Tension is mounting in the blogosphere ahead of the release of Die Antwoord’s much anticipated, much tweeted new album Ten$ion.
As always with the duo there are more questions than answers: Do they have staying power or are they simply a flash in the pan? Did they really quit their deal with major American label Interscope to stay authentic or did Interscope actually dump them after their debut LP $O$ tanked hard saleswise, shifting a mere 26?000 copies? Is their new single Fok Julle Naaiers homophobic and racist or really funny? Is their brand of Zef rap merely bad-taste blackface appropriation or did Waddy Jones actually discover his “inner coloured”? And most importantly, as one blogger asked: “Should Yolandi go solo so she isn’t paired with a kreepy bro with prison tatts?” Catch the preview material from their forthcoming album in one show only before they head off on their American and Australian tours. The Wedding DJs, Slap-Chip and Da Sexy Boyz provide support.
The Fez, 11 Mechau Street, Cape Town, on December 21 at 9pm. Entrance is R100. Tel: 021 419 7000. Book at www.webtickets.co.za.
? Since their much-lauded debut at the Pan African Station in 2010, free-form combo As Is have continued to navigate the spaceways, extending so-called jazz further into the unknown or unheard. The As Is space odyssey reaches new heights this December when band members Brendon Bussy, Garth Erasmus, Niklas Zimmer and Manfred Zylla take up a month-long residency at Tagore’s in Obs. Adapting their sound to this intimate setting, the crew avoids full-frontal audio assaults and instead employ free improvisation as a means to explore rhythm, timbre, form, density and tonality.
Tagore’s, 42 Trill Road, Observatory, December 18 at 6pm. Entrance is free.