Rebecca Jackman
CAPE TOWN is set to get a lot funkier with fun foodie event the DSTV Delicious International Food and Music Festival taking place on Sunday – promising to get everyone dancing the calories off to “UK funk pioneers” the Brand New Heavies.
The “music festival for food lovers” or “food festival for music lovers” is held annually in Johannesburg in May, but makes its debut in Cape Town on Sunday at Greenpoint Common Grounds.
And the Brand New Heavies – Jan Kincaid, Simon Bartholomew, Andrew Levy and Dawn Joseph – will be there to join the line-up of local artists Jeremy Loops, Mi Casa and Freshlyground and international act “British club favourites” Soul II Soul.
Kincaid took some time to chat to the Cape Times ahead of the event this weekend, explaining that the band wanted to perform at the Cape Town event because they had “great fun” at the last one in Joburg.
“It’s a winning combination of great food and music- always a winner in my books,” he said, adding that the audience can expect an “exciting” and “vibrant” show.
Dancing is encouraged and expected, audience interaction is definitely on the cards and Kincaid is insistent that everyone be ready to let their hair down because the Brand New Heavies always “bring the party”.
Influenced by James Brown, Kool and the Gang, Marvin Gaye, Tower of Power, Herbie Hancock and Earth Wind and Fire, among too many others to mention, the Brand New Heavies has been going, in various forms, since the eighties so being on the road and touring abroad is nothing new to the current crop of members.
“The first thing to tell people is that it’s not all glamorous,” he said.
“There are lots of very early starts, very long journeys, long days and nights on planes, trains and automobiles, and you have to get used to being around other people all the time and all that it brings.”
But, he said, he “wouldn’t change it for the world” because they are lucky enough to do something they love – and get paid for it while they’re at it.
And, after so many years together, Kincaid said the band’s style and sound has “changed organically”. As for how well they know each other as musicians, he said they’ve played together for so long that when they perform it’s “almost telepathic”.
“We’ve taken on lots of influences as our musical ears have picked up so many sounds over the years. We’ve grown as musicians and songwriters from experience and practice and we know what we’re looking for from our sound and how to get it,” he said.
In the time they’ve been together, Kincaid said the industry has changed a lot in that it’s “cheaper and easier for everyone to make and record music now, both at a writing stage and when recording”.
They used to use tape machines, but now use computers – making it easier to work with and manipulate the music in ways that would have been “impossible, time consuming or very expensive in an expensive studio before”.
“Now you can have a small studio at home, and do a lot of work writing and preparing songs, recording parts before you go into a studio and start spending money,” he added.
When touring internationally, Kincaid said the band will hire a backline locally for one-off performances. But, he said, he always travels with his two favourite snare drums and cymbals. And while they’ll hire a keyboard, he said they bring all their own sounds to play through it via computer.
“We play completely live so everyone has their own instruments they bring from guitars to horns,” he said.
For long-time fans, Kincaid shared some little-known facts about each band member. “Dawn likes darts and plays regularly, Andrew is a secret lemonade drinker, Simon has a collection of rare shoulder pads and I live in a giant shoe,” he said.
For more, fans will have to head to the festival and see if they impart any more juicy information live from the stage.
Of course the DSTV Delicious International Food and Music Festival isn’t just about the music – the fest will include a pop-up restaurant by chef Garth Stroebel and plenty of other food on offer, including Masterchef South Africa judge Pete Goffe-Wood’s “legendary pork belly sandwich”.
l Tickets: R450, R200 under 12s, free under 3s. Delicious Lounge tickets: R850, 0861 915 8000.