Amandla - Cultural Ensemble ... Simanga Gwangwa

"It's been a lifelong ambition for Dr Jonas Gwangwa to put Amandla back on stage," says Simanga Gwangwa, who is responsible for marketing the production of Amandla. "Amandla can now be positioned as a premier nation building tool and a prime export into Africa and the World. We operate from a place of love with our people."

"This is a call for action for a new struggle, especially for the youth, to create a connection between the past, present and future. It's about ordinary people and what they believe in. We are a rainbow nation and Amandla is about unity and togetherness through art. We want to reconnect the youth." 

"I believe I can change the world" - Simanga Gwangwa

'
Amandla is a musical theatre production which was developed and produced by Dr Jonas Gwangwa in 1980 in Angola. The main objective of this musical was to conscientise and educate the world about South African culture and how apartheid was affecting the lives of South Africans. It is both exciting and essental for South Africans to engage with this rich theatrical opus today!

Amandla - Cultural Ensemble, The Production will be on stage at the State Theatre from 3 - 5 December 2015.

We chatted to Simanga Gwangwa in an exclusive interview giving us a behind-the-scenes look at what's happening in preparation of one of the most important theatrical events to hit the South African stage this year.

To listen to the show and some great music by Dr Jonas Gwangwa, just click play below:

Thought of the Day: 

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.


Have a fantastic week!

Hopeless wanderer ... Samantha Derham

"Every individual is able to do something small," says Samantha Derham. "I try to buy everything I own secondhand and thereby I support local businesses. Sustainability is a fundamental behaviour change in every aspect of our lives".

Samantha Derham has been passionate about doing her bit to help protect the environment since a young child. She grew up in South Africa and then pursued this passion at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and achieved a BSc in Biology, Geography and Environmental Science. After graduating she worked at the Auckland City Council in environmental planning consents, and then returned to South Africa where she worked as an environmental consultant.

Since then she has been working for herself on a range of environmental and sustainability projects, and selling a range of products that help to reduce our impact on the environment, including PV solar, water harvesting, biogas, EM and bokashi products and reusable menstrual cups.

We chat to Samantha on the iStart2 Show. To listen click below:


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.


Thought of the Day:

Calling all Actors, Musicians and Dancers!
Don't miss the opportunity to participate in the AMANDLA!

Have a wonderful week!

Surrender ... Luna Paige

Luna Paige is a proudly South African singer songwriter. She has been described as a singer with a sultry voice who has a mesmerising way of luring the listener into a world of beautiful images and emotions. Her voice and the lyrics of her songs leave an indelible imprint on your mind: 

I've been delivered
Afraid of change
And now I stand alone before you
And  I surrender
- Surrender Lyrics by Luna Paige

"iStart2 recognise that fear is only a lack of knowledge" - Luna Paige

We chatted to Luna about her career, sustainability issues relating to her social work, her recent trip to the Netherlands and the upcoming show in Centurion on 23 September 2015. Book your tickets here.

Surrender and New Love are two of the songs you can listen to during the interview:

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!

Thought of the Day:

iStart2Sing now available on iTunes

Check out African Dreamtime at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz next week on 25th September at the Sandton Convention Centre. It's gonna kick like a mule! Joining Pops Mohamed will be Steve Newman, Femi Koya, Mabi Thobejane, Tlale Makhene and Lucas Senyatso. So watch this space guys! Sharp sharp!

Iba (Homage) ... Femi Koya & Pops Mohamed

Femi Koya jams with Pops Mohamed in studio on the "iStart2 Show". Femi talks us through his new CD, named Iba (Homage):' I decided to create a sound from both countries - South Africa and Nigeria, and call it World Afrobeat. The Album is about paying homage to the living legends and the African soil."

He also chats to us about migrancy issues and what it is like to be a Nigerian living in South Africa. Femi also shares his views on the long road to artistic sustainability.

"Always see opportunity in difficulties" - Femi Koya

Icon Pops Mohamed talks about his trip to the Netherlands, his performance in Soest and shares his expectations of what we can look forward to at the upcoming Joy of Jazz Festival in September. 

Pops Mohamed & Karin Hougaard during their performance in the Netherlands
(Photo: Elize Zorgman)

To listen to the title track of Femi's new cd, the interview and his jam with Pops in studio, just click play:



Thought of the Day

Pierre du Toit and Keitu Gwangwa host iStart2 on Thursdays at 17h30 (GMT+2). Like our facebook page on www.istart2.com. Radio Today broadcasts on 1485AM in greater 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!

Rebel Woman ... Phillippa Yaa de Villiers

"I usually take a Zola Budd, it's affordable and sustainable for an artist" says Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, an award-winning South African writer and performance artist who performs her work nationally and internationally.

"I don't need to be saved. I am a free individual"

She is noted for her poetry, which has been published in collections and in many magazines and anthologies, as well as for her autobiographical one-woman show, Original Skin, which centres on her confusion about her identity at a young age, as the bi-racial daughter of an Australian mother and a Ghanaian father who was adopted and raised by a white family in apartheid South Africa. 

"iStart2 feel hope when I see people working towards 

happiness in their own lives"
- Phillipa Yaa de Villiers"

She has written: "I became Phillippa Yaa when I found my biological father, who told me that if he had been there when I was born, the first name I'd have been given would be a day name like all Ghanaian babies, and all Thursday girls are Yaa, Yawo, or Yaya. So by changing my name I intended to inscribe a feeling of belonging and also one of pride on my African side. After growing up black in white South Africa, internalising so many negative 'truths' of what black people are like, I needed to reclaim my humanity and myself from the toxic dance of objectification."

Phillippa joined Keitu Gwangwa in studio to chat about her life journey as a writer and performer. Her works touch base on matters of identity, gender (feminism), race, sexuality, and class. Keitu opens up the show with one of her renowned poems.

To listen to the show and an interview with this incredible woman, click play: 




Thought of the Day:

Remember to Join the Joy of Jazz 
in September!

Free Falling ... Michele Nigrini

We chatted to well known and much loved South African artist, Michele Nigrini about her recent exhibition, her life as a painter and what it's like to live as an artist in South Africa today. "In Art you learn about life," says Michele.

"iStart2 make my own dried tomatoes"

- Michele Nigrini

Michèle believes that art is a medium for the elevation of the spirit, yet her work remains rooted in the experience of everyday life. She presents images of her own surroundings, symbolizing the sustenance she draws from the environment in which she lives: household objects, landscapes and the varied structures within it, plants, trees, stones, hedges, grass, the odd image of a fish or a cow, wind mill or a bird. View her work at here or www.michelenigrini.com
 
A visit to the moodswing exhibition at the Tina Skukan Gallery before 17 September is a must! 

To listen to the interview and some of Michele's favourite music by Karin Hougaard and Karen Zoid, just click play:



Thought of the Day:

iStart2 Ambassadors in the Netherlands

Spreading the message of the Kalahari San and our indigenous people of Africa, iStart2 Ambassadors, Pops Mohamed and Karin Hougaard performed in the Netherlands this week at Herman van Veen's Art Centre near Soest. (Pictures by Elize Zorgman and Jannes Fourie)

Pops Mohamed with Coenie de Villiers at De Paltz in the Netherlands.

Have a wonderful week!

Die Taal van my Hart ... Ingrid Glorie

"There is so much wisdom coming from South African women. Be proud of yourself" - Ingrid Glorie.

Passionate, powerful words from our guest on the iStart2 Show. A woman who not only translated some of the most powerful Afrikaans books into Dutch, but also a woman who is focused on building bridges between South Africa and the Netherlands. Ingrid Glorie, Editor of the Maandblad Zuid- Afrika talks about her daily life, her work as a journalist and the contribution she makes to promote writers and artists in the Netherlands and Belgium.

For Ingrid sustainability is all about co-operation and getting involved in cultural exchange programmes between our two countries. We chatted about Harlekijn en de Zuid-Afrikaanse Dagen which takes place in Soest from the 29 - 30 August 2015 and the launch of the cd, Byvoorbeeld over the same period.

To listen to the interview and music by Pops Mohamed (with Ntsiki Mazwai), Amanda Strydom and Stef Bos, just click play:



Music Festival in the Netherlands:

iStart2 Ambassadors, Karin Hougaard and Pops Mohamed are amongst a wonderful line-up of South African artists who will be performing in the Netherlands during August 2015. Read all about it:

Harlekijn-en-de-zuid-afrikaanse-dagen-29-en-30-augustus

Thought of the Day:

iStart2Sing now available on iTunes!
 
This beautiful cd available for downloading on iTunes: 
 
 iStart2Sing - The Soul of Africa  

The iStart2Sing (The Soul Of Africa) CD compilation is a wonderful and enlightening journey through a diverse South African musical landscape. The compilation combines subtlely stated wisdoms and insights with dynamic and entertaining songs.

Have a wonderful week!