Johannesburg Kultcha :
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Richard the 3rd interview
Ok, so it feelslike you've been part of the scene forever. When did you start makingmusic? And what inspired you to start making music? Where have you come
from in terms of your music history.
Started making
music ten years ago on my parent's Pentium 1. Since high-school I had
developed a fascination with electronic music: music that was as much
about timbre and sound-design as it was melody. With the advances in
digital music technology in the late nineties I was able to start
experimenting with the sounds that had transfixed and inspired me since
I was 13 years old listening to the likes of Jean Michelle Jarre',
Public Enemy and Nine Inch Nails.
I've
seen you play but I'm hopeless at describing or labelling music. How
would you describe the music that you play? And what sort of person is
it aimed at?
I don't play one style or genre of music. I
play a combo of electro, hip-hop, old-school and some of the newer
sounds of dubstep, fidget-house, etc. But to take my cue from one of my
biggest inspirations, Kid Fonque, I'd like to think I play music that
is 'left-of-centre' - aimed at people on the fringes as opposed to the
radio-loving masses (not to sound exclusive and pompous).
I'm not really into it; rather I'm fascinated by its sudden international popularity. 'Township Funk' is actually a prototype instrumental Kwaito song by an artist called Mujava that falls into a new South African urban dance genre called Pretoria House that is typified by its rough, aggressive drum sounds, simple melodies and jiving grooves.
Most interestingly, the track was recently signed to the legendary Warp records, home to the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Jamie Lidell, as so on, and has been touted as the track of the summer being championed by the likes of Erol Alkan and Hot Chip. So it's big news.
I don't actually make Pretoria House, but what I have started is a weekly blog on Myspace focused on sourcing fresh Township Funk style tunes on Youtube and showcasing them. Check it out here: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=109706437
Who are your influences/mentors when it comes to making music and why? What is it about them that inspires you.
Far too many to even mention here, I could write a dissertation. My number one guy at the moment is Spoek Mthambo. He's got the freshest, nastiest rhymes around, makes music that is both relevant to SA and abroad and is one smart cat. I like the way he thinks.
You eat, breath and live music. What does making music mean to you?
Don't know. On one hand its an ego trip, feeling the power of making people rush to your sounds, on the other hand it's a beautiful thing to make people happy with songs that you make. It's a balance between the two, something like lust and love. Because I'm doing the DJing thing right now it's probably more of a lust thing, but hopefully as I get older and chill out it will be more of a love thing.
I hear rumours that you've released an album, how's that going? What's it called? How can we get?
I've completed an album of banging electro rock, cosmic disco and head-space electronica. It's called 'Third World From the Sun'. It's complete, I'm just waiting on the artwork from my favourite street artist Pin Art Butter then I'll print a hundred copies or so and look at some pay-per-download options. Most of the publishing for the tracks is falling under the African Dope umbrella so hopefully there will be some outreach there. You can listen to some of the completed track on my facebook profile - http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Richard-the-Third/20911720275?ref=s
Any new interesting projects?
Spoek Mthambo and I have been busy with a project, untitled so far. Its really dark, heavy electro-step, and it's been getting awesome feedback from the few peeps who've heard some of the tracks. Interesting thing about it is I haven't seen Spoek in about 5 months, we just send each other tracks to work on via Mediafire and Yousendit. Kind of like a modern Postal Service way of working. To take a sneak listen go to my Myspace profile and listen to the tune, "Black Cat Bones" ;) - http://www.myspace.com/richardthaiiird
How does it feel being in DJ box at a huge party with hundreds of people dancing to the music you're playing? What's going through your mind? I imagine it could be a bit of a power trip...
Ja it's a complete rush. I'm normally just focused on trying to figure out what tracks I should be playing half the time, and the other half beat-matching and mixing the tracks in and out. It is a power-trip but its not that the DJ has all the power. A good DJ connects with the crowd and instinctively knows what they want to hear or what they will enjoy and he'll very much figure those things out by looking at and reading the crowd. So the crowd have a lot of power as well, and if the DJ is on a complete power-trip then he/she might not be able to give the crowd what they want.
You play quite regularly in Cape Town. What do you think of the electronic music scene in Joburg compared to Cape Town?
Cape Town is the home of African Dope which gave birth to the likes of Felix La Band, the Real Estate Agents, Krushed and Sorted and so on, and so it has a strong electronica culture and a new wave of Mother-City producers such as the Considerate Builder's Scheme, Sweat X and Humanizer have taken on the torch to find international success. In Joburg we're a bit behind Cape Town, but we do have a strong scene with the likes of Mtkidu, Twelv and Thesis and Cut Out Collective really making their mark. The big difference is Cape Town is more up for alternative sounds than Joburg. I don't know why but they like it harder, weirder and faster and that's the perfect breeding ground for electronica.
Who's the best band/DJ out there right now?
Of everyone right now, I've really got my eyes on Mix n Blend from Cape Town. They make live electronic beats and breaks, are brilliant DJs and their own tunes are fucking catchy. Watch out for their song "In the mood to swing" featuring Fletcher. Its one of the dopest tunes I've heard this year and has the same appeal as RJD2's "Ghostwriter".
All time best DJ / Producer has to be Sibot. He's consistently brilliant and his 2007 album, "In with the old" is probably one of the best downtempo, trip-hop, instrumental albums ever. For me, it's right up there with Shadow's "Endtroducing".
When and Where is your next big gig?
Up in Joburg, next big gig to check out would be on the 01st of Nov at 88 for the African Dope party, "A Dope Night Out". Otherwise I'm sure there will be another End Is Nigh at the Alex soon, and if all goes to plan I'll be on the Electronic stage at V-Fest in December.
hat are your favourite party venues in Jozi?
Plain and simply the Alex in Braamfontein and Go Go Bar in Newtown. If Tokyo Star ever gets re-opened and the old Fuel Caf venue, now to be called the Woods, works out, us 'left-of-centre' DJs will actually have a rocking scene in Jozi.
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