Standing Ovation ... #iStart2Sing the Cry of Africa

Hats off to all for sharing your beautiful art and music with all of us on Friday at the Atterbury Theatre! How am I ever going to get the Happy Dancing Zombie out of my head? Thank you for touching so many different emotions. It was good to feel so damn human and proudly South African again! Thank you for making me cry Vangi! Thank you maestros, Pops and Coenie! Thank you all (Cavall, Luna, Sankobo, Tumi & ArtSpoken, Herman (!) , Ashish, Poorvi, Dudu, At, Martin, Lani, Bassbot and Helena for feeding everybody and everybody who came to see the show! Thank you for sharing the Cry of Africa! 

Some comments:

"The show last night was just amazing! World class artists showing their support for sustainability and bringing people together through the arts. It was thoroughly entertaining and awe inspiring! Thanks so much to Pierre du Toit and all the great artists as well as all the people behind the scenes who made it possible." - Anita Stander

"Was indeed amazing" - Tilana Knafo

"Wow, what an awesome experience to see the diversity of character and sound on the stage. A truly pleasant evening enjoying what is South Africa. It makes you think...." - Stuart Martin

"Loved die energie van die konsert !! Hoe meer ek daaroor dink hoe meer is ek beindruk met die kunstenaars se nederigheid en hulle oortuiging om hulle gawes uit te leef !!! Well done !!``' - Helena Laubscher

"Thanks for a beautiful show. It was a blow... what a night... it was such a beautiful day for Lesedi" - Seipati Kau

"Dit was 'n awesome show. Dit was rerig 'n belewenis. Sal more vir Pops ook geluk se - hy is "one of a kind" - Dr Harry Swart

"I start 2 see, hear and fascinasticaly enjoy the new bridges that iStart2 builds in our wounded nation. The arts touched our hearts" - Sietse van der Woude

"Thank u for a wonderful illustration that the rainbow nation is possible and that diversity is indeed strength. Love u always" - Seipati Masokoane

"Briljante vertoning. Divers. Daring. Dem lekker" - Coba Röhm

Thank you to the wonderful people at Atterbury Theatre - Paulette, Alwyn (He deserves a medal!) ... Jane and your staff - for your amazing support. We look forward to play there again next year! - Pierre du Toit. 

#iStart2Sing the Cry Of Africa ... Ulysses and ArtSpoken

Two days to go before the big night!

We are excited to introduce the younger artists who will be performing at the Cry of Africa Show on Friday evening:

As a member of the popular DNA Strings, Ulysses aka Herman Steyn knew when they disbanded that he would come back to this world of making music. As someone who loves instrumental music, he also knew it would be in that genre – one of the toughest to crack. But this energetic violinist is nothing but determined to make music – and do it his way. Herman is the founder of Sheraaz band and he will be performing solo in the upcoming show. 

From Soshanguve,  a young band, ArtSpoken, is making waves on the local music scene. Four young guys with big hearts and great new songs, combining poetry and music in a beautiful new vibe. "We are going to perform Africa and look forward to be playing with the icons like Coenie and Pops" says Tumi Resenga, the Band's Manager.

The iStart2 Radio Show Today!

Join us today on the iStart2 Show when Coenie de Villiers and Pops Mohamed chat to us about their song Naledi and their collaboration at the Atterbury Theatre on Friday night. "I often think that musicians can teach the lessons the politicians fail to show. Musicians and artists and writers can unite people by creating great works that make people listen and learn and not judge," says Coenie.

Pierre du Toit and Keitu Gwangwa host the iStart2 Show on Thursdays at 17h30 (GMT+2). Radio Today broadcasts on 1485AM in Johannesburg and nationally on DSTV audio channel 869. Radio Today also streams on its website www.1485.org.za and on 1485.mobi. Radio Today the station that cares. Radio that delivers!Book your ticket or just Check out our website on www.iStart2.com.

Singer-songwriter Luna Paige at the Atterbury Theatre

#iStart2Sing is proud to announce that Luna Paige will be performing at the Cry of Africa Show on Friday 25 November 2016.

Luna Paige is a qualified social worker with a Masters Degree in Welfare Programme Management. Luna currently focuses on her career as singer / songwriter and performer. She has been making music since 1999 and has released 4 albums up to date.

Albums released:

Luna (2003): a 7-track album consisting of Luna's first songs. This album was recorded live in studio over 3 days. Songs "Step outside" and "All you'll need" have been play listed on popular television series, Going Nowhere Slowly as well as on various radio stations.

Missing Pieces (2005): The album was produced by bass-player and composer, Schalk Joubert and features some of SA's top session muso's. Song "Somewhere beautiful" was playlisted on numerous radio stations and aired on MK89. This song reached the top 10 of OFM in Bloemfontein.

Wonderful life (2009): produced by Luna Paige also features SA's top session artists. Songs such as "Won't be leaving you behind", "Fly" and "Restless soul" have been playlisted on national and community radio stations with "Restless soul" reaching SA top 5 on MK89.

Storielied (2012): a live DVD and CD. Luna's first Afrikaans project. All songs are inspired by Afrikaans novels and short stories. This show was performed by a 13 piece band with some of SA's top musicians. Directed by veteran actor, producer and director, Albert Maritz. This live DVD ensured a range of performances at festivals in SA and took Luna on her first journey to Europe (the Netherlands).

Genre / sound influences:
Rock ballads, jazzy-bluesy vibes, reggae-influences, country tunes and pop-rock numbers. Some world music flavours too.

"Imagine a performance with the indigenous Khoi mouth bow accompanied by a mesmerizing west African kora, soulful Afrikaans guitar in there with soothing powerful vocals, hypnotising Indian tablas, piercing spoken word by a formidable feme, hauting violin and throbbing primal drums...There are hundreds of events happening this weekend, but none will be as diverse as this. This a truly South African sound bringing everyone together" - Keitu Gwangwa
Book your ticket here

Ken jy die happy dans, Zombie? ,,, Somerfaan

"Ja, die lewe is maar swaar vir ‘n alternatiewe Afrikaner," sing Koos Kombuis in sy bekende liedjie Bomskok Babbelaas. Mens weet nou nie of Somerfaan hiermee saamstem nie, maar hy en sy band "is going to give you a kosmiche ride into the not so distant future" Vrydagaand as hulle hul klanke laat hoor in die Kreet van Afrika show by die Atterbury Teater. Kom ons maak so bietjie kennis met hierdie band wat "jam so all over the show."

Somerfaan is a two-times national SAMA award winner and presently resides on planet Earth, in Melville, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Martin Schofield is Vocalist and Guitarist extraordinaire. He is also a member of Wonderboom.

Lanimybru is a vocalist in the Somerfaan Band. Occasionally she dabbles in the film industry. Some collaborations include: Rian Malan, Radio Kalahari Orkes, Wrongman, Jim Neversink and Lonesome Dave Ferguson.

The Bassbot is a filthy droid from the underground. A rumbling, grinding, single-note sequencer from a paradigm of Math Core precision and Dub/Jazz soliloquy.

We look forward to welcoming 

the Somerfaan Band to the Atterbury Theatre

 

See you there!
Book here

I expect more from you ... Vangile Gantsho

"Imagine a performance with the indigenous Khoi mouth bow accompanied by a mesmerizing west African kora, soulful Afrikaans guitar in there with soothing powerful vocals, hypnotising Indian tablas, piercing spoken word by a formidable feme, hauting violin and throbbing primal drums...There are hundreds of events happening this weekend, but none will be as diverse as this. This a truly South African sound bringing everyone together."

 "I like this because its not any particular genre its beautiful music by beautiful people...our people all of them represented. Not performing separately... performing together. Something you've never heard and might not for a while... unless you want it so." - Keitu Gwangwa

We are very proud and excited to announce that Vangile Gantsho will be performing at the Cry of Africa Show on Friday!

Vangi Gantsho is a poet and constant student. A graduate of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, she has performed in and conducted workshops at poetry events and festivals around the world, including: Gabon, Malawi, the USA, the Czech Republic and all over South Africa. Her work has been published in a number literary publications and  most recently, released her début collection: Undressing in front of the window. Vangi is currently working towards an MA in Creative Writing at the University Currently Known as Rhodes University.

Book your ticket here

Afrikaans se Groot Geheim ... Pops Mohamed & Coenie de Villiers

Dit is darem so 'n besonderse voorreg om na die nuwe liedjie, Naledi - wat ster beteken in Afrikaans - op die nuwe Emoji album van Coenie de Villiers te luister. Soveel te meer omdat een van die grootste ikone in Afrikaans hier eg Suid-Afrikaanse klanke optower saam met Pops Mohamed en oom !Gubi Tietie van die Kalahari.

In die Afrikaanse leefwereld is baie min mense egter daarvan bewus dat Pops reeds twee toekennings vir sy lewenslange bydrae tot musiek ontvang het. Nog minder mense weet dat Pops se huistaal eintlik Afrikaans is. Ja, hy het groot geword in Benoni en Reygerpark aan die ooste van Johannesburg. 'n Musiek ikoon in eie reg ... nederig, maar 'n iemand wat lief is vir sy mense, sy taal en deur sy hele lewe lank sy musiek die praatwerk laat doen.

Coenie is bekend daarvoor dat hy die grense skuif in Afrikaanse musiek en met die luister na sy nuwe cd vat hierdie grootsheid jou aan die hart. Dit is nie aldag wat ons die geleentheid kry om hierdie besonderse uniekheid en kombinasie op een verhoog kan sien en hoor nie.

Op die 25ste November 2016 het jy die kans om daai magic te ervaar wat gebeur as van ons land se grootste en beste kunstenaars hul talente in een pot gooi en towerklanke gaan voortbring wat jou vir altyd sal bybly. Kom daag so bietjie jou sintuie uit met iets unieks, vars en nuuts! 

Ons hier in Afrika kan oor daai grense wat ons verdeel mekaar aan die skouer vat en die positiewe Kreet van Afrika se mense laat weergalm met die klavier, die kora, die siter, die tabla, die viool ... en die dromme van Afrika kan visioene opwek van 'n land en sy mense wat genoeg gehad het van verdeeldheid, korrupsie en die algemene politieke nonsens wat ons daaglikse lewens ontsier. Ons wil en kan vorentoe kyk en 'n toekoms bou waarop ons almal kan trots wees!

Meesterlike vertolkings deur SAMA wenner Somerfaan en sy band, woord-en-sang kunstenaar Luna Paige en Deca met 'n sexy viool en gitaar gaan defnitief jou aand opkikker. Uit Noord Afrika is daar Sankobo Afrique, Artspoken uit Soshanguve en Vangi Gantsho met haar uitdagende deurlopende woordspel wat tot diep in jou siel gaan praat. Het iemand reeds genoem dat ons land se beste tabla-speler, Ashish Joshi en die pragtige siter speler, Poorvhi Bhana jou na jou asem gaan laat snak met hul talent?

Bring sommer 'n paar van jou vriende saam en gaan eet eers lekker uit by een van die vele restaurante by Lynnwood Bridge. Die Atterbury Teater wag vir jou Vrydagaand! 

Boek daai kaartjie sommer nou! Net hier.

Kom luister gerus saam na 'n onderhoud Donderdagmiddag op die iStart2 Show, op Radio Today, wanneer Pops en Coenie saam gesels oor hul samewerking en ons meer vertel oor die Kreet van Afrika vertoning Vrydagaand by die Atterbury Teater.

Cry Freedom, again ... Tineke van den Klinkenberg

"You start because you think Apartheid is a very ugly thing. My life changed totally when I hosted Jonas Gwangwa in my house in Amsterdam. Apartheid then wasn't just a slogan anymore ... it became a part of your life," says Tineke van den Klinkenberg on the iStart2 Show this week. "I have a big family here in South Africa because of the Struggle."

On the iStart2 Show this week we pay tribute to those foreigners who played a role in the struggle against Apartheid. We chat to one of the unsung heroine's of the time, Tineke van den Klinkenberg on her recent visit to South Africa. We chat about her role and reasons for joining the Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement, Casa, Operation Vula and personal stories about her special relationship with her exile children in South Africa.

"It is a very confusing time at the moment. People have to realize fear is a very bad thing. We have to move forward and try to understand people as human beings," says Tineke. We say thank you to Tineke for her contribution to  building a sustainable future for all the people of the world.  Nothing compares to you! 

Listen to a remarkable woman sharing a beautiful story of hope about a very ugly time in our history:


Thought of the Day:

We really need your support, please!
We appreciate your "like" on facebook. 
We will love it if you book your ticket today!

Magic happens when different cultures join hands!

Tickets here

Sustainability Conversations ... Honouring our Friends

The world seems to be a pretty messed-up place at the moment. It is time to rethink where we stand on issues like climate change, corruption, race relations and what we DO to create a more sustainable world for the children of our children. Maybe it is not enough to sit back in our armchairs and think we have made a difference by liking something on facebook. Maybe it is time to really think about what we do to make a difference out there.

It is important for South Africans to be reminded of the role that foreigners played in our liberation struggle. Hundreds of anti-apartheid activists from especially Holland but also Belgium, Britain and elsewhere risked their lives and jobs to contribute to the fight for democracy in South Africa. We should always remember that. The role of Art in change can never be underestimated.

We remember CASA ... 6 December 1987 ...

On 6 December 1987 they had started arriving in groups of 80, of 30, as individuals in Amsterdam, hometown of South African colonialism and of the apartheid ideology of the Boere in the seventeenth century: but also the city that resisted Nazi anti-Semitism and which now stands against the racism of the apartheid regime. Amsterdam, the Dutch capital and self-declared anti-apartheid city, had been symbolically proclaimed 'cultural capital of Europe'. And during the next two weeks, as Barbara Masekela put it at the closing session of the Conference, Amsterdam became the cultural capital of South Africa.

Within the resonance of the Renaissance New Church at Dam Square, the very heart of Amsterdam, in the building where Dutch kings and queens are crowned, these words sounded almost as a credo. On Sunday 20 December 1987, opening the exhibition The Hidden Camera, at the final event of CASA, Culture in Another South Africa. Barbara Masekela, head of the Department of Arts and Culture of the ANC, began her speech with these lines of poet Mongane Wally Serote:

We have come a long way now.

We are not like spotless white shirts

We are khaki

It is time, the road, the dust, the heat, the rain and the wind which did it all

Read the full article here.

We also remember Operation Vula ...

The basic story of Operation Vula is a fascinating one. Sympathetic people from the Netherlands and Belgium were recruited to smuggle arms into South Africa or to put up safe houses for the Vula operatives inside the country and in neighbouring states. With the help of make-up artists, hairdressers and actors in Amsterdam elaborate disguises for Umkontho we Sizwe agents were done for those who were to infiltrate the country.

Operation Vula, a book by the renowned Dutch novelist and former head of the Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement, Conny Braam, is an important addition to the literature on the South African struggle for justice and liberation for insight into their remarkable contribution.

More here

On the iStart2 Show today we pay tribute to those foreigners who played a role in the struggle against Apartheid. We chat to one of the unsung hero's of the time, Tineke van den Klinkenberg on a visit to South Africa. We chat about her role in the Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement. Tineke looks back and shares personal stories, talks about her special relationship with her exile children in South Africa and her contribution and views on building a sustainable future for all the people of the world. 

Keitu Gwangwa & Pierre du Toit host the iStart2 Show on Thursdays at 17h30. Radio Today broadcasts on 1485 MW (AM) in greater Johannesburg and countrywide on ‪#‎DStv‬ audio channel 869. Radio Today also streams globally on www.1485.org.za.

The Whale Caller ... Zola Maseko

"The Whale Caller is a story about disconnection ... but whales always come back, just like clockwork," says Zola Maseko on the iStart2 Show this week. "It's a coming in from the cold kinda film. It's gonna entertain people. it's gonna move people, it's gonna make people laugh."

Pops Mohamed, composer and producer of the music score of the movie had this to say: "Big up to Zola Maseko who directed the film. He is a brilliant director with vision. I wish the whole crew from The Whale Caller including the two main actors Sello Maake KaNcube and Amrain Ismail Essop, all the best for this amazing movie. I would encourage South African movie lovers to go and watch the film which also has a bit of a Hollywood style and feel to it. A MUST SEE !!!!"

Zola Maseko moved back to South Africa in 1994 and wrote The Foreigner, a short fiction film about xenophobia in this country. In 1998 he directed The Life and Times of Sarah Baartman and released his first feature film, Drum, in 2004. Last week at the Johburg Film Festival competition, The Whale Caller, his new much anticipated film, based on the novel by Zakes Mda won the Best African Film Category and will be released early in 2017. "These stories have chosen me to birth them. Every film I make is tackling the demons. We all carry wounds that can be traced back to our childhood. I want to share the story and what it did to me."

"The world seems to be getting more conservative, more insular, more closed off. The challenges today become more about religion. Instead of becoming a more inclusive world, we are going back. Instead of opening up and accepting one another's differences, we are retreating," says Zola when asked about the biggest challenges we face as a society. He firmly believes that art has connected human beings throughout history. "Our differences can be united through Art. In order to live happily in this world we have to connect to human beings."



Being a vegan, his iStart2 message is to eat differently: "It is amazing what a change of diet has done in my life. It's all to do with healthy eating."

Listen to the interview with this inspirational man. It touches your soul. 






Don't forget to book your ticket!!

Bookings at Computicket here
See you there!