OPERA meets electronic. That’s a pretty cool combination, if you ask me, and that’s what the newly formed group Minaar (pictured) has incorporated on their latest EP, Volcano.
The duo comprises siblings and acclaimed Pretoria artists, Louis (also a member of the Afrikaans electro rap group Bittereinder) and Magdalene Minaar, who also happens to be an opera singer, actress, lyricist and producer.
Minaar have just released Volcano which features five exceptional tracks. Their sound is inventive with powerful, meaning- ful lyrics.
Their dance-inspired operatic ballads are something different, creating a new mix of smooth sounds that are original and versatile.
Chatting to Loius about their new project and EP, the friendly graphic artist, music video director and composer said: “The EP represents a collaboration of a brother and sister and the love that goes with that. It’s about the reality between a classical and an electronic world.
“As for the track Volcano, it’s about some traumatic experience my sister and I experienced when we were younger and it evokes emotion. We both worked on some experimental stuff that we never released, but we’ve been playing music together from a young age.
“We both come from a classical background. She played viola and we were in an orchestra together. It was pretty obvious that we wanted to work on something together so we just sat down and thought it was time to combine our experiences, electronic and opera, and it just became very clear.”
From listening to the EP, it’s evident the duo makes a great team. Louis wrote the music and Magdalene was responsible for the melodies and the lyrics. Describing their sounds as “two worlds that meet, a semantic approach to electronic and a more dramatic vocal performance”, Louis says they started with no expectations.
“It’s just about using our talent together to make music. So, we’re just hoping to make some more cool music that people will like and share. For me, my favourite track on the EP is Monotones. I like the idea that we sang together on the track. I think it’s quite special.”
Besides Minaar, Louis has definitely been keeping busy. As a music video director, composer and animator, he is also a member of Bittereinder, a band that has done immensely well over the years.
Asked how he juggles his different musical ventures, he shared: “It’s hard. I mean, with Bittereinder, we’re all so busy so we don’t have time to actually all sit down at the same time. So it’s definitely tough juggling a career and musical projects.”
What more can we expect from the awesome duo? According to Louis, they’re working on more tracks for a second release.
“Hopefully, we will have three parts to it with a total of 15 tracks. We also have a video on YouTube so you can check that out.”
• Visit Minaar’s website at http://www.minnaar.net to download their EP for free.