OVER Africa Month I spent a bit (more) time investigating some of the extraordinary artists who are fusing the modern culture of electronic music with traditional flavours of Africa. As I delved further I found more and more. There are many artists creating a very fresh journey in our music culture, and several of these artists are simply mind-blowingly talented, and compete on a global scale.
There’s so much that’s new and unexpected. Pop culture and electronica has seeped through almost every nook and cranny of South Africa, and it has been flipped in a new direction by these artists who are owning their roots and getting the rest of the world to take our very unique musical elements seriously.
Some of the many acts which put out raw expression of African music through electronica are DJ Spoko, Okmalumkoolkat, Nozinja, and DJ inviZAble (and his band The Champions of the Sonarverse).
One section of the spectrum is the conceptual, performance-based, story-telling act. After seeing the tall dark figure of DJ inviZAble walking around The Assembly club like a silent Grim Reaper, I was intrigued. I have seen him here and there at various events but didn’t get the chance to catch a full performance until now.
Atmospheric became entrancing, became striking; sounds, voices and characters told a story of struggles with the dark, and celebration of life. This particular act is a conceptual act with an emphasis on story-telling and expressing of shared experiences. DJ inviZAble answered some questions about this mysterious act.
What made you decide to give birth to this concept?
The concept of good versus evil has been around since the beginning of mankind. In a universal context the performance piece depicts the artists of the future who have a crucial role to play against greed and corruption, discrimination and oppression. Music has always been a big part of me. The Champions of The Sonarverse is an ideal opportunity to channel the power of music to inspire unity.
Why do you feel that this is important?
The Champions of The Sonarverse are heroes of a generation united in harmony. In recent developments the atmosphere has turned bleak and people are angry and have had enough of the corrupt, violent state of the world – it is time for performance art pieces like this to demonstrate through a story how to embrace these challenges so that good may finally prevail.
Do you have an agenda to connect pop-electronic-music lovers with African sounds?
People listening to any genre of music should love African beats already. There is a certain hypnotism and euphoria connected to these rhythms. What DJ InviZAble has created in producing The Champions of the Sonarverse is a crossover sound with electronic, African, funk and rock elements woven together to create what we call xi-fi.
Where do you see the future of this act?
Wherever their artistic quest may lead them, they will have relevance to the people that see and listen to their story. The aesthetic is futuristic, African, iconic. Future projects include the possibility of compiling a graphic novel and producing a series of short films. In our immediate future, The Champions of The Sonarverse are set to appear at the Adrenaline Festival in The Drakensberg and in Swaziland at the Bushfire Festival.
What have been the challenges with a multi-disciplinary act?
DJ InviZAble and his Champions of The Sonarverse consists of a Rastafarian-esque Computer General, a Shadow with metal in his veins, a powerful Sangoma who sings out to the ancestors, a pale African shape-shifting owl creature called Sephooko and lastly, the power crazed dictator, Admiral Anarchy! Spreading corruption and domination through his bass frequencies. The Champions of The Sonarverse are a testament to what can be achieved through music and sound. Embracing a diversity of cultures to unite and work together against the disease of oppression, liberation can only come through unity. Diversity is what defines us, not what divides us.
l www.invizable.co.za, www.facebook.com/DjInvizable