With the release of his new single, the launch of his Twenty Years of Music tour, the launch of his new music app, Gongbox, the rise and rise of his international career, there is no stopping Black Coffee, writes Therese Owen.
‘I have a surprise for you,” announces Black Coffee. My interest is already piqued. We are chilling at #Hashtag which is at the bottom of Durban’s Florida Road party precinct.
Black Coffee has just come from an interview with Gagasi FM in KwaMashu. My time with this great house DJ and producer is always enjoyable because his understanding and appreciation of music is vast. He is not one of those dullsville house producers who don’t know how to communicate with humanity and would rather be in a studio. Black Coffee’s approach to life and his career is all encompassing. He has vision and ambition. He is practical and knows how to get where he wants to go.
Before we get to his surprise for me, we chat about his international career, which is going strong. He even has a selfie of himself and P Diddy at the club where Black Coffee performed. The Ibiza club is called DC10 and he is one of the headline DJs at the Monday night sessions, called Circo Loco.
“Madonna sometimes parties there but she prefers dancing downstairs as opposed to the VIP area,” says Black Coffee.
About P Diddy, he says that he has always been impressed with his business deals outside of music. “I have seen him building his brands and how huge he has made them.”
This has inspired Black Coffee to follow his own dreams outside of music. On Friday he launched a music app called Gongbox specifically for the South African market. His new single, I Will Find You, featuring Cara Frew, is available for a free download for the first 5 000 subscribers.
“I have been working on this app for the past two years. Unlike iTunes you don’t need a credit card, just a debit card. South Africans love music. I don’t think anyone in the world loves music the way we love music. We even listen to the radio on our phones without headphones. But we don’t have easy access to credit cards. In fact I have never had a credit card in my life.”
“Also, I found it difficult to find early Madala Kunene and Brenda Fassie. Gongbox is a platform for the older music. There will also be a platform for unsigned artists. Never underestimate the power of the unsigned artist. We are literally starting from the ground up.”
He is also planning a clothing range called Black, as the label Black Coffee is already in use in the fashion industry. The range will include sunglasses as well as spectacles.
“The clothing range is coming next year. You will be able to order online because I don’t want to get into something I can’t do properly. For me, partnering with people who are already in business is important. I am working with someone who is in opticals and someone who is in clothing. I’m all about collaborations.”
Collaboration is something that attracted him to front a Ballantines Whisky campaign. In the advert, which can be viewed on YouTube, he conducts a choir who do an a capella version of his big hit Rock My World. The choir even do the kick drum and the brass sections.
“The advert is based on the idea that I love to collaborate. I also love the fact that the advert is about music. I loved the experimental part of the project,” he says.
The discussion moves back to his international career. He recently signed with an international company called Purple PR. On their books are superstars like Bjork, Beyonce, Brian Ferry, Adele and Prince. “They are fussy about who they take on and don’t even give out their e-mail address.”
He managed to find a way in and when they heard his music, the company immediately agreed to take him on. “I was blown away when I read the first line of the contract, which said ‘we must not overexpose Black Coffee’ . When I saw that line I was happy.”
Then it is time for the music. He is planning to drop a full album on March 11, which is his birthday.
So where is he headed in terms of his next sound: “I don’t know where I am going but I will know when I am in the studio. It’ s just where I am in my headspace. I want to make sense in the South African market and I want to make sense overseas. I want my songs played on mainstream radio in the UK. That is where I am going.”
He began his Twenty Years of Music Freedom tour on Friday night at Shine Studios in Braamfontein. The two-hour show was broadcast live on SABC1. The show included vocalists, percussionists and a keyboardist. It was also the first time he showcased his new single with the talented Cara Frew. He clearly challenged the young singer vocally and he certainly brought out the best in her. The song is surprisingly unBlack Coffee, but then again, there is no specific Black Coffee sound. “I wanted to take a new direction but keep my roots.”
Then he plays me his surprise. I have the headphones on and he presses play on his laptop. “I am only a quarter of the way through,” he says. The song starts sublimely and the beat starts building slowly. Then I hear it, that voice, that wonderful Catholic monk style, that emotive, emotional, sensitive voice of Nakhane Toure. I look up at Black Coffee and we both start laughing because it is that magnificent.
“You were the one who kept on insisting that I listen to his music,” he says after the song. “I eventually bought his album and listened to it on my way to a gig in Zimbabwe and back again and then I phoned him.”
Black Coffee’s music has a spirituality which sets him apart from other producers and Nakhane’s vocals just add to that spirituality.
If the direction of this track and his latest single are anything to go by, Black Coffee’s new album will yet again dictate a new door for African house music. Black Coffee is a visionary and the world and, in particular, our country, are lucky to have him. I predict that in 20 years time he will be one of the biggest superstars to come out of this country. The future is bright.