Music
These local electronic artists are experimenting within the avenues of genre-defiance
The term ‘experimental’ has always been a very ambiguous one when it comes to genre identification. Most of the time it seems to be misconstrued or overshadowing to an artist or band’s own musical identity. Personally, I used to think that the tag ‘experimental’ as a genre-field was laughable at best - maybe because it always used to conjure up some ridiculous surrealist scene in my head. (recording your latest single in an advanced undisclosed laboratory using only alien technology as instruments, or something? I don’t know). Or maybe it’s because it feels somewhat lazy, or even over-ambitious for an artist to advertise their own music as ‘experimental’ when they clearly have some form of influence. But it turns out I don’t feel this way anymore - that was the old me. The new me realized that when an artist grows - sometimes they need to voice their sense of expansion, and let the world know that their music is going to change, and musically, they are going to experiment in finding themselves in doing so by advancing their craft with the disclaimer that just like human beings, music is too subject to change. So below are five local electronic artists completely pushing the limits, and truly expressing what it means to experiment in the ever-changing realm of electronic music.
Escapism Refuge
While no stranger to local or international electronic communities today, Jason Beukes aka Escapism Refuge is a DJ and producer from Johannesburg. Beukes’s own brand of wave-inspired wizardry has graced the ears of texture-laden electronic music fans, as well as caught the attention of revered labels from Soulection, to Deep Heads, as well as BBC Radio host Giles Peterson’s own Brownwood Recordings, to name but a few. Widely recognized for remixing or collaborating with high caliber like-minded artists such as Synkro, Zeb Samuels, Compa, Ash Walker, Charli Brix and more, Escapism Refuge holds an extensive back catalogue of various singles, an LP and a slew of EPs to his name, with the latest entry being ‘Turnback’ EP, treading comfortably somewhere between atmospheric IDM and ambient bass-fuelled house, released back in December 2018. Cravings ensue!
TZARA
Self-described bedroom-pop producer Tara Boraine, known musically as TZARA, is an experimental-electronic artist and vocalist hailing from Cape Town. Her music is a ravishing blend of trip-hop, IDM, electro and wave all neatly wrapped up and presented as wide-ranged, delightfully blissful dream-pop. Also co-founder of ‘Stone Soup’ collective - an initiative setup to help independent artists grow from private to public. In early 2019, TZARA released her latest EP titled ‘The Lost File Lament’ available now on streaming platforms.
The Perfect Boy
Cinematic, ambient and textural are just a few words to describe The Perfect Boy’s music. Borrowing the name from legendary post-punk band The Cure’s 2008 track of the same name, The Perfect Boy (aka Cameron Davey) creates scenic imagery-evoking electronic music glazed over with emotive, reverb-drenched guitar lines that would make even Robert Smith himself smirk in appreciation. Releasing an LP in June 2018, ‘Sanguine’ offers a memorable excursion through wondrous, enchanted landscapes while simultaneously raising levels of blood pressure through the use of immersive musical storytelling by multilayering, sampling and down-right expansive soundscaping in both an analogue and digital recording medium.
Nikola Vlok
Cape Town-based musician and artist Nikola Vlok is genre-defying songstress who creates dreamlike passageways into the subconscious; an escalator to uncharted astral planes where meditation meets deliberation. Self-releasing her debut album ‘Burn & Taste’ in March 2019, Vlok has been known to haunt Cape Town’s underground music scene performing at various locations and niche events around the city, with an exciting live set scheduled at the country’s most anticipated alternative-boutique festival Endless Daze in Silwerstroomstrand (1-3 Nov). Yet another commendable feat for local womxn in the music and arts industry, worthy of our utmost attention.
Seru
Embodied by multifaceted artists and visionaries; Johannesburg-based vocalist Jade Fortune (of now dissolved indie band Sierra Sky) enlisted producer and all-round-chameleon Steve Hogg (Vox Portent, Morena Leraba) to form Seru in late 2017. By exploring the endless possibilities within electronica and many of its allied counterparts, the pair have recently just released a compelling, remarkably crafted debut EP titled ‘Touching The Void’ (featuring contributions by ex-Bye Beneco/Eyes Like Mirrors member Matthew Watson) on Hogg’s very own imprint, I Suppose Ja. Seru’s brand new three-track offering is a lush-landscape meander intertwining dream-pop with elements of indie-pop, IDM, post-rock and more into what was thought to be a meer introduction.
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