Fred de Vries=20
EDUCATION, information and entertainment: that’s what South=20 Africa’s first music industry exhibition, Samix ’95, is=20 about If you’re not interested in the workshops and the=20 equipment, you can still come along and have fun listening=20 to the music, says Samix director Karl Heinz Lang.=20
An industry effort to develop music in the region, Samix=20 ’95 kicked off at the Newtown Cultural Precinct on=20 Thursday, and runs till Sunday.=20
It started on a bum note, with an intended publication on=20 South African music falling through due to lack of interest=20 from advertisers. But things seem to be well on their way=20 now. There are over 50 stalls to be visited, ranging from=20 record company exhibits to musical equipment. DJs and=20 musicians will be holding workshops, and local and foreign=20 musicians will provide the aural entertainment.=20
For those not interested in state-of-the-art drum sets from=20 Germany, the highlight will undoubtedly be the Best=20 Unsigned Band Contest, which will take place on Saturday=20 morning. After many gruelling and sometimes embarrassing=20 “battles of the bands”, six groups have qualified,=20 including Johnnesburg winners Butterfish, Cape Town’s=20 Kusasa, Stoned Henge from Durban and Photograph from Port=20
The winners will also perform at the gala concert on Sunday=20 afternoon, with local bands The Electric Petals and Magic=20 Cactus and international jazz legends Robben Ford (who=20 played guitar with Miles Davis) and percussionist Steve=20 Houghton. Ford and The Blue Line will perform at Mega Music=20 on Friday evening, while the Steve Houghton Band will do=20 the same on Saturday evening.=20
Houghton, who has written an acclaimed book on drumming,=20 can be bombarded with questions when he holds a 45-minute=20 workshop titled “The Contemporary Drummer” on Sunday=20 afternoon. Other international workshops, to be held the=20 same day, include Dan Higgins unravelling techniques for=20 the “modern saxophonist” and Larry Koonse taking the guitar=20 into the 21st century. It’s all very jazzy, but, as Lang=20 says: “You’ve got to start somewhere.”=20
Local workshop participation comes from Andrew Tracey, who=20 will be talking about traditional instruments; a=20 representative of the Association of the South African=20 Music Industry (Asami), who’ll warn about piracy; Bop=20 Recording Studios, who will explain why they are so=20 expensive; and Solid Gold DJ The Duke, who’ll shed light on=20 the art of DJing. The Australian Aus Music will give us an=20 idea why the land down under has such a vibrant music scene=20 when we don’t.=20
For Samix ’95 to be a success, Lang estimates that between=20 6 000 and 10 000 visitors are needed. Whether it will be a=20 financial success “is all in the hands of the gods”.=20