Glynis O’Hara
QKUMBA ZOO have lost the “C” in their QCumba – but not the “Q” in their quirk. Arista Records in New York has decided the “K” makes more sense – otherwise people go round saying “QSumba Zoo”, they say. To which one can only reply – what school did these people go to? Is everything we hear about American education true?
But the change was also introduced because it’s better typographically, says PR Candy Burnett, meaning the art department can go crazy with long, arty strokes on the “K”. The band is very happy with the change, she says.
And also happy that they are making their way up the Billboard charts. Three weeks ago they were in at number 95 on the Top 100 Singles charts, the next week at 87 and this week at 74. They’re already at number 14 on the Billboard Club Dance Charts, jumping up from 24 the previous week.
MTV has accepted their new video, recently completed in America, for the song The Child Inside. It cost $250 000 (about R1,1-million) to make, says Burnett, as opposed to an average budget of about R30 000 to R40 000 given for videos here.
Pam Devereux-Harris, whose company shot QCumba Zoo’s Cloud Eyes on a mine dump in Westonaria for R46 000, says their budget worked out at four percent of the American one. “It’s strange, because in America they stuck them in a studio for five days and it still cost a fortune.”
Still, no one’s complaining. “It’s a lovely video,” says Burnett. “The stylist was flown out from Paris and the make-up artist they used does people like Claudia Schiffer. I don’t know, I guess a lot of the cost was in the editing. They also had a sculpture made up specially for the shoot.”
Ironically, though, the band told Burnett they preferred the Cloud Eyes video. Which maybe just goes to show that they’re really patriotic and not totally Americanised yet. Or perhaps that what our industry lacks in budget is more than made up for in creativity.
QKumba Zoo has been rehearsing all week for the 5fm bash at Kyalami tomorrow and they leave for New York in November for a publicity tour. They’ve also been getting ready for live performance.
“Until now they’ve performed to backing tracks,” says Burnett. “Now they’re working on live performance and hiring musicians. Ian Herman will be doing percussion with them on Saturday and they’re looking at a keyboard player and bass player.”
QKumba Zoo will be playing at the main stage at the 5fm birthday concert celebration at Kyalami on Saturday October 26