We digitally met up with The Undergrounds to get a more intimate feel on who they are and how they plan to make a difference to the art society. Here’s how it went.
- For those who don’t know who The Undergrounds are, tell us briefly who you are and what you’re about?
Tk – We are a 6 piece Soulful House band formed in Tembisa in December 2012. Initially Dennis created beats and I wrote lyrics which we then put together and performed in clubs around the neighbourhood. We then put together the band, finding guys who shared the same vision of making live house music. Dennis (Denny Nights) came up with the name as it was a theory of “deep” house music which we aimed to make before the band and after we decided it should represent the music we make which we want to speak to the soul, raise people’s emotions and “make you dance” as that is our motto #wewillmakeyoudance.
- How would you describe your relationship with music and what are you hoping to achieve within the art industry?
Denny – Well, firstly imagine a world without music!… Kind of hard right? Music is my best friend; I spend most of my time listening to music and love playing my congas. I believe music is a good way of conveying a message to the world. I live, breathe and dream MUSIC.
Steveza – I was very interested in playing instruments at a young age and finally got a chance to learn to play drums at church. My love for music grows everyday through playing drums! I hope to help young up and coming drummers by teaching them how to play and inspiring them through my performances. I have started a company/project called “Stick to the Beat” (see poster attached) which I plan to use to achieve this goal.
![IMG-20140730-WA0007[1]](https://sowetoartsandcraft.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/img-20140730-wa00071.jpg)
- How are you finding the crowd or rather the people here different from the crowd/people in the East Rand?
All – Well we have discovered that with our versatility we bridged the gap of genre issues at venues quite significantly as we manage to make people of all races fall in love and dance to our music. Testimony to this would be what happened in December 2013 at the “The Setup Battle” ,out of 45 bands at Tanz Live a live music venue in Randburg we battled until the finals against very diverse bands and unexpectedly won first place! The crowds at the different venues we perform at have responded quite well and we always leave with more fans and inspiring comments which fuel our hunger for the stage!
- How does music affect you and the world around you?
Denny- Music inspires me to see life differently and be more positively. For example sometimes when I miss someone I listen to their favourite song just to feel a little bit closer to them.
- Take us through the music-making process.
Tk – I usually use my life experiences and different things happening in the world that affect people emotionally to compose my lyrics, because I feel and believe it will help the audience relate with me and my music. I also would normally hum a tune which my band brothers then compliment with their instruments then we discuss verses and the progression to make the song rich and meaningful. The rest is practice PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!
- What makes a successful band and how do you measure success?
All – We come from similar backgrounds where the church played a major part in keeping us humble as we perform there a lot and are mentored by the Christian community where we are taught faith, patience and perseverance will help us achieve our goals: this, our families, friends and our relationship as band members we believe contributes greatly to our success. Although we have been in the industry as The Undergrounds for 1 and half years now we greatly measure our success by the response given at venues and comments from fans which are mostly positive which shows we are doing something right…right? Apart from that we have many “Semi-finalist” and “Finalist” titles under our belt (see below) which keep us hopeful that one day we will win the World title of “one of the great bands that ever existed”.
- What are the biggest obstacles you face as a band?
Thapza & Tk – Food! lol Finances are our biggest obstacle as we have many things we require like a studio, permanent rehearsal venue and instruments which are our main concerns. For most of us music has become a source of income and with a lack of live music venues or shows it becomes harder for us to continue our work. Also transportation is very essential when it comes to a situation like ours where we all do not own cars or have enough funds to travel to performances therefore we find ourselves dreaming of a tour bus like artists have overseas.
- What advice do you have for people who want to start up bands?
All – The best advice from us would be for them to find members who share the same vision and dreams in music/genre to form a brotherhood/family like ours therefore the happier you are with your workmates/musicmates the more beautiful the music will be. More minds more ideas!
- How can people get hold of your music?
Check out our social pages for updates on shows ,songs and videos. We are hoping to land a record deal to make our album hopefully we will name “Purple Hearts”. If your question now is “Why Purple Hearts?” ,well keep help us complete it first then we will explain! haha
- What do you feel you represent in your music within the South African landscape?
All – We believe we represent a fresh image for bands in the country with our ideas and dreams we hope to inspire more acts especially the African race to believe we can do it like the international artists, have big tours internationally and be icons to them as they are to us.
Tk – I admire One Direction’s influence in the music industry at the moment and the response they receive from fans all over the world.
- How do you remain consistent and relevant in an ever changing environment?
All – We have done our best to keep up with musical trends where we get the audience to sing along with catchy choruses even dances and try keep up with current fashion trends when on stage to give a full “live” experience.
- Any last words?
All – We hope to inspire the world to dance to our music! We pray for endorsement deals and to make a living out of our music. We want to make a difference in our communities and charities around the country, through our talents we could hold workshops and teach those that are passionate about music as we are. #PURPLEHEARTS
Venues Performed: Tsalanang (Tembisa),Phillips Lounge(Tembisa), Barnard Stadium (Kempton Park) , Carnival City (Brakpan), Mammas Shebeen(Rosebank), Rumours Lounge (Weltervreden), Tanz Live (Blackheath), Klipdrift Battle of The Bands 2014 , Gig Tyd (Boksburg), Rooderpoort Theatre ,University of Johannesburg, Sister Sister Pub (Soweto)
Semi Finalists – Klipdrift Battle of The Bands 2014 (Gig Tyd)
YFM 99.2 Livenreyired (live radio show Yfm 02/09/13)
Paco Rabanne Be the Rock Star Competition 2014 Finalists 2014
Finalists My Band Competition 2014
Mzansi Insider SABC 1 (TV SHOW 10/05/14)
Valentines Picnic Affair 2014
Spring Colour Bash 2013 (Kempton Park)
Semi Finalists – Klipdrift Battle of The Bands 2013 (Carnival City)
Semi Finalists – Emerging Sounds, Battle for Rumours 2013
Winners – THE SETUP 2013 (Tanz Live)
Finalists – Fred’s Choice 2013 (Rumours Lounge)
A big THANK YOU to The Undergrounds for allowing us the time to chat to us. We hope that you take some positive light from their inspirational interview.
© Angela Nimah 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment