate from myself. People are going to do what they want to do, they are going to say what they want to say, they are going to mess me around and treat me how they want and they do it and I’m cool with it cause I know it’s not why I’m doing this, it’s just a part of it and I think to acknowledge that is a good thing. The high is when it pays off and I get good feedback and comments from people. When well recognised, accomplished people acknowledge my brand and want me to send them stuff, which happens often. Knowing I’m doing the right thing is the best reward I could have, acknowledgement in some degree of comparison. You also take photographs and recently launched a zine called Safety First. An interesting representation of the impact of living in South Africa where you focused on the security in Cape Town. What was your drive or relationship with this topic? I’ve always found pleasure in photography, capturing moments. Picking up a film camera again and shooting all the time my direction just went there, where the focus was still about observing people, but not about the people. So maybe about observing my environment, having been in Cape Town so long and having never left, it was that feeling of being watched and being trapped in the city without feeling safe. So my personal safety was a big thing, a lot of the photographs that weren’t in Safety First were based on and came from Not Seen. Shooting often definitely contributes to my process of the brand, where I also shoot those photos such as the looks, products and the lifestyle. Tell us more about your tumblr called Daily Residue? Daily Residue is a follow-on from Safety First, moving away from my film photography, keeping that to myself to let it grow, and focusing on digital photography as my way forward. Daily Residue is my process, it’s my study, it’s my observation and I’m just sharing with people what I’m doing because it’s always nice to get it out there and get feedback.

where can one follow what you are getting up to? At the moment exclusively on Instagram and through email at notseenstore@gmail.com, or, if you know me personally, it is @notseenstore. We will launch a site and online store before the end of the year.

I went to London, it was my first time overseas and it was an amazing trip. I got to see a much bigger city than the one I’m used to living in. a first world system which is really great and just to observe the differences and similarities between home and London was important to me. South Africans seem to think they are hard done by and they are not a part of what’s happening currently in the world and that is not true. Everything we are doing here is completely relevant and it is the same as what’s happening over there. Kids are the same, the industry is more or less the same and the movements are the same. It might be bigger over there, but it actually doesn’t change much. What I’m doing here is almost happening there on its own terms. Not Seen is happening through somebody else’s vision in London, so it does exist in a small way over there. We are in this thing together, it doesn’t really matter where we are in the world. Inspirations? Who or what influences you and your work the most? My inspiration is everyday people. People who don’t have their future handed to them on a silver platter, people who work really hard for what they want. Those are the people who I’m inspired by. I’m inspired by my family and I’m inspired by the people out there creating new things. People that want to change what currently exists and evolve it and grow it and share it. There’s no one person I look up to. What are your plans for Not Seen, where would you like to see it go? I want to continue what I originally started in terms of the idea and grow the bags, evolve the concept and create a strong brand identity. I don’t want to put pressure onto it to succeed. It is a project and it is a study. I’m looking for it to carry itself one day and I will nourish it till it does that.

MIXED BAG Ratking 700 Fill 2015

Tommy Kruise Fete Foreign 2014

ASAP Ferg Trap Lord 2013

Skepta Blacklisted YEAR

Damon Albarn Everyday Robots 2014

Soundcloud

RCA

3 Beat

Do you feel your approach to photography ties together with your brand? Definitely, my love for cameras has something to do with the lifestyle of the brand and being able THE LAKE

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Egungun Masquerade Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou COPY - SMAC

PHOTOGRAPHY - Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou

Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou is known for his dramatic photographs that capture the dynamic energy of contemporary Porto-Novo. Imposing figures in mysterious ceremonial costumes, military guise or traditional attire are presented as a series of carefully composed portraits. His unique style is manifest in the saturated hues and carefully selected backdrops of his visually haunting images. Blending the conventions of traditional West African studio photography, Agbodjélou succeeds in capturing the vibrant colours and cultural diversity of street life in present-day Benin. Agbodjélou’s work has been exhibited widely in Africa and internationally. Recent exhibitions in 2015 include: Disguise: Masks and Global African Art at the Seattle Art Museum in the USA and Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design at the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, Switzerland. For his South African debut, Agbodjélou presented his latest body of work titled Egungun Masquerades at SMAC Gallery in Cape Town during September and October 2015. This series depicts incarnations of the Yoruba tribe’s ancestral forebears, who appear at funerals and annual festivals in ritualised parades, magical feats and colourful pageantry. Agbodjélou’s photographs explore the complex role of the Egungun, capturing both their individual personalities and mannerisms, while emphasising their unequivocal presence as enigmatic spiritual manifestations. Through the absence of the lower and upper limbs, the Egungun communicates a disassociation from human nature and perpetuates the presence of an ancestral soul. Unlike the Zangbeto (“Nightwatchmen”) of Vodun culture, which traditionally patrolled the streets before the official law establishment and were used to scare the enemy away, the presence of the dead in the Egunguns provide aid and protection. Their ritualistic appearances are seen as commitments of assistance to individuals and to the community. Agbodjélou was born in 1965 in Porto Novo, Benin and was trained by his father, the world-renowned studio photographer Joseph Moise Agbodjélou in the convenctions of West African studio photography. He places an emphasis on the importance between linking practice and theory within photography, as well as constantly updating his knowledge of developments in photographic advancement. His practice operates by accessing the history of his medium through traditional narratives that frame the historical archive of postcards, carte de visite, albums, and ethnographic studios. Like other contemporary artists and photographers, Agbodjélou has shown interest in exploring and representing the complexities of identity, demonstrating that these are constantly changing, as well as capturing the experience of present urban environments and the hybridity of culture that has developed in many forms of post-coloniality. Portraiture seems to represent a unifying motif in this investigation. Joining this movement, Agbodjélou’s work considers an understanding of portraiture photography in Africa and expands on it by exploring new ways of seeing as well as questioning the conventionalised histories of portraiture on the continent. - INFO: www.smacgallery.com

Egungun Masquerade XII 2015

Muscle Men Series_2015

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Egungun Masquerade VI 2015

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Egungun Masquerade VII 2015

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Demoiselles de Porto-Novo (2) 2015

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THOMAS KRANE DANIEL HAMPTON INTERVIEW - RICK DE LA RAY

PHOTOGRAPHY - Allister Charles Christie

“I grew up singing in church bands. The youth leader with the guitar was the guy everyone wanted to be so basically every kid in the community could hold their own round a campfire.” YOUR NEW ALBUM ‘BONE TOWER’ HAS BEEN VERY WELL RECEIVED SO FAR. IT’S BEEN 5 YEARS SINCE YOU RECORDED YOUR FIRST ALBUM, WAS THERE A REASON BEHIND WHY THE SECOND ALBUM TOOK SO LONG? It’s been a pretty overwhelming response – having had it in the works for so long I had really lost touch with any idea if it was any good or not so it’s a massive relief that people like it. Why it’s taken so long is mostly because it’s been a busy 5 years. I’ve started, built and then closed a couple of businesses, moved cities twice, got married, and just about finished a Masters. Making music is significantly better than golf, but it’s also an expensive and time consuming hobby – time got made where it could get made. YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING IN CAPE TOWN FOR 3 YEARS NOW, WHAT LED YOU TO MOVE DOWN HERE FROM DURBAN IN 2012? I left Durban after the closure of hruki records and Unit 11 – two businesses I had put my heart and soul into for a long time. I needed to do a bit of mourning for them and have a change of scene. A friend called me and said he wanted to open a Wakaberry frozen yoghurt store in Cape Town and would I like to come in with him. I had nothing better to do so that seemed like a good option… YOU ALSO SPENT SOME TIME IN BERLIN EARLIER IN 2012, HOW LONG WERE YOU THERE FOR AND WOULD YOU SAY IT WAS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE WHILE YOU WERE THERE? I was there for about 6 months between Durban and Cape Town. It was a good time! I learnt some German, washed some dishes in a hotel, sang some songs, met some great people. There are so many artists coming in all the time from all over the place that even the open mic nights in random bars can be mind-blowing. HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAY HAS YOUR MUSIC EVOLVED BETWEEN THE TWO ALBUMS IF YOU TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE TIME GAP INVOLVED? The first album was the result of zero skill, mucking about with a laptop and two-track soundcard – I was just getting confident singing and playing guitar and knew nothing about production. The result wasn’t terrible, but I’ve come a long way since then. The addition of the band and the production value from working with producer Dirk Hugo has also made a huge difference to the sound on Bone Tower – the song writing style is similar but sonically it’s a different animal. WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION FROM WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING NEW MATERIAL? There is a back story for Thomas Krane that keeps developing. He’s slowly becoming a well-rounded character and that provides enough inspiration to keep lyrical content flowing. We are similar in some ways and very different in others.

WHAT SORT OF MUSICAL BACKGROUND DID YOU HAVE WHEN YOU GREW UP AND WHAT LED YOU TO START WRITING AND PERFORMING YOUR OWN MUSIC? I grew up singing in church bands. The youth leader with the guitar was the guy everyone wanted to be so basically every kid in the community could hold their own round a campfire. It probably would have ended after school but some varsity friends started an Afropop band and needed a bassist so I took the role. I never really intended to start writing my own music – I bought a little soundcard with the intention of recording another band I had joined called Attila and the Honeys. I started playing around with a few ideas in-between and they slowly morphed into full songs that didn’t sound too bad so I just kept going. YOU DECIDED TO USE A CROWD FUNDING PLATFORM TO FINANCE YOUR NEW ALBUM. DO YOU CONSIDER THAT TO BE A RELEVANT AND MORE DIRECT WAY OF REACHING YOUR LISTENERS THESE DAYS? I must be honest, I know 90% of the people who contributed to that campaign by name. Less about reaching listeners and more a way of spreading the financial risk of making the album between my family and friends. I am very grateful to them. YOUR SPINE-CHILLING VERSION OF THE DOLLY PARTON CLASSIC “JOLENE” HAS BEEN QUITE POPULAR AT YOUR SHOWS. WHAT LED YOU TO DO YOUR OWN VERSION OF THIS COUNTRY CLASSIC? I do love Dolly. But mostly I love the way you can’t help but feel the lady’s pain, whoever happens to be singing that song – it cuts right to the bone – just incredible song writing. WHAT WAS THE PLAN BEHIND “HRUKI” RECORDS WHICH YOU AND YOUR SISTER RAN FROM DURBAN A FEW YEARS AGO AND DO YOU EVER SEE YOURSELF REVIVING IT AGAIN IN THE FUTURE?

DID YOU END UP WORKING WITH THEM ON THE ALBUM? Working and playing in the industry for so long I’ve collected some very talented friends over the years – and they’ve been really generous with their time and giftings. Most of the guest stuff was done remotely – a track got sent and I’d give them a vague description of what I had in mind and then they’d send something back. THE SONG ‘SMALL THINGS’ HAS GONE THROUGH MANY TRANSFORMATIONS THROUGH THE YEARS. AT WHAT POINT DID YOU HAVE TO SAY “THIS IS IT! I’M FINALLY HAPPY WITH THE WAY IT IS NOW”? It’s still not done – probably won’t ever be. No doubt that song will keep fluid over the next couple of years as it gets played. Every song on the album is captured as it was in that moment – more snapshot than finality, the balance sheet as at 4 Sept 2015.

the way I’m writing songs now. Only downsides: I get neck cramps after a show, and I can’t find a case the monster will fit into, which makes me nervous when travelling. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS NOW THAT THE ALBUM IS FINALLY OUT THERE? There will highly likely be a tour in January. Right now I’m putting my head down – finishing and launching this album has been pretty distracting and I have to focus on work and finish a Masters thesis by the end of the year. Then I’ll play a bit and start working on the next album. YOUR MUSIC GOES FROM FOLK, GOSPEL RIGHT THROUGH TO SOME HEAVY BLUES WITH A SLIGHT BIT OF WHITE NOISE – HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND AND WHAT TYPE OF LISTENER DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ATRACTING TO YOUR SHOWS? I’m the sum of my influences – and I’ve definitely been influenced by people in each of those genres. I think the thread that runs through it all is that it’s all storytelling music. The genre doesn’t really matter as long as you’re getting the feels – the music’s a vehicle for the words.

ALBUMS THOMAS KRANE BONE TOWER 2015

EXPLAIN TO US THE IDEA BEHIND THE GUITAR AND THE BASS YOU BLENDED TOGETHER INTO ONE INSTRUMENT. WAS IT A DIFFICULT PROCESS TO CONSTRUCT AND IS IT COMFORTABLE TO PLAY WHEN YOU ARE ON STAGE?

BANDCAMP

THOMAS KRANE THOMAS KRANE 2009

That was part frustration from always swapping between the instruments on stage and part bored curiosity to see if it would work. I have two shitty guitars. Worth less than a grand each – both bodies are made from superwood so there was no real loss if it didn’t work out. My friend Mike had a jigsaw so we just went at it and glued them together. Worked out pretty well – it has definitely influenced the way I play – even

BANDCAMP

essentials Leonard Cohen The Best of 1975

The White Stripes White Blood Cells 2001

Cold War Kids Robbers & Cowards 2006

Seven Swans Sufjan Stevens 2004

Ryan Adams Heartbreaker 2000

Columbia

Downtown

Sounds Familyre

Bloodshot

We were totally going to fix the music industry. We had some wins, some losses, it was a good time, but we didn’t. No revival, no – hruki is going to stay in the past. YOU ENDED UP WORKING WITH SOME INTERESTING COLLABORATORS ON THE ALBUM, FROM TOAST COETZER TO CHERILYN MACNEIL. HOW THE LAKE

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UP-SCALING ASHANTI INTERVIEW - RICK DE LA RAY

IMAGES - ASHANTI

“Last year alone Ashanti rerouted and used over 70 000 metres (over 45 000kg) of waste that would otherwise have been dumped on our landfills” ASHANTI MEANS MEMBER OF THE PEOPLE OF CENTRAL GHANA BUT IT’S ALSO AN AFRICAN GIRL’S NAME MEANING `GREAT AFRICAN WOMAN’. WHERE DOES THE NAME FIT INTO THE COMPANY AND HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN GOING FOR NOW? Every item carrying the Ashanti label has been sourced and made in Africa. Our philosophy is premised on empowering the communities who make them. Our textiles are woven along the principles of sustainability and economic independence. In most cases our weavers are women. They are the backbone of their communities; daughters, mothers and grandmothers who are raising the next generation of Africans.

from recycled materials each product has a unique inimitable thumbprint. No two products are ever identical. UP- SCALING SEEMS TO BE BECOMING QUITE A POPULAR METHOD OF RECYCLING NOW. ARE YOU USING THIS METHOD IN ANY OF THE OTHER HOMEWARE PRODUCTS YOU HAVE AVAILABLE IN YOUR RANGE? Ashanti’s range has grown from beanbags to laptop covers, cushions, carpets, doorstops and rugs to beach bags and even lampshades. (We are collaborating with Nando’s on the international roll-out of high-design restaurants with a

president Joyce Banda who encouraged him to capitalise on her country’s existing infrastructure and unique skill set to establish sustainable operations in Malawi. Walker subsequently launched a pilot programme at a factory providing vocational training for Malawian men and women with disabilities. WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE A LOT MORE COMPANIES TO GET INVOLVED WITH RURAL ARTISANS AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL ARE THE BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH THEM? Sure, if you thrive on chaos and are driven by adrenaline.Ashanti’s payoff line is ‘100% consis-

What’s more, as consumers we are burdened by an awareness of our contribution to global warming and the scarcity of resources. Thus a premium is also placed on guilt-free consumption, on products with little or no carbon footprint. Ashanti offers both – hand-made and guilt-free luxury: natural, sustainable, beautiful objects that empower the people who make them without taking anything from our environment. In short, we’ve caught the zeitgeist: The right products at the right time in the right place made by the right people. HOW MANY STORES DO HAVE AT THE MOMENT AND DO YOU DELIVER YOUR PRODUCTS NATIONWIDE?

But we are as much for the planet as we are for its people. As African citizens we care about our continent. We are motivated by a wish to reduce the amount of fabric offcuts contributing to landfills and we are driven by a determination to transform damaging waste into objects of beauty. Last year alone Ashanti rerouted and used over 70 000 metres (over 45 000kg) of waste that would otherwise have been dumped on our landfills!!!!!

Ashanti has a flagship shop on Kloof Street in Cape Town. Nationwide, we deliver to over 30 stores; we export to various countries and we have a sister shop, ChicShab, in Woodmead, Johannesburg. YOU ALSO DEAL WITH BASKETS, FABRICS AND TABLEWARE. ARE THERE ANY MORE EXTENSIONS TO THE BUSINESS YOU ARE LOOKING INTO IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

WHO IS BEHIND THE BRAND AND WHERE DID THE COMPANY ORIGINATE? Ashanti is the brainchild of entrepreneur Robert Walker. A French NGO that was struggling to create some form of sustainable enterprise for weavers in impoverished Madagascan villages introduced Walker to what are now Ashanti’s signature textiles. A second weaving project has now started in Malawi.

We’re soon to release an exciting new range of chairs – stools, benches and workstations – created in collaboration with a well-known furniture designer. Watch this space… INFO: www.ashantidesign.com

Walker is buoyed by a committed team of highly creative, switched-on and street-smart individuals who are all deeply invested in Ashanti’s vision. HOW DID THE IDEA EVOLVE FOR USING THE COLOURFUL MATERIALS FOR YOUR BEAN BAGS AND PILLOWS? The bright colours were not the evolution of Ashanti, they were its origin. The materials were, and still are, made from a kaleidoscopic array of fabric offcuts. The vibrant fabrics really reflect the customs, culture and outlook of the people who weave them. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO US THE BASIC METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE FABRICS YOU ARE USING? Our textiles are rag-woven on African hardwood Hugh looms. Before our weavers work their magic, fabric offcuts are sorted into colours, pulled apart to provide thread for the warp and shredded using hand blades into narrow strips for the weft. These strips are tied tightly together then rolled into balls, ready for mounting on the loom. Each stage of this process requires a separate set of hands. Because they are handcrafted

strong African aesthetic); and it continues to expand as we constantly update and innovate our offering. YOU ALSO HAVE A LOT OF HAND-PICKED PRODUCTS FROM QUITE A FEW AFRICAN SUBCONTINENTS INCLUDING MADAGASCAR, MALAWI, KENYA AND EVEN MAURITIUS. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS FROM THESE PARTICULAR ARTISANS THAT MAKE THEM SO UNIQUE AND MADE YOU CHOOSE TO WORK WITH THEM? Our weavers, whether of baskets or textiles, are talented individuals whose trade has been passed down through generations of craftsmen. More specifically, after working with weavers in Mozambique, Walker was introduced to former

tently inconsistent’. Everything is handcrafted, so no two products are quite alike. Herein lies our strength and our point of difference … and the cause of much chaos. Not to mention the logistical challenges... To thrive, you need a genuine passion for people and a strong belief in your product and its purpose. This is a calling, not a career. DID YOU EXPECT SUCH A BIG REACTION TO YOUR BEAN BAGS AND WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE SO DRAWN TO THEM? In a time of mass production and rampant commercialisation, the globalised economy puts a premium on one-off customised objects crafted by human hands.

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SartisM THE SARTISTS / a collaboration with adidas Originals ARTICLE - ADIDAS

PHOTOGRAPHY - ANDILE BUKA

“We wanted to bring the global campaign to life locally, so we went about looking for an opportunity to work with artists in South Africa who personified the essence of the Superstar.” Earlier this year adidas Originals kicked off a global campaign with a star-studded TVC that challenged the notion of what it means to be a superstar.

lected for the global Supershell campaign having developed their personal style with a commitment of creating for themselves – a commitment to creating for an audience of one.”

The campaign sees a number of further collaborations with two of the artists who appear in the advertisement, Pharrell Williams and Rita Ora. The Pharrell drops have seen unprecedented success in South Africa and after the groundbreaking Supercolor release in April, Pharrell is back with the FW15 release of Supershell.

With The Sartists’ personal creative work spaces,

The Sartists took their inspiration for their Supershell collaboration from their influences during the kwaito era when artists like Alaska and Trompies, who played a significant role in putting the spotlight on the Pantsula sub-culture in the 1990s, were some of their favourite artists.

tribute to our culture. The collaboration was a natural fit for us. It represents our approach as creatives – we’ve been adidas fans since we were kids and we love the rich heritage it has,” explains Kabelo. Their personal style shines through in the campaign with classic adidas Originals pieces like the Superstar track top and track pants have been transformed into customised pieces with Supershell being the undeniable inspiration. The custom garments include dungarees, one pieces, jumpsuits and bucket hats while some of the pieces also reflect iconic barbershop style paintings on the backs of their outfits.

As the creator and curator of this fresh new concept, the Supershell Collection sees Pharrell hand-pick friends and creatives from around the world to reinvent the shoe for the very first time. The result is the Superstar shelltoe coming alive with these creatives’ bespoke artwork, joined by six of Pharrell’s very own designs. Along with Pharrell’s, the collection of NYC contemporary designer Todd James and Japanese artist Mr., will be available in South Africa.

In addition to the short film, the collaboration further includes a look book with The Sartists’ final custom creations photographed by Andile Buka, as well as an installation at AREA3 featuring the three artists. The installation was conceptualized by ANDPEOPLE, the activations agency behind the film.

Says Ricole Green, for adidas Originals, South Africa: “Supershell is all about evolving the Superstar shoe into a canvas for creation. It’s the third part of our #OriginalSuperstar campaign and it is aimed at giving those with creative courage the platform to express themselves without being swayed by opinion.”

The collaboration between adidas Originals and The Sartists was recently launched and celebrated at an exclusive event at AREA3 located in Braamfontein, a suburb regarded as the epicenter of South Africa’s growing street style culture.

The result is a powerful documentary style short film titled ‘It’s Not About Us’ which follows the journey of The Sartists, a Johannesburg-based creative collective, who aim to recreate and communicate authentic and untold African stories through fashion and photography. It’s an intimate portrait of three unique characters - Kabelo Kungwane, Wanda Lephoto and Xzavier Zulu – and their shared passion for creativity which is brought to life through the photographic lense of Andile Buka. The film reveals their motivations, fears and dreams as they work tirelessly towards their first ‘big break’ – a collaboration with adidas Originals for the launch of Supershell in South Africa. Explains Green: “The Sartists have been on our radar ever since they showcased their curated vintage suits and leather brogues with the iconic three stripes at one of the very first STR CRD’s in Johannesburg. Their passion for adidas, the product and the brand’s heritage is so inspiring and we’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to work with them. We believe that The Sartists are the perfect translation of the Supershell’s meaning on a local level – giving credit to artists that have developed their personal style in an effort to create for themselves without the need for external validation. They share a consistent trait with the creatives se-

Visit www.adidas.com/originalsuperstar for more information. Follow adidas South Africa on Twitter (@adidasZA) and Instagram (adidasZA) or join a conversation with The Sartists by using #superstar #supershell and #adidasOriginals. the streets of Jozi and their community hangouts as the backdrop, the film captures how Kabelo, Wanda and Xzavier came to meet, where they find their inspiration and how they express their creativity without restriction. “This film isn’t about us,” says Xzavier. “It’s about the people who will be inspired by this. People that are going to take away from it that ‘this is possible’, even for them. It tells a collective story – of the aspirations of our youth, of young creatives in South Africa finding their true voice and not surrendering their talent to conform.”

“Pantsula is an expression of cultural roots for many South Africans – from fashion, to music and dance. We wanted to celebrate it as a strong story of our country’s style heritage. We took that pantsula aesthetic and added them to deconstructed adidas garments to pay

SOUNDS OF THE SARTISTS Trompies Sigiya Ngengoma

Chicco Twala Papa Stop The War

Dirty Paraffin

Okmalumkoolkat

100k Macassette

TKZ Halloween

1998

1989

2012

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1998

Wanda adds: “We’ve always been inspired by our environment and we saw it as a way of giving back – an opportunity to somehow pay creativity forward while celebrating our stories of heritage and culture. adidas Originals is for individuals whose contribution sets them apart and we wanted to do something that is going to matter to the people who see it.” THE LAKE

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CHEMISTRY MEDICINE BOY The complex emotional or psychological interaction between people WRITER - Simone Schultz

PHOTOGRAPHY - HAYDEN PHIPPS PHOTOGRAPHY (B&W) - JACQUI VAN STADEN

To watch dream-noise duo Medicine Boy is to watch chemistry in motion. Processes of interactions and reactions occupy the heady space they simultaneously fill and leave empty. Drawing you into the intimate place they inhabit, you’re left transfixed, bound by the rhythmic swells, the raw and honest voices, the sway of your body, the stomp of your soles. Some kind of voodoo, a special kind of strange. This osmosis – the gradual and unconscious assimilation and swirling around of ideas and influences – is only natural for band members Andre Leo and Lucy Kruger. Both are faithful devotees to music, their passion and love for sound reaching far back to their youth. For Andre, it began with a Rolling Stones album given to him by his father more than a decade ago. This was his introduction to music and from there he spent his pocket money on two Stones albums a month for the last two years of high school. Sitting in his lounge, he points to a stack of magazines. “I still have a copy of the forty year anniversary Rolling Stones Mojo magazine. I kept it in a plastic sleeve and it used to be my Bible. That was one of my greatest musical educations.”

It is in this sonic laboratory that Medicine Boy was born. Andre explains, “From the beginning (in 2013) we wanted to make something with two people, something new, to challenge ourselves but also to be more mobile (as a band).” To this story Lucy adds, “We were supposed to play in Johannesburg with the full band, but it didn’t happen because physically it was too difficult [with five members]. Then one of us said, ‘we should just start a two piece, we should do this,’ and then we did.” They have always had a sense of urgency to what they do, but up until this point it had been impossible to realise their vision. “It just aligned for both of us, being together at that time, and with time. Other people our ages are shifting and building ca-

“We had to trust what we were doing and that what sounded good to us was something worthwhile” says Lucy. The freedom to create, to make magic and experiment with all kinds of chemistry also required a quiet yet stoic kind of confidence – largely thanks to their years of experience in making music, seperately and together. The duo take care to emphasise the sheer hard work and dedication they both inject into the band, but their humility and sincerity is undeniable. At the heart of it, the unwavering commitment to making it work, every damn day, is because of their mutual and unfaltering love for music – nothing more and nothing less. “It’s a very deep love” says Andre, “sometimes musicians start to lose the pure unadulterated love for it. I

This ‘education’ led him to start his first band with a group of high-school friends. “I pretty much learnt how to play guitar by playing in the band” he says, to which Lucy adds, “there’s a lot to be said for discovering [music] on your own. Then you can’t help but find your own style.” The members of Andre’s first band went their own ways after high school, with the exception of drummer Lucas Swart, who is one of Andre’s closest musical counterparts. Lucas then switched to playing the guitar (his first instrument) and together with Calvin Siderfin they started The Very Wicked, which Lucy came to be a part of. From a very young age, Lucy was obsessed with singing. An accomplished musician in her own right, she began by singing in school and church choirs. At sixteen, she decided to try writing her own songs and needed something to do it with. So, she picked up a guitar and began to compose for herself. She played a few informal shows with her sister-in-law while in high school and after graduating, moved to Grahamstown to pursue an honours degree in Humanities, studying voice and majoring in drama. After varsity, she moved to Cape Town where she met Lucas (Swart) who was in The Very Wicked with Andre at the time. They began playing together, and when The Very Wicked needed a female vocalist she joined the band. Lucy and her band mates started working on a separate project that would become Lucy Kruger and The Lost Boys and after a few line-up shifts the bands comprised the same musicians playing together under a different guise. While The Very Wicked play fewer shows these days, The Lost Boys are still a regular feature and are working towards a studio album to be released next year. “Medicine Boy and The Lost Boys share a similar attitude, but they’re also very different” says Andre. “Playing smaller shows with different bands helps to put us in different situations, to learn how to do the loud thing, the soft thing – it keeps you playing. Having more than one project going means you’re able to play more – and that’s really important.”

reers and we also have that drive. But maybe we were the lucky ones who could (and did) put that same shifting energy into music,” says Lucy. The pair evaded preconceived ideas of what Medicine Boy should be, or how they would do it – “It could have been anything for a while,” says Lucy. There is a harmonious fluidity to what they do, and it’s been that way from the very beginning. In the lounge of the home they share, they began experimenting with instruments and sounds (Lucy actually played the drums for a while) and their sound began to evolve naturally. They pieced together a handful of songs and then brought in the drum machine – something they never thought they’d do. Being a two-piece band working within the inherent limitations of their instruments, they worked at Medicine Boy every single day (and still do). These limitations soon transformed into an unmistakable kind of freedom from which “some very cool stuff arose.”

still get this feeling when I listen to the Stones. Theoretically, neither of us is really very good, but sometimes we do things and write things, and we don’t quite know what they are but it feels good. So we go with our feeling. Music is just that thing we’re always thinking about or busy with in some or other way. This is it.” Andre and Lucy have an osmotic kind of chemistry, and this blistering exchange is evident in their approach to music making. Lucy describes how she learns from the honest and pure route that Andre took to find his passion and musical style, by playing shows from as young as fifteen; while Andre appreciates the possibilities that have arisen through playing together. “There were sounds in my head and things I wanted to do that I had never been able to, and when I started playing with Lu, suddenly they were possible.” Medicine Boy debuted by opening for The Golden Animals (USA) on the Johannesburg leg of their South

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African tour. According to Andre, “It was pretty terrifying, just the two of us”, but Lucy admits, “It felt good to be scared and to get out on the other side.” About this experience, Andre adds, “One of the best things about playing alongside like-minded bands, and bands that you like, is the synergy between the bands.” Despite the rush to complete songs in time for the show, Medicine Boy’s entry into the scene was a success. They cut their teeth in the first year of playing live shows and Medicine Boy’s sound took on a fluid presence of its own. There is an undeniable sense of intimacy implicit in their sound and their performance. Being partners and band mates, this profound quality is inescapable. “We became friends through music, so it’s the basis of our relationship. When we play together, we’re constantly feeding off and playing off the other person. Playing these instruments and dealing with the different sounds creates quite an intense presence. It would be impossible for us to do this on autopilot” observes Andre. Lucy’s interpretation of this presence is uncomplicated: “You can’t cheat or fake intimacy. We are very much there together because we are there together, and we know each other that well. That’s the fact of the matter. We completely believe in what we’re doing and believe in the band at the same level at all times. It’s pretty intense, but neither of us would have it any other way” she concludes. As a student of performance, Lucy learnt the value of “taking risks, being brave and being vulnerable.” According to Lucy, “the key was to not perform. My lecturers were insistent on the idea of being present. Stripping away what you think you should look like, to unlearn that and to approach performance from a vulnerable and honest state.” For both Andre and Lucy, this palpable sense of ‘being present’ is of paramount importance. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we’re not a band that’s just here to entertain the masses on a Sunday afternoon. We give our all and we want people to be there with us in doing that” says Andre. And this presence isn’t reserved for performances or recording sessions either. Their commitment to making music, to putting in the hours and doing it with integrity and pure intentions reveals their insistence on being present at every turn of the process. They are firm believers that “each person has their own process, and that the best way to make good music is to put in the hours and take the time to find the best way – and then to exist and work hard in that space.” Lucy and Andre are unrestrained in their approach to making music and Medicine Boy certainly has more space in which and with which they can push and pull, create and recreate. According to Andre, “The easiest way to say something about a band is to draw comparisons with another band, but with Medicine Boy we don’t directly genre ourselves – we just kind of go. Hearing what people hear in the music is always interesting because it varies from place to place.” They both agree that their influences are far easier to identify in retrospect, rather than as direct references. Andre ventures, “Anyone who listens to us will hear the obvious influences – The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, that kind of stuff. I’ve always been very into blues music, and my favourite 33

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is probably John Lee Hooker. I was always amazed by how he made these incredible tracks with just one guitar and his voice. When we started Medicine Boy, I could explore that side of things more. I’ve always been a massive Nick Cave fan, and recently discovered Rowland S. Howard, who veers between heart-breaking, gentle strumming, the fierce hellish sounds his guitar makes, and then all the space between.” Bands like Spiritualized, Spacemen 3 and Mazzy Star also influence them – the intensity of noise bands and the converse gentleness creates a unique space for Medicine Boy to experiment in. Like they say, “The idea behind [the band] is that it can go anywhere, it doesn’t have to stick to one sound.” “We’re also inspired by the attitudes of bands, towards their music and towards their audience” Lucy adds. “We saw Nick Cave play in Spain and then, when we played live shows and worried about our audience or our performance, we tried to channel Nick Cave. He and the band have such an unfaultable energy, in their writing and their performance.” Nick Cave playing in Barcelona was actually the catalyst for the band’s (very) recent three-month tour of Europe and the UK. Andre recounts the story, “We saw that Nick Cave was playing in Spain, and we wanted to go to Barcelona, so we booked the tickets before we booked anything else and then were like, ‘Well now we have to go.’” Lucy says that being a two-piece band definitely helped to make the tour a reality in such a short space of time. “One of us suggested it, and then we bought the tickets that night.” Clearly, the power of suggestion and their consistent tendency to align serendipitously is an auspicious characteristic of Medicine Boy. They bought the ticket and were about to take the ride. The duo worked to make contacts through friends, acquaintances and the Psych Night network (Andre is also a member of the collective who are promoting and growing the Psych scene in South Africa). After millions of emails, dead-ends and empty promises, they single-handedly built up their Europe/ UK Tour. In this case though, ‘single-handedly’ refers only to the fact that they planned and booked their adventure into Europe without the help of agents or sponsors. “I think it’s great to have done it this way” says Lucy, “because it can only get easier. But we didn’t do it alone at all. If we put out a call for anything, we would have tons of people from all over the world offering advice, tagging people they thought could help. This tour was actually organised by a big group of people and if anyone could help, they did.” It’s difficult not to get overly sentimental about such things, but why shouldn’t they? Andre acknowledges that, “At the end of the day, it was down to a handful of amazing individuals who made this thing possible. It was an extremely personal thing.” Lucy goes on to share, “It was very inspiring, it felt like people were rooting for us. From the beginning we were and still are blown away by how kind and giving friends and strangers are.” Their whirlwind touring schedule is evidence of their interminable hard work and the generosity of their supporters. Their final schedule allowed them to play four nights a week (a tour highlight for both of them) and included France, Spain, Germany, Holland and England. Now home and able to recount their experiences, they share some of the most memorable encounters. For Lucy, meeting like-minded people who are making music or involved in the Psych scene was one, and Andre was humbled to have seen so many of their favourite bands, sometimes more than once. Adding to the magic were the more personal victories: “It’s the little things, like playing in a venue that one of your favourite bands played in – it seems like such a small thing, but it’s not.” Andre is talking about a venue in France where A Place To Bury Strangers had recently played. Another one of these personal highlights was playing with Hoboken Division and

then braaing with them in guitarist Matt’s backyard at his home in Nancy (France). Naturally, the red wine was flowing and according to Andre, “the moon was out and it was just so dream-like.” Matt brought out a “glorious” bottle of red wine that his in-laws had given him when they bought their house and the bands made merry under the French moon. One of their favourite shows was organised with Psychedelic Revolution and Rat King in Toulouse (France). Romain Perier (of Rat King) booked a few shows for Medicine Boy and they recount that at the first show “the sound was great, [they] were well taken care of, and it really felt like what [they] are doing is valuable.” Following this first show, Romain had booked them to play another show, which meant a less than comfortable five-hour drive to the next town. On arrival, Andre and Lucy discovered the ‘venue’ was actually a tiny basement, with no organiser to be found. While they didn’t play the show that night, they ended up going for dinner with the few people who had come out to watch. “We had quite a memorable evening, despite none of us speaking the same language,” says Lucy. Romain was upset about the show-that-never-was, and organised a second show in Toulouse the following week. This time, Medicine Boy played to people who had already seen their show – who knew them, liked them and trusted them – some of whom were already singing along to the songs. Attentive and curious, the European audience seemed to feel the music – to have an emotional response to Medicine Boy. It isn’t altogether surprising that they responded by “trying to articulate the way it made them feel”. Andre recounts how when they first started playing in Medicine Boy, “If people were engaged, they were quiet and quite still and we wondered why they weren’t dancing or moving. We’ve come to terms with it though, and we quite like that our music creates a peculiar space where people are engaged to the point where they aren’t able to totally let go. It’s a slightly charged atmosphere I guess.” Lucy continues, “People responded with genuine emotion, we felt like we were doing something right. In Europe, people talk about these things a little easier.” In the way that only the French can, one man told them that after watching their show “he just [wanted] to go home and make a baby with his wife”. It is exactly this kind of responsive honesty that Medicine Boy both embody and draw out of their audience. Being stalwarts of the Psych scene in South Africa, Lucy and Andre are in a position to compare the scenes in Europe, the UK and South Africa. Lucy says, “A lot of the time, it’s the same thing. Maybe the scenes are bigger, but it’s the same thing – people create smaller communities because those communities are warmer. We’ve got them here (in South Africa) and they’ve got them there. In Europe, I think there are just more people so it’s possible to play more shows to that audience. One isn’t better than the other at all.” Andre observed a difference between Europe and the UK: “Europeans are still hungry for live music, many towns don’t get to see much of it. But there is something of a movement going on so there’s room for smaller acts to operate and play decent shows. In comparison, the UK is over-saturated, there are hundreds of bands and so much going on all the time.” Having both been “hugely inspired and influenced, on all levels”, they’ve yet to see how these influences are going to manifest in their sound. They have started writing and working on songs, but are both still processing the experience, focusing on trying to impart the sense of musicality and mood that they want to portray. For Medicine Boy, coming home after the tour has ushered in a period of evaluation and re-evaluation, discovery and rediscovery. Andre elaborates on this new phase, saying, “Coming back from this tour, it really feels like the first chapter

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of this band is done. This is a new thing, and it’s extremely exciting. We are inspired and ready to work, to push and challenge ourselves. The focus now is on writing new stuff, and it’ll probably be different than before.” They have also learned that being part of a small community, like the one here in South Africa, it’s easier to forget to look outwards, into the vastness of the rest of the global scene. Lucy acknowledges, “It can be quite easy to form your opinions of yourself according to a select group of people. Being out there, you realise how vast it is and how it matters, but also that it only really makes sense to do what makes sense to you.” So where to from here? Medicine Boy will be taking a break from the live music scene to focus their energy on recording their next studio album. Pegged for release in Spring 2016, this album is an especially distinct milestone for the band. After some deliberation, Lucy and Andre decided to let us in on one of their most intimate and treasured tour stories, and reveal why this album is so important to them. They measure their words and begin, “This is the first time that either of us are able to have such dedicated time in the studio, and the reason we have this opportunity is because we met an extremely kind and generous individual on our tour who was really moved by our music. After the second show he said ‘I’d really like to have you guys back here because I want to see you play again. How can I help you?’ He is in a position to help us, and we had already been saving to make the album ourselves, so now we have less financial pressure and we can just focus on the music and making the album the best we can. It’s an incredible gift from someone who has trusted us to do something good and meaningful, which we are intent on doing.” They had hoped that this tour would present some kind of recording opportunity, but to find a patron for a musical endeavour is something they could never have imagined. Lucy concludes the story by saying, “It’s a very physical way of showing us that taking a leap has rewards.” For the next year, they are committed to making this album a reality. In whatever incarnation it arrives, it will be the result of a series of reactions, explorations, experiments, sheer passion and hard work. While they may not be able to predict what the future holds, they know that making this album is the one thing they can do regardless. After recording, they plan to embark on their second European tour, this time taking their new album with them. Their vision of success is simple, humble even: “to be in a position to continue making and releasing music, to play and tour. Both of us want to play music – this is what we want to do for the rest of our lives.” Both Lucy and Andre have an admirable single-mindedness. This decisiveness imbues the humility that comes with knowing that there is no other way they’d rather have it. So while we may not see them play for the next while, we know that they’ll be in their lounge, where it all began, drinking red wine and making music – and they wouldn’t have it any other way. “Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.” - Keith Richards According to the Rolling Stones

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD Medicine Boy More Knives EP 2015 BANDCAMP

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JUNGLE FEVER JUNGLE JIM ZINE WRITER - RUAN SCOTT

`IMAGES - JUNGLE JIM

It’s entertainment for the plebeian, for the proletariat. Fantastical tales of magic and light, scientific stories of spaceships and stars. High stake adventures of cowboys and crooks and gruesome depictions of man-eating hounds and deadly assassin archers. This is the graphic world of pulp fiction. The latest issue (No 25: The fantastic Femmes issue) of Jungle Jim pulp fiction magazine, printed in Salt River, distributed around the world where and when possible and appearing bi-monthly, features four such stories. All with a female protagonist. Themed issues like this aren't scheduled, but the JJ team pick up on similarities in entries over time, all of which hail from Africa or from African diaspora (one of the only formal requirements to submit as an author) and release them collectively. Hannes and Jenna, founders and publishers of Jungle Jim (JJ) magazine, were sharing an office many moons ago when both became frustrated with their creative endeavors (and sometimes still do, having kept their jobs in the design and film industries. JJ is a passion project, the kind you do for love and fun – not money). Jenna was trying to negotiate the demands of financiers and a studio in making her first film, while Hannes was coping with clients in his design field. Both wanted to do something where they had complete creative control. Something they could put into action immediately. Brainstorming ideas for a cool project. One which would combine their individual fields of expertise and would fill a niche they didn’t see catered for - the concept of a pulp magazine came to mind. Why start and run a literary magazine in an age where reading is certainly not considered an optimal leisure activity? If anything, reading is considered a pastime for the old, the nerd, the geek or the elite – not for the people hidden behind laptop screens covered in duvets bingeing out on TV series. As Hannes says: “We knew that there had been a time when reading was fun - but also cool - something people would do anywhere, would look forward to, which wasn’t an elitist activity”. As mentioned earlier JJ is a creative baby conceived by passion and their initial business model was based on how much money the duo could afford to lose, rather than make, every month. This freed them from advertising revenue allowing them to create what they wanted to and maintain an undiluted sense of independence. The tradition of pulp is rooted in physical print publication but being available online second to their print runs doesn’t go against the essence of being a pulp mag. Hannes feels: “The growth of online reading, eBooks and mass global digital distribution did a lot to change what’s possible on micro budgets. So we are able to mass-release online to a wide international audience at almost no cost, while maintaining the values of print which we consider important”. These kinds of publications were published cheaply in large numbers during the height of the pulp fiction frenzy globally from the 1950s up until the 80s. It still exists today but not nearly as feverishly as in the past. And in Africa there was no shortage. Electronic media only reached our shores way after its invention and inception so people naturally resorted to reading as a source of education and entertainment. Hannes explains that 'there is a very long tradition

of pulp across Africa, as well as other DIY publishing scenes such as Onitsha Market literature from Nigeria. Since TV penetration came much later and more dispersed throughout the continent, reading as a popular means of entertainment was common. Unfortunately most of these magazines have vanished off the face of the earth… but we maintain a collection of covers (including as many from Africa or the ‘developing’ world as possible). Pulp is by its very nature mass-produced and accessible to a mass market - if we’re not always able to accomplish this through our hardcopy production and distribution, then it makes sense to take advantage of the new ways of reaching readers that were not possible in the decades when ‘original’ ideas of pulp were being formed. Just like the ‘originals’ would have done anything to be as mass as possible, we consider the internet part of this mentality today. But Jungle Jim is a bit of a misfit in the literary publication sphere. JJ definitely deviates from the norm of a literary publication and accosts the ideas of what is considered high and low literature; “literary ideas which seem particularly outdated in a generation of literary hybridization and desperate competition. We at Jungle Jim don’t feel that low literature (aka genre fiction) has to be without quality or substance - what makes the best genre fiction great is the new light it casts on current affairs and society, and this is the kind of writing we seek out”, Hannes points out. The main requirement for submission of entry is that the author must be from the African continent; they have to form part of its diaspora. JJ feels that the numerous genre fiction publications around today are overshadowed by Western perspectives, to such an extent that it’s become generic.

He continues: “Traditional western pulps often featured Africa as the exotic other – enforcing the colonial tropes of Africa with its 'heart of darkness'. We knew that Jungle Jim could draw on some aspects of traditional pulp such genres, production, frequency, style, while challenging some of the problems of the tradition. By making a truly African pulp (by African creators) we get to expand the views we hold on the continent. We have also been lucky in getting contributors from all across Africa.” Receiving multiple submissions on a regular basis is bound to get stories that are truly macabre and crooked, stories too obscure to publish. It's the nature of this field but Hannes feels that JJ's approach and mentality invites such stories and controversies. “We’ve published stories that bend the rules dramatically. We carefully consider every story we feature, and do not publish anything we feel to be exploitative or gratuitous, reality is shocking and we have no qualms about doing that justice.” JJ stays true to the look and feel of pulp publishing, but adds to its aesthetic value by incorporating the team’s design skills and by tapping into its growing pool of volunteer illustrators, ultimately producing a publication that looks cool and holds collectable

qualities. All the illustrations are commissioned from a network of artists. The only criteria is that they, like the authors, be African (from the continent or diaspora). They seek illustrators who have a clear grasp of working in flat colors, have experience with single color/overprinting and who seem to enjoy working in pulpy mediums. The first two issue were screen-printed in their makeshift lab. As sentimental and DIY as they would have liked to be, it made little sense and cost a lot more time and capital than they initially anticipated. An alternative was sought and they swapped the screen-printing for 2-colour Riso printing which gave them the high impact, spot color printing of silk screen with a higher, faster and cheaper output. Using ballpoint blue and cherry red allows them to create a ‘black’ (or often very dark blue) when overprinting both inks. Along with the paper color this gives us cream, blue, red & black while printing with only two colors Hannes says. A story needs a title and the team settled on Jungle Jim as the name for their publication after much deliberation. “We spoke for a long time about the title, and in the end chose the first thing we could both agree on. At the same time, we liked the idea of the word ‘Jungle’ as we were very aware of the way Africa had been portrayed in a lot of the pulp we were referencing, and we wanted to somehow reclaim that, albeit in a tongue-in-cheek way”. JJ is a literary project true to the DIY zine culture found globally. It's pop culture, it's social criticism, it's the view of the world and other worlds through the power of story telling. But it is actually more than that as Hannes states: “From the beginning we wanted to create something that was far greater than the sum of its parts – something that has both incredible value and high design sensibilities. Our illustrators and authors vary and pulp writing by nature is extremely graphic, so it lends itself to a more literal illustrative nature. They aren’t nostalgic or sentimental about pulp. They created this magazine to talk about Africa now. DIY is at the heart of the pulp tradition and all of these influences led to the creation of Jungle Jim”.

INFO : www.junglejim.org

JU JU SOUNDS The Very Best Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit 2008 Independent

Nanda Collection Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 2013 Unborde

Soul Brothers Jive Explosion 1988

SKOMPLAZI Zulu love letter 2009

John wizards

Virgin

Ghetto Ruff

Planet Mu

john wizards

2013

“The whole point of Jungle Jim is to create a vehicle for African stories, by using genre as a way of communicating to audiences who may be totally out of touch with African literature otherwise” says Hannes. THE LAKE

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Ella, Azuli & Julia Misty Cliffs STYLIST - KRISTI VLOK

PHOTOGRAPHY - Anke Loots

HAIR & MAKEUP- MARCHET TERBLANCHE MODELS - Azuli Peeters at Ice Models / Ella Jayne at Boss Models / Julia Campbell-Gillies 2nd Page Julia: in Babette Top & Zara Jersey worn as turban / 3rd page Azuli: bag Louis Vuitton THE LAKE

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solic weave LYNDI SALES INTERVIEW - RACHEL KELLY

IMAGES - WHATIFTHEWORLD / DAVID BLOOMER

“Deep Space is evocative and has varied associations for me. As a child it was heaven, then it became a place of imagination where anything was possible. In its vastness it doesn’t feel like a lonely place.” For our readers who know nothing about you, could you give us a bit of background on who you are and how you became a contemporary South African artist? Well I graduated with my Masters degree in Fine Art from Michaelis in 2001. I was a visiting lecturer at both Michaelis and Stellenbosch University for a short period after that. Over the past 14 years I have had a number of solo shows, and participated in group shows and art fairs in the hope of establishing a career as a full time artist.

the inception. So yes I think art therapy is an extremely valuable tool to unpack that which is difficult to comprehend and difficult to express. After suppressing my issues around loss for many years I really got to look at my pain deeply and analytically for the first time. From being a person who never spoke about my loss, the process has enabled me to feel less afraid to do just that and I now feel quite liberated doing so.

to the aeroplane flight with its move ‘from one realm to another’, and the moment of transference from positive and present, to negative and absent”. Could you comment on this statement and elaborate on whether this still applies to your current practice in any way?

What is it about the art making process that you are drawn to and why is it that you want to spend your time producing something that is tangible such an art object or an installation?

You’ve had numerous solo shows in the last 15 years including: ‘1 in 11 000 000 Chances’ , ‘TRANSIenT’, ‘Blur Zone’ , ‘Passive Surveillance’, ‘Apperception’, ‘Praeternatural light’ and most recently ‘the person you see’…

As a child I had been told I could spend hours in my room drawing, stitching and ultimately just being alone. Not much has changed. My studio is my sanctuary. I feel quite privileged that I’m able to do what I do all day. I’m always inspired to try new things. I’m constantly experimenting with new media most of which never leaves my studio but the process is what motivates me. I enjoy the concentrated time creating and the accumulation of pieces has always been part of my process. Recently I’ve been hand cutting small pieces of aluminium for weeks and finally the piece is about to take shape as a 7 x 3 metre installation. There is something very exciting about that.

Of all your solo shows, which would you say you most enjoyed seeing ‘come to life’ and why? Last year at Circa I showed a version of Satellite telescope that I had previously shown in Venice and in Cape Town. The Circa space is a beautiful, voluminous, encompassing, oval-shaped space which seemed perfect for a suspended installation like Satellite telescope. The work was shown in a darkened space with strong directional lighting, which really enhanced the spectrum of colours in the radiant Perspex and cast amazing coloured reflections on the walls and floor. There was something rewarding for me in that piece “coming to life” the way I had always envisioned it would.

You have had shows with numerous galleries in both South Africa and abroad. Who are you currently represented by and how do you feel that a relationship with a gallery benefits you in your art making process?

A number of your more recent works make direct reference in their titling to astrophysics or what is most commonly referred to as ‘space’ (such as ‘Deep Sky Survey’ and ‘Astronomical Seeing’). What is your interest in ‘space’ / astrophysics and how does this tie in to your artistic concerns?

Currently Whatiftheworld represents me here in Cape Town. I had a show at Circa in JHB last year and I have another coming up next year. Galerie Maria Lund represents me in Paris and Toomey Tourell in San Francisco. Next year I also have a show in Hong Kong and Sydney with M contempory. Some galleries like to have regular studio visits and like to give feedback while others leave it entirely up to me. I’m not sure if the relationship with a gallery benefits my art making process; however I find the feedback invaluable. A lot of your earlier work made reference to personal experience (such as the death of your father in the 1987 Helderberg plane crash). Do you feel that this direct artistic confrontation with the past was in any way cathartic or aided you in overcoming or accepting this and if so, what are your opinions on the practise of art therapy / art practice in overcoming trauma? The Helderberg body of work was a cathartic process for me. For sure it was difficult, highly personal and felt uncomfortably exposing at

about where the dead go after this life. I’m fascinated by this idea of other levels or realms. This subject is still very much part of my current work. I think Katherine Jacobs was making reference to the laser cut work and the material (sometimes newspaper, life vest/raft rubber etc.) that was cut away as symbolic of negative space and hence absence which was clearly my expression of loss at that time. I think I see it slightly differently. Right now negative space no longer equates to absence. It seems that the more we discover through science the more we realize that “nothingness” or negative space does not exist. Nothingness is merely that which we can’t quite comprehend and so we can’t see it. Like dark energy for example.

In 2007, Katherine Jacobs wrote of your exhibition ‘TRANSIenT’ at Bell-Roberts Gallery: “Process, it seems, is also a fitting way to describe Sales’ conception of death, describing death as ‘a transient period’, akin

I’m still fascinated by this physical experience we call life and the journey or spiritual intermediate state the Buddhists term Bardo - the transitional or liminal state to the next world. With my personal experience of loss I began to wonder

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Deep Space is evocative and has varied associations for me. As a child it was heaven, then it became a place of imagination where anything was possible. In its vastness it doesn’t feel like a lonely place. In my work I’m interested in the crossover between science and art. How each informs the other. The parallel between the infinitely small and the infinitely large. Like the sabutol crystal in my asthma inhaler that also resembles a star exploding, it’s the visual similarities that interest me. I’m also intrigued by the way Hubble images are fed back to us as majestic realms. They often look like they have been digitally enhanced to inspire otherworldliness. As somebody who has a well-established art career, what is it like being a full time artist in South Africa and having had res45

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idencies in other countries such as the US and Belgium? What advice can you give to less established emerging artists? My advice would be to apply for as many residencies as you can when you finish studying. I wish I had done more residencies before I had children. It’s a great opportunity to have concentrated time to experiment, play and work in a new environment. You will meet other artists and see how they work but generally for me being away from my studio always enables me to see with fresh eyes. could you elaborate a little on how your artistic practice has evolved over time from a focus on more personal experience such as memory, genetics and death (‘Anomoly’, ‘1 in 11 000 000 chances’ and ‘TRANSIenT’) to more existential questions such as perception (‘Deep Sky Survey’) and what has perhaps informed this evolution over time? After creating the work about the Helderberg I felt a little lost. I had opened a can of worms within myself and it took time to deal with that. So that’s when I began to wonder about things - how we perceive the world through our own filters, the metaphysical realm is a fascinating place. I joined a group of people interested in the metaphysical and meditation as a tool to go deeper and heighten an experience. We often worked together in groups, which were facilitated by a teacher, and this period definitely informed my work, and although I am no longer part of the group, it still does inform my work. So for me the transition from memory, genetics and death to the existential, and how our experience is perceived through this space-time we call life, seems like a natural progression. You make use of digital laser cutting in a lot of your work. What is it about laser cutting that appeals to your artistic sensibilities, as opposed to for example, hand cutting the works or rendering the same visual imagery in another medium? I hand cut all my works for my Masters body of work. Then I had this idea to produce an alternative print whereby I would laser engrave/burn an image into a piece of paper in much the same way that I would engrave a copper plate. After making such a print at a commercial laser engraver I realized the scope of laser cutting. I see the works as drawings that I have created (as I draw everything by hand before I cut it) and then the laser is just another tool in the process, which is often quite unpredictable. I like the fact that I have to surrender control and what is left of a painting for example is what was meant to remain visible. Then of course I also laser cut materials that would be impossible to cut by hand such as Perspex, rubber etc. Incidentally my latest show No Place does not include any laser cut works. Many of your bodies of work are incredibly intricate (such as ‘Deep Sky Survey’, ‘DSS2’, ‘Astronomical Seeing’ and ‘Blur Zone’) and conjure up associations of microscopic and cellular level imagery. Why do you think you tend toward this in relation to the subject matter of your work? That which is not part of our everyday visual repertoire - what cannot be easily seen - always intrigues me. Microscopes and telescopes are extensions of our vision. They help us understand the macrocosm and the microcosm, which feel like unknown places or realms of wonder. I mentioned earlier where a microscopic crystal of Sabutol found in my asthma inhaler can resemble a star exploding. This parallel is what intrigues me. There seems to be visual parallels in the infinitely large and infinitely small.

Many of your pieces are complex installations - how do you find the South African art market and its buyers react to these kinds of artworks and what solutions have you found to aid in the acquisition of them? Of all the works I make it is the large-scale installation that excites me the most. These works challenge and force me to work outside my comfort zone. There are always technical issues such as what the artwork will hang from or how I will hang it. I never expect to sell them and I often see them as experiments where I can play. UCT bought a large installation for their new engineering building and the installation Satellite telescope at Circa was also sold. So there is a place for them in the South African art market. These pieces are usually sold to institutions or corporates who have large spaces and atriums. There seems to be an almost ‘other-worldly’ aesthetic to a lot of your work, which is then contrasted with more personal and humanist themes of memory, chance and experience. Could you comment on this contrast and how you have found such a delicate balance between these two potentially different components which have combined to become an aesthetic that you are now recognised for? The one really evolved into or informed the other. It began with personal loss. Everyone has or will experience death and loss at some stage and once I had unpacked my own experience of it I found myself drawn to the otherworldly. The near-death experience was a bridge. I became fascinated with accounts of near-death experience. The idea of a glimpse into the next realm seems like such a gift. I feel that the here and now is not that far away from the “other-world”. Sometimes I think we are merely riding the wave together existing simultaneously through multiple realms. Like a deja vu when you feel like your reality is slipping. Maybe that’s a cross-over or a glitch? What are you currently working on and what can we expect next from LYNDI Sales? My current show is titled No Place at Whatiftheworld. It is quite a trajectory for me. There are no laser cut works and I have been experimenting with weaving techniques using industrial ropes. There are a series of large-scale drawings and a large installation made up of hand cut aluminium. There is a lot of new direction here in terms of the materiality and process. I’m excited by it and will be creating new works in the same manner for my show at Circa next year. INFO: www.whatiftheworld.com

STUDIO HITS MGMT Time to Pretend 2005

Empire of the Sun

Walking on a Dream 2008

Ryan Paris Dolce Vita 1983

Julee Cruise Falling 1990

Cantora

Capitol

Carrere

Warner Bros

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Beatenberg Hanging Gardens 2014

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THIRTEEN HOF JOACHIM SPELLING INTERVIEW - RICK DE LA RAY

PHOTOGRAPHY - OLIVER KRUGER

“The journey started more than 30 years ago - even before the Berlin Wall came down. I lived in West Berlin, I was young, very poor but very ambitious and I had a great passion for motorbikes, music and Hi-Fi systems.” HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO AND YOUR LINE OF BUSINESS TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER MET YOU BEFORE? I import very interesting Hi-Fi brands and products into South Africa, brands which are still unknown in South Africa but which are very famous and known in Europe and other parts of this planet. My little world at “Thirteen” is about Music, Hi-Fi & Art. It’s about beautiful, well-built and excellently performing turntables, valve- and transistor amplifiers, CD players and loudspeakers – mainly Horn Speakers. I am a passionate music lover and I am fortunate and grateful that my hobby turned out to be my profession – and this for more than 30 years.I am the general or sole importer of certain Hi-Fi brands, a distributor and a dealer. ‘Thirteen’ was my dream for many years – to create something very special, very unique . A space which is 100% ME myself without making any compromises. My “job” is to make people dream and this is very nice – far better than to sell insurance, weapons or socks. Thirteen is designed to make YOU forget about your schedule for the day and to experience “in full” how beautiful music can sound – and what massive and positive impact it can have on YOU. The only method to succeed is quite simple – I’m not selling! This is my philosophy. From a business point I strongly believe I make people wish and buy what they experience at my place – and what they hopefully like, love and dream about. HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN SOUTH AFRICA NOW AND WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO MOVE TO CAPE TOWN? I first came to Cape Town in 2004, fell in love with the country (like so many others), bought a house in Hout Bay and over the last 11 years have lived between the two worlds of Germany and South Africa. My young son Karl made me finally decide to stay here. I want to see him growing up next to me. YOU HAVE A VERY EXQUISITE HOME, SHOWROOM AND GALLERY. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE ‘OLD LADY’ AND HOW DID YOU END UP OWNING IT? I think this particular house is known by almost everyone in Cape Town. It’s a landmark as my artist friend Sascha Lochenkov always says. People in Cape Town have a lot of stories about my house. Scary stories, funny stories and erotic stories as well. How did I end up owning it? Well I bought it! YOUR COMPANY ‘THIRTEEN HOF’ DEALS IN VERY HIGH-END HI-FI AND SOUND EQUIPMENT AND YOU DEFINITELY GIVE YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS A COMPLETE LISTENING EXPERIENCE IN YOUR LOUNGE / SHOWROOM. WHAT TYPE OF CLIENTELE FOCUSES ON THE TYPE OF PRODUCT THAT YOU PROVIDE? It’s funny everybody always only remembers the very high-end products but there are so so many affordable products as well – truly entry level like

the award winning turntables by Rega – the legendary RP1 or RP3 – not to mention so many really budget-friendly amplifiers and speakers from Audio Analogue, Rega, NuPrime, Unison Research and Tannoy. ‘Thirteen’ is meant and made for everyone who loves Art, Music and Sound, who has a friendly character and who is searching for the different – and please do not feel scared to make an appointment – whoever comes is free to leave or escape at any time. LP RECORDS HAVE MADE A HUGE COMEBACK OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WHAT DO YOU THINK ALLOWED SUCH AN OLDER FORMAT TO MAKE SUCH A BIG COMEBACK AND DO YOU THINK THAT IT’S HERE FOR GOOD NOW? In my little world LPs never disappeared. For music lovers it’s never been a secret that Vinyl and good turntables are still the better format in music reproduction. And it’s cool – isn’t it? Much cooler than to look at a boring USB stick and say, ’hey while connecting my stick to my laptop I was having my first kiss with “Suzy”’. An LP cover is a far better medium to save such memories. These days we’re giving nonsense big names or titles, HD-TV, Ultrablablabla, High Resolution but take the HD-TV as an example and maybe you can agree, HD-TV is the most boring and disappointing format since TV began. Even a fantastic produced movie looks like a cheap “in Studio made” production. I believe that somehow more and more people are realizing that the industry is taking all of us for a ride… big slogans and big campaigns but very little content. All to make us buy. Listening to an LP is a very truthful and simple process. It has to be very very accurate and precise. It seems to be simple because it’s mainly about mechanical processes – but believe me, making a good turntable is from easy – it’s Art. I love to listen to my old but also new LPs but I also still listen to my CDs as well. Streaming? It’s the future yes but not my future. In figures and sales it’s all about STREAMING – it’s growing but I don’t get it and I can afford to stay out of that. YOU HAVE A VERY INTERESTING BACKGROUND WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING WITH SOUND EQUIPMENT AND THE TECHNOLOGY THAT’S INVOLVED IN IT. WHERE DID IT ALL START AND HOW DID YOU END UP WHERE YOUR ARE NOW? The journey started more than 30 years ago even before the Berlin Wall came down. I lived in West Berlin, I was young, very poor but very ambitious and I had a great passion for motorbikes, music and Hi-Fi systems (still have). At this time I was working almost nonstop – studying, working as a truck driver, buying and selling Vinyl on Berlin’s biggest flea market – the Tempodrom – and I started to buy and sell second-hand Hi-Fi. After the Wall came down in 1989 I made contact with a Danish company – the Hi-Fi Klubben – and I sold their stock overhangs and a little while later became their first sole importer for Dali Loudspeakers in Germany. From there many many brands came through my hands….over the last 15 years

my German company got very successful and there have been years that we supplied our products to more than 1800 dealers. It was hard work to get there - and of course luck as well. The wheel turned faster and faster, the company grew bigger and bigger. I suddenly realized that I was only involved in contracts and (often stupid) politics. I decided to slow down my life, sold my shares and now - with ‘Thirteen’ - my dream came true. No more compromises – that’s what ‘Thirteen Hof’ is. WITH THE WHOLE MONO AND STEREO DEBATE, MONO WAS FIRST AND THEN ALMOST DECLARED OBSOLETE WHEN STEREO ARRIVED. IN YOUR OPINION WHICH OF THE TWO PROVIDE THE BETTER QUALITY SOUND AND WHY WAS THERE SUCH A HYPE AROUND STEREO WHEN IT FIRST STARTED TO BE MARKETED? What a wonderfully simple question in a multi-channelling world. I guess Mono is closer to the reality of what Music is. There is really no such thing as Stereo or 5.1, 7.1 or whatever format in reality. It is interesting – somehow raw, direct and correct to listen to a Mono recording but please don’t let us become too esoteric – Stereo is absolutely fine and it gives our ears great pleasure and most of what you get to buy in music is Stereo. BESIDES DEALING IN HIGH-END SOUND EQUIPMENT YOU ALSO SELL ART AND HAVE QUITE A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF ARTISTS. WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO CHOOSING THE ARTISTS YOU DEAL WITH AND WHAT DRAWS YOU TOWARDS A CERTAIN ART PIECE OR SCULPTURE? No that is not fully true - I am not really selling Art. I love, adore, admire and collect Art from a very few artists - friends of mine who I believe have true genius, and are authentic and honest. I always like to say they are the handful of real artists. They are capable and able to paint of course but this you might expect from any graduate of Fine Art Academies all over the world. But what comes next? What do they have to tell us? I don’t see much in most Art of today. To be really honest. My favourite artists are mainly unknown in the SA art business - even though they all live and work in Cape Town or around the Mother City. Sascha

Lochenkov and Anastasia Nikolksky to give you two good examples are both blessed, gifted with great talent, well-educated and trained, genius and earth-grounded artists from St. Petersburg in Russia – but they have lived and worked here for almost 3 decades. Almost nobody knows them – except a few. Verna du Toit is another very good example of a local artist who is brilliant. But yes, they are all neither loud nor expressive and they are, thank God, not part of what I call the Art Circus. For them and for me ART is not about money – so from the perspective of the artists and myself as let’s call me a Gallerist..., we prefer to stay hungry, bright and fast rather than fat and flat. And Fame? Fame is for those who are looking for Fame. The Artwork I collect is almost “unsellable”! Art worldwide became another money-making machine, often from people without (their own) taste for people without any taste. Sounds harsh but it’s somehow the reality. Ask yourself.Who is selling Art today? Who is telling the world what and whose Art is Art? My background is so easy and simple ...so purely non-academic that I can allow myself to talk about Art however I want and feel. I can even say that I have no clue about Art. Art became a substantial business which for a long time hasn’t been in the hands of the artists. They became show-pieces, sometimes Clowns... abused and paid by those who blew them up big…. and often too big. Art of today is “made” by Banks, Auction Houses and Insurance companies. How perverted is this! No seriously…under these circumstances I don’t even try to sell my Art…but what hangs here on my walls is Art – uncompromised, uncommercial, raw and real. IS EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOUSE FOR SALE OR ARE THERE CERTAIN PIECES THAT YOU WOULD NOT PART WITH? Except my Vinyl & CD collection, a few paintings and maybe my antique Indian bed – yes you can buy all and everything – you can even buy the whole house…fully furnished with a proper Hi-Fi system. Then I would move on and I would have another good reason to create a new exciting space again,which is always great fun. INFO: www.13hof.co.za

greatest hits so far... King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King 1969 Island

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David Sylvian Nine Horses 2005

Genesis Foxtrot 1972

Frank Zappa The Yellow Shark 1993

Joe Zawinul World Tour 1998

Samadhi

Charisma

Barking Pumpkin

Tone Center

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QUICK FIX DAVID EAST QUESTIONS - LANI SPICE

PHOTOGRAPHY - DAVID EAST

“There is definitely people who still shoot in iPhone only and do really well at it. I don’t think there are that many purists as there used to be. I remember when it first kicked off people would not be into people using DSLRs, but if you go to a meetup nowadays most people will be shooting with some kind of DSLR” Let’s start off with a bit of your story such as where are you from? Hey, I am from Leeds, UK, lived there for 10 years before moving to Johannesburg, then moved to Cape Town to study. And been based here since. I am in-between Cape Town and London at the moment. How long have been on Instagram now and what made you decide to join the online medium?

though. It has made me think harder/differently to make something still look great in 1:1. When I got into 1:1 properly, it was tough getting used to the aspect ratio, but I ended up really liking it, it feels closer than putting in a wider shot - but with the new format it has changed the game completely. What was the breaking point for you within the medium? What do you feel generated such a big interest within your personal feed?

a film director / cinematographer. I have definitely done a lot more photography jobs because of my Instagram and people liking my pictures. I find that it’s great for people seeing the aesthetic I shoot though, and that’s a great benefit. You’ve spent some time traveling recently, can you tell us the places you’ve been and what took you there?

I have been on Instagram when it first came out, I think myself and @garethpon were some of the people who have been on it almost since it first began. I first joined it for everyday use, then realized it is a great platform for my photographs, then slowly started to take it seriously.

Within photography, is there a particular discipline you like to shoot the most, such as cityscapes, people, nature etc.? Well I think it’s all sorts. Urban, Portraits and Nature. I think having a mix is great. Coming back to Cape Town I feel I am back into the nature type shots (Mist, I love mist ha-ha), where as in London and New York I was very much shooting Urban and Portraits. It’s great to have a mix and work them into your feed. There’s talk of you starting a potential project relating to music and imagery, would you be keen to tell us about that?

Instagram started as a phone camera application, but these days a lot of people upload images from other devices to the platform. Do you feel that people should rather stick to the availability and the capability of the particular phone they are using, instead of bringing other devices into the equation?

There is definitely people who still shoot in iPhone only and do really well at it. I don’t think there are that many purists as there used to be. I remember when it first kicked off people would not be into people using DSLRs, but if you go to a meetup nowadays most people will be shooting with some kind of DSLR. Do you feel that you approach the composition of your work differently, simply because you have to fit it into a smaller viewing space? Well now that Instagram has recently changed its format so that all aspect ratios can be put on - that has changed the game a lot. I still like the 1:1 format

I like all sorts, I think what draws me to people’s feeds is people who are being unique. It is always rad to see people doing something different to other people and not just the same sunset beach shot.

I haven’t yet, but it is coming soon. I plan to have an exhibition in the near future.

Yeah, I studied Cinematography at AFDA. I think photography for me for a long time was a hobby. For a long time when I first started I used to just post 16x9 images, coming from a purely film background 16x9 just made sense and it was what the film dimensions were too, so I stuck with that for a while. Recently I have been doing a lot more photography work than I have done in the past, but I definitely still do more film projects.

Taking into consideration all the effects and filters that come with certain apps these days, is there still such a thing as a purist within the Instagram community?

Is there a style of photography that draws you the most on Instagram and what would make you want to follow a certain individual?

Do you ever take your work from online to print, such as taking part in exhibitions?

You are also a cinematographer having studied film at Afda, was photography always something you were interested in? Do you find yourself balancing the two?

I think people should use whatever they have on them at the time and the fact that we all have a decent camera in our pockets is a huge part of that. Nowadays most people use DSLRs or similar for their work. I think Instagram started as a purely mobile application but now has become galleries of people’s work.

documentary for them too. That was rad. Also New York is nuts, it’s a must see, and the light there is incredible.

Yeah, I have a new Instagram project called #movingstreetportraits, which instead of a normal street portrait, is a video version with music too, to create an extra element to it. I think it brings out something different from just a picture. What would you say are your biggest influences, is there anybody you look up to within the Instagram community? When I first started, I was one of the first few Instagram’s suggested users in South Africa, along with @ garethpon, @roywrench and a few others. We all got featured at about the same time which was great as our followings became much larger. I think we were putting out very different content from the rest of the world. I mean South Africa is very different from the US or U.K. So I think that helped a lot.

Yeah, I went to Europe and New York recently. I went to do some work in London and New York. I was doing a few music videos and some photography jobs. I went on tour with The Very Best through Europe which was awesome, got to go to some great festivals and shoot for them. I think my highlight of that trip though, was going on tour with Mumford and Sons to Scotland as their photographer and shooting part of a

Do you plan to shoot particular subject matter ahead of time or is it purely imagery that presents itself to you at a certain time and place?

greatest hits so far...

Both I think. There are some spots I see and want to go shoot them with friends. Especially in London and New York, there are certain shots that you have to get because they are really nice. But I think the shots that present themselves to you in the moment are the best ones. I love street shots of people and shadow play, I find that the best.

Foals

There are numerous people whose work I admire. People such as @ecolephoto, @tobishinobi, @dave.krugman, @garethpon, @jnsilva, @lastsuspect, @trashhand and @streetdreamsmag. These guys all have such great feeds and are also all really nice people too. It’s always nice to meet the people whose work you really admire and go out and shoot with them.

tame impala Currents 2015

fleetwood mac

2015

Beach House Bloom 2012

Warner Bros

Bella Union

Interscope

Warner Bros

what went down

rumors

1977

Tycho Awake 2014 Ghostly International

How has the medium affected your career, does it play a fulltime role in your life now? It has done a lot. It is not my fulltime career as I am THE LAKE

THE LAKE

WAX JUNKIE

IN Association WITH

PAUL BUTTERY / KHAYA RECORDS COPY - PAUL BUTTERY

PHOTOGRAPHY - HAYDEN PHIPPS

“Music is the soundtrack to our lives. As we travel along our own individual paths, what is often directly mirrored, is our ever-growing musical taste. Albums that meant a lot to you in the past may not be as significant today. However, hearing these tracks again can take you back to that period of time, reliving all of those bygone thoughts and feelings. My vinyl collection is a direct reflection of my life’s course. Yesterday, today and tomorrow.”

Fairport Convention Liege & Lief 1969 / ISLAND

David Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name... 1971 / atlantic records

I can never get over the amount of good music that has comes out of the U.K.I have a soft spot for the English folk scene from the late 60’s and early 70’s.Liege & Lief, though electric, is essentially a play on traditional British folk tunes with some amazing covers and jams. Sandy Denny’s voice is just perfect. The band was at their peak during the making of this album in my opinion. There are plenty of great lesser-known groups with this kind of sound, but this is my favourite of the genre by far. The gatefold cover also pays homage to British folk traditions and people who kept the movement alive. The record is a great mix between old and new folk that still is inspiring loads of artists today.

This album never gets tired. This is his first solo release recorded in 1971 after the success of CSNY’s “Déjà vu” LP. The album had plenty of well-established artists including members from The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell as well as Still Nash & Young. The songs are typical of the Laurel Canyon scene in the 70’s with great harmonies and mellow guitar and piano. I find this album a great way to take you back to a time I obviously wasn’t from, but always admired. Crosby has done a number of solo albums but never as strong as this.

Four Tet Morning / Evening 2015 / text records

Alice Coltrane Journey In Satchidananda 1970 / impulse

Four Tet albums always seem to make their way back onto my turntable. His abstract looped sounds are constantly evolving. Ambient, jazz, dance and World Music can be heard throughout his discography and just when you think you have heard it all, he will drop something totally unexpected and which always leave me wanting more. This music has also turned me onto loads of other electronic artists throughout the years. Sometimes a record can be super simple yet utterly complete at the same time. This may not be his best, but I really dig it. It’s a chilled ambient and eastern influenced release that I am sure will bring back good memories in the future.

I only came to really listening to this album this year. It’s essentially a down tempo jazz album with heavy eastern influenced sounds. The album features Pharaoh Sanders, who brings a cool atmospheric sax sound to Alice’s harp and piano. A Tamboura and Oud can also be heard throughout most of the album, which adds to the cosmic sound of this recording. Alice named this album after a swami she was following, which explains the deep Indian textures and roots of the LP. What I also really like about this record is the influence it has had on current artists I have been listening to for years. Listen to any Cinematic Orchestra record and you will hear the similarities. It’s nice to connect the dots and see these sounds evolve.

Letta Mbulu Letta 1970 / chisa

The Upsetters Super Ape 1976 / island

Letta Mbulu was part of the “King Kong” musical that travelled internationally in the 1960’s. She went into exile by the mid 60’s and recorded her third LP with Hugh Masekela and members from The Crusaders. There are so many solid tracks on this record. It’s a mix up of Zulu soul and jazz infused with a more traditional Motown sound. The album makes complete sense. A black South African singer blended with the US soul jazz scene. A perfect combination in my ears.

There are so many reggae records I could talk about but“Super Ape” is a classic. Recorded at Lee Perry’s Black Ark Studio in the mid-seventies, this was a great time for Jamaican music with loads of iconic albums being cut there. Groups such as The Wailers, Junior Murvin, Mighty Diamonds, Max Romeo and The Congo’s all recorded here. It pushes all the right buttons, with sounds I want out of this genre. The pace is slow and super laid back with belly deep bass and trippy vocals. The cover is also fantastic. A big ape with a spliff in one hand and a ripped out tree in the other. He looks mad or maybe just hungry. Smokey dubbed out mystical roots reggae at its best.

THE LAKE

print run REVIEWS - XAVIER NAGEL

SUPPLIED BY - BIBLIOPHILIA

recommended

The Adventures of Jack Parow: Hier kom nou kak!

Pappa in Doubt (Hardback) With Pappa in Doubt (R280), Joe Dog aka Anton Kannemeyer returns to the terrain he explored in Pappa in Afrika. “Parodying Hergé’s Tintin in the Congo (1931), Kannemeyer exposes the contradictions and paradoxes of life in the postcolony.” Provocative as he is playful, he does not spare himself the relentless, humorous scrutiny to which he subjects politicians, despots and his neighbours in the leafy suburbs. In addition to drawings, paintings and prints, the book also “features extended comics in which Kannemeyer traces the dawning of his political consciousness as a young white Afrikaans-speaking South African, whose life is entwined with the joys and realities of Africa.”

RUITER IN SWART Die galg is jou loon Vonk de Ridder het onlangs na meer as ‘n dertig jaar afwesigheid sy terugkeer as die Ruiter in Swart gemaak. ‘n Splinternuwe fotoverhaal genaamd Die galg is jou loon (R50) het onlangs by Naledi verskyn. Die eerste Ruiter in Swart het in 1966 verskyn en daar het meer as 490 verhale gevolg waar die “tawwe Afrikaanse cowboy-ninja” genadeloos met booswigte afgereken het. Danie van Rensburg, die akteur wie die rol van de Ridder speel, het onlangs in ‘n onderhoud gebieg dat die verhaal in “goeie, suiwer Afrikaans verskyn soos in die ou dae. Dit is tyd dat die kinders weer mooi Afrikaans leer praat. Hulle moet weer begin lees en minder voor die kassie sit.”

The Adventures of Jack Parow: Hier kom nou kak! is ‘n ‘limited edition’ komiek wat onlangs deur Parowphernalia, Isotrope en Xlibris uitgegee is. Die 32-bladsy volkleur storie speel af in die jaar 2213 en is definitief slegs vir volwassenes! Dit verkoop vir R120. Jack se pa speel ‘n k*k truuk op Parow om hom verantwoordelikheid te leer. Maar Jack het die laaste lag!

Jack Parow

Sugar Man

Die Ou met die Snor by die Bar

The Life, Death and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez

Jack Parow - Die Ou met die Snor by die Bar (R200) deur Theunis Engelbrecht het onlangs by Penguin verskyn. Hierin vertel die “superstar-rapper” van sy lewe en al sy wilde, mal avonture! Parow, bekend vir treffers soos ‘Cooler as ekke’, ‘Dans dans dans’, ‘Hos Tokolosh’, ‘Hard partytjie hou’ en ‘Bloubek’, draai nie doekies om nie en “lig die sluier oor sy ervarings met onder andere rofstoeiers, skoonheidkoninginne, polisiemanne, hipsters in nagklubs, ‘n sanger wat hom wou bliksem, ooms wat hom van verhoë gegooi wil hê en ‘n stewige tannie wat met ‘n krieketkolf op hom afstorm.” Engelbrecht, wie die boek Pappegaaislaai geskryf het, was voorheen ‘n lid van die groep Die Naaimasjiene, en is net die regte ou om die Parow Arrow se geheime uit te snuffel.

Sugar Man – The Life, Death and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez (R230) tells the amazing story of the American musician who was famous in South Africa and Australia, but unknown anywhere else… until the Oscar-winning documentary. Written by Craig Bartholomew Strydom and Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman, who like many South Africans growing up in the 70s and 80s, were obsessed with the music of Rodriguez but knew nothing about the man, the book takes you on three separate journeys: “Rodriguez’s struggle to make a life from music, the odyssey of two fans to find out what happened to their hero” and the “four year long quest” of Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul to document the remarkable tale that became Searching for Sugar Man.

MATRIC RAGE (uHlanga New Poets )

Sector #1 Sector #1 (R30) was launched on Free Comic Book Day earlier this year with completed artwork by Daniël Hugo. Stories by Hugo and Moray Rhoda (Uncharted Waters), Michael Smith and Diorgo Jonkers (The Illustrated Guide to the End of the World), and a complete story by Nas Who and Karl Mostert (Katnipp) complete the first issue. Clive Burmeister of Gamecca magazine said that Sector “marks the evolution of South African comics… I wouldn’t have thought twice about seeing these stories printed in publications like 2000 AD or Heavy Metal.” Issue 2 has been out for a couple of months and continues the stories by Smith and Jonkers and Hugo and Rhoda as well as a new story by Nas Who and Ben Rausch. Issue 3 was recently launched at Comics Fest during the Open Book Festival in Cape Town. 56

The Galactic League (Falcon Comics) The latest offering from local heroes Falcon Comics is a football comic called The Galactic League (R20). Set in the year 2150 when intelligent life has been found all over the galaxy and football has become the most played sport in the universe, it’s up to Axe aka Iron Boot, a rising star from Africa, to help team Earth win The Galactic League cup. Luis Tolosana, the founder of Falcon Comics and creator of The Galactic League, sharpened his pencils at Strika Entertainment and has been illustrating since he first got hold of a crayon. THE LAKE

uHlanga recently announced the launch of the uHlanga New Poets series, a platform for the publication of debut collections from South Africa’s most promising young voices. They kick off with two debut collections: Matric Rage (R140) by Genna Gardini, and Failing Maths and My Other Crimes (R140) by Thabo Jijana. “Poetry magazines and anthologies are hugely important,” says uHlanga’s publisher Nick Mulgrew, who is also the associate editor of literary magazine Prufrock and Deputy Chair of Short Story Day Africa. “But a focused collection is the mark of a serious poet. There, however, aren’t enough opportunities for poets – young or more experienced – to take that step. So that’s where uHlanga comes in. In Gardini and Jijana we have two of South Africa’s brightest young poets,” he adds. “I could scarcely think of two stronger books with which someone could launch a new poetry press, so I feel very fortunate indeed.”

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ICONS LL Cool J

12 6

1 SOL- SOL - RED POLO FRONT / 2 VANS - SIXTY SIX TEE / 3 BEN SHERMAN - Orlebar Brown Midi Swim Shorts / 4 berlin boombox - LEMON / 5 VONZIPPER - mayfield 6 BANTU WAX - Triangle / 7 QUIKSILVER - Street Trunks / 8 LL COOL J - RADIO (LP) / 9 VANS - AntiHero Socks 10 PUMA - R698 Allover Suede / 11 K-Swiss- White All Court Tennis 12 BEN SHERMAN - Hartford, Bobby casual shorts / 13 SOL- SOL - S TEE / 14 VANS - UNDERTONE BUCKET HAT / 15 VONZIPPER - mayfield 58

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available at

BRAAMFONTEIN

ICONS MARSHA HUNT

13 8

1 old khaki - willow crochet hat / 2 miu miu -sunglasses/ 3 billabong - gazelle soul top / 4 billabong - gazelle maxi skirt / 5 jane sews - mia sandal 6 zoom - honor clogs / 7 pipe a porter -tobacco pouch / 8 witchery - lace splice dress / 9 mr. price - gypsy dress / 10 pichulik - beige mali necklace 11 missibaba - possum / 12 the rolling stones - sticky fingers (LP) / 13 country road - denim button front skirt / 14 rvca - splashed cropped sweater 60

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PLIMSOLL

VANS - Disney Era Slip-On

VANS - Disney Slip-On

VANS - ISO 1.5 Black

VANS - ISO 1.5 WHITE

VANS - SK8-Hi Leather / BLUE

VANS - SK8-Hi Leather / BLACK

ADIDAS - Tubular Runner Premium / BLACK

ADIDAS - Tubular Runner Premium / GREY

ADIDAS - Tubular Runner Reflective Heather

ADIDAS - TUBULAR X RED

ADIDAS - TUBULAR X BLACK

ADIDAS - TUBULAR X BLUE

ASICS - Tiger Gel-Lyte Evo

ASICS - Tiger GEL-LYTE-EVO

ASICS - Tiger GEL-LYTE III NS Pack Sand

ASICS - Tiger GEL-LYTE III NS Burgundy/Burgundy

ASICS - Tiger GEL-LYTE III NS GOLD

K-SWISS - Adcourt Cognac

K-SWISS - Adcourt Navy

K-SWISS - Adcourt RED

K-SWISS - Adcourt White Merlot

K-SWISS - Tennis White All

K-SWISS - Classic II Mid White

CONS - One Star Pro Black

CONS - One Star Pro Egret

CONS - One Star Pro Navy

CONS - One Star Pro Red

PUMA - R698 Allover Suede

PUMA - R698 Mesh

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The Cons One Star Pro

Made by Sage Elsesser

Made by you

THE TRINOMIC R698 PUMA has just revealed their latest Sportstyle sneaker campaign, Represent698. At the heart of the campaign is a favourite of the PUMA running collection, the R698 sneaker. Bringing the campaign to life, PUMA ambassadors - Jack Parow, Riky Rick, Das Kapital, PH Fat, Nonku Phiri, Nicci St Bruce and Rolo Rozay have been representing their unique style in the classic sneaker silhouette. The R698 debuted in the ‘90s when running enthusiasts were hungry for chunky silhouettes and molded eyelets. The revolutionary Trinomic technology used a hexagonal system in the sole, collapsing and expanding to provide cushioning, flexibility and stability. Runners embraced the tech, but the shoe’s distinctive aesthetic quickly saw it move from the track to be adopted by the streets. The Trinomic packed soles guarantee a plush ride, while the versatility in the design of R698 uppers offer a unique look – every time.