South African duo making the sound of seven virtuosos from across a wide variety of styles both traditional and electronic
Hometown: Cape Town, South Africa.
The lineup: John Withers (music), Emmanuel Nzaramba (vocals), with live assistance from Geoff Brink, Tom Parker, John Withers, Alex Montgomery and Raphael Segerman.
The background: Take one multi-instrumentalist and a singer who used to work as a car guard and you probably wouldn't guess the results would sound much like the self-titled debut album by John Wizards. Then again, nothing much sounds like the self-titled debut album by John Wizards. It is a record that simultaneously nods to traditional African music and world music in general, while acknowledging developments in electronica in all its myriad forms from across the past few decades. There are snippets – term used deliberately, because often they will alight on a rhythmic or instrumental phrase before zipping off in another direction entirely – of 80s funk, dub reggae, slow-jam R&B, Shangaan electro, Tropicalia, Congolese rumba, Mali meditative music, Hawaiian exotica and African house. Sometimes they sound like a synthpop duo pretending to be a nine-piece prog outfit masquerading as jazz-funk virtuosos, at other times like a techno act doing an impression of a metal band.
We've seen 25-year-old main man John Withers described as "an uncannily modern figure", and perhaps he is, if by modern they mean someone capable of replicating any number of a multiplicity of past genres at will. He composed and recorded the album in his bedroom armed with just a guitar, a condenser microphone and a few computer programs. And although he has a band for live performances, virtually every note on John Wizards is his, with the exception of the vocals, which he shares with Rwandan singer Emmanuel Nzaramba.
The son of an ad man, Withers apparently supplements his income – enabling him to bankroll this project – by composing music for TV commercials. You can sort of tell: many of the tracks hint at musicians either with short attention spans or attempting to grab the attention of people in a short space of time. John Wizards can sound like the eclectic imaginings of someone used to communicating his musical ideas in 60 seconds. It can be maddening, Withers beginning a catchy musical section, only to dart off just as you start getting involved. Often, the tracks feel like composites, and you get the impression of Withers as an editor as much as a performer. Tet Lek Schrempf is typical of this several-songs-at-once approach, with its fast-cut mixture of prog, synth and ethno-delic styles, with tweaked/treated guitar, hand-claps and deep, warped bass. Lusaka By Night, the single, is lush, liquid electronica: at once outer-spacey and underwatery, with Auto-tuned vocals positing John Wizards as a South African Daft Punk. Super-fast and skittering, all cartoon clicks and bloops, Limpop is like Vampire Weekend would be if they decided to pursue a cartoon electro direction. iYongwe is so squelchy, with its 80s funk-pop bass and gloopy keyboards, it's the aural equivalent of Potty Putty. Leuk is like post-rock played by a crack team of R&B musos, or vice versa, while Durvs imagines LFO if they'd come from South Africa not South Yorkshire. We were going to call it a banquet, a feast, but actually it's snackier than that; no bad thing if you're on the move. Amuse-bouches, anyone?
The buzz: "Lilts from style to style – including reggae, pop, electro and slow-jam R&B – with sweatless poise" – Pitchfork.
The truth: John Wizards are true stars.
Most likely to: Create magic.
Least likely to: Wear capes.
What to buy: Planet Mu will release the Lusaka By Night 12″ on 17 June. The self-titled album is released on 2 September.
File next to: Max Tundra, Squarepusher, Parliament, Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Links: facebook.com/johnwizards.
Monday's new band: Phlo Finister.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
by Paul Lester via Music: Electronic music | guardian.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment