“I CAN’T wait to come to South Africa,” says vocalist and guitarist Cavey Roberts of the UK alternative pop band, The Curious Incident.
Tonight chatted with him over Skype about their upcoming tour, which starts in Stellenbosch then heads to East London, Bloemfontein, Durban, Pretoria, Joburg and Cape Town.
Comprised of Roberts, Mirko Piconese (lead guitar), Dan Browery (bass) and Diaz Meidiawan (drums), the band’s members come from diverse backgrounds. Roberts represents South Africa and The Netherlands, Piconese Italy, Bowery England and Meidiawan Indonesia.
“Yeah, that helps us in our music as well. I write the song and bring the idea to the guys and we flesh it out together. And because of everyone’s background, we need to work out how the song will eventually be and stuff. Like Mirko is classically influenced. He loves ’80s music also so it’s kinda a weird combination. Dan has more of an eclectic taste and also loves technical. Diaz loves music by Lost Prophets, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, nu metal and now he’s also moved into hip hop. And for me, my mum used to play The Beatles and I like anything from Taylor Swift to Sam Smith and The Lumineers,” Roberts shares.
The band have a very indie-pop vibe and their sound also has a bit of RHCP and Bruno Mars. The Curious Incident have also supported one of their heroes, English rockers The Zombies, and have toured Canada and Switzerland.
It’s not the first time the guys are visiting South Africa. They first toured here back in 2012.
Roberts says: “Well, I’m South African and just so much has changed in South Africa since the last time we toured. Now, there are big stadiums and loads of artists and a lot of international acts that are always performing there.
“Last time, we kinda had a single, but we were so young and didn’t really know how to release it and market it properly. But it was all a learning experience.
Now, we’ve kept the name of our band, but the style of the music has changed a lot. It’s still evolving all the time and the people at our gigs really seem to like the vibe we have going on as well.”
Of their new EP, Penny Lonesome, which consists of four new songs as well as some bonus tracks, the vocalist says: “The songs are essentially about not having enough money and not enough love. Like, everyone says money doesn’t matter but if you need to pay the bills, then we all need it. And in London, it’s crazy with rent and stuff. And with our EP, you can pre-order it and then you can get into the gigs for free. Or if you go on SoundCloud, they will know what we sound like and do a bit of research on us. So there will be a lot of infectious energy and a few surprises to keep the set interesting. We always have a great time at our gigs and love hanging out with our audience afterwards.”
• The Curious Incident: Nov 25: Aandklas, Stellenbosch; Nov 28: Raggies, EL; Nov 29: Mystic Boer, Bloem; Dec 4: Live the Venue, Dbn; Dec 5: Arcade Empire, Pta; Dec 6: Rumours, Jhb; Dec 13: Manila Bar, CT. See thecuriousincident.com.