ONE thing few people know about Mi Casa is that they are under pressure, as a result of their past success, to outdo themselves. They make catchy music which always gets good ratings. They are responsible for a few dance moves made popular by their videos. Also, apart from The Parlotones, Mi Casa is the only successful band to have a 3D animated music video. For them, it’s always about pushing the bar.
This is why it is no surprise that the band are in the process of shooting a five-part documentary to go with their new music. It’s called the Africa Shine project.
“As musicians, we do music videos the normal way. You put out a song and then you put out a music video to go with it. The song is sampled and popularised on radio so that when the video kicks in people would have warmed up to the audio,” said J’Something, the lead singer of the group.
He is aware that they need to keep improving with each release.
“We have been pioneers in doing things differently and would like to continue the trend. We are not looking for something that makes us money per se, but are aiming for something that will make us look cool and fresh to the market,” he said.
Not many bands in South Africa can compare to what Mi Casa has achieved in the few years that they have been in existence.
“Our recent album has already sold over 100 000 copies, which is double-platinum. It’s a cherry on top for all the other successes we have enjoyed. So we wanted to release five songs in five months which will have music videos, but then we thought instead of having the normal music videos, we would try something different. We thought about shooting documentaries which will go along with given songs,” said J’Something.
“We created a 25-minute film and then cut it in five different parts. Instead of making the video about the song, we thought of letting the song be the soundtrack to the film. You will find that the video doesn’t have anything to do with the song. This hasn’t been done before so it is hard to explain, but it would be cool to see people’s reactions to the work we are putting out there,” he added.
The video material is largely socio-political and will allow music and film lovers to see Mi Casa in a new light.
“The material is thought-provoking as it deals with day-to-day things that we go through so we are curious to see how people digest this one. At the end of June, when we are done shooting, we will do an online and physical launch of the project.”
So far SABC1’s music show Live AMP has been breaking the news of the project.
“We got to perform on the channel and are in talks on how to release it, once it is finally out,” said J’Something.
Of late, J’Something has been pushing the visual side of his talents. After being on Something’s Cooking, the singer co-started a production company called Something’s Cool which has produced two shows.
“All three members of Mi Casa have other interests outside the music and we are here trying push the TV side. So far so good.”
The Africa Shine project releases in June.