The legacy behind the slogan, "Original Music for Original People!" coined by Tidal Waves, the rock reggae group known as the most hard-working band in the country, is about to be expanded.
The crew's frontman, Jacob Wulana (or Jakes as he's affectionately known) is working on a solo album that he says will deviate from what the band is known for.
Tidal Waves is not disbanding, they can't afford to. They enjoy a great following in the live rock and festival scene. With their consistent international tours, they are settling in the league of Johnny Clegg and Ladysmith Black Mambazo who are big names overseas. And they're surely becoming SA's ambassadors for reggae, a role that used to be filled by the late, great Lucky Dube.
Tidal Waves were in Seychelles in December and will perform soon for the first time in the US, thanks to the connection they made with Ziggy Marley when he was in the country recently.
"Tidal Waves has its own identity and I'm trying to create mine. I'm also fulfilling a promise I made to myself the day I left my mother's house, which was to have something I can call my own," says Wulana of his new project.
He is recording the material at Wolmer Records in Akasia, Pretoria North, which is easily one of the best studios in the country for recording rock. The stable has released the likes of Albert Frost, Architecture of Aggression (AOA), Jack Hammer, Gordon's Suitcase, Koos Kombuis and Wonderboom, just to name a few.
He is working with Lanie van der Walt of the notorious heavy metal band, Not My Dog, who's also a lecturer at TUT (Tshwane University of Technology). Van der Walt produced Tidal Waves' latest album, Manifesto, as well as two previous ones, Lekker Lekker Dans and Muzik an de Method. So it's pretty obvious why the two are teaming up for Wulana's debut. They understand each other and the camaraderie is evident.
"Lanie not only hears with an engineer's ear, but he listens like a musician as well and I love that," Wulana says.
From the few raw instrumental tunes that they sampled us, I could pick up the density of the marimbas and synthesizers reminiscent of '70s Afro-pop. The reggae is a mere suggestion, sometimes it's so underlying that you don't even hear it, but it's good on the ear.
"I have been influenced by Mzansi soul with the likes of Mpharanyana and Babsy Mlangeni. I'm working with that old-school sound, but I'm modernising it by changing the arrangement. Some of the music from that era may have been called 'bugglegum', but it was extremely creative. I want to include a full brass section and female backing vocalists.
"The lyrics will be mainly in Sotho and Zulu. What you'll get from the album is what could be termed Afro-soul reggae and the plan is to try and get into radio."
Wulana is blatant about his intensions. By getting on air with his nostalgic and modern sounds, he's looking at garnering a black audience. If he does get the recognition, he hopes to run with it and relay it back to Tidal Waves, who really crave a black following and some airplay.
"This will be a small act," he says. "I've worked so hard with Tidal Waves that I'm prepared to start small with this project."
It's a bold and inspired move with a serious objective. And it's also proof that you're never too old to do what you really want.
The album comes out at the end of October.