Mix n Blend talks about ‘Rebel Gun’ and ‘Mercy’

This latest 2-track release features two incredible vocalists, blues artist Sannie Fox on Rebel Gun, and maloya singer Yaelle Trules from la Reunion on Mercy. Stepping out of their usual comfort zones whilst creating the music, both came up with something unique, special, blending their own styles and sounds with flavours not familiar to them.

 

 

“I think that’s where you get them to deliver themselves to a song. Because there are not really a lot of pre-conceptions about what they should or should not be doing, they have to go with their gut, with what feels right to them. I think that’s where you get really great results.”

 

 

 

 

First up, Sannie Fox blends her trademark dreamy blues vocals over dark, deep and melodic dub rhythms onRebel Gun – something unusual for her, but a mixture producing great results.

 

 

“We [Sannie Fox] met, we hung out a lot, started chatting about a lot of stuff, and decided ‘let’s make a track together’. She’s really really amazingly talented. I think it’s an absolute crime that she is not huge in this country. She is walking proof that making original, amazing music in this country means absolutely nothing in terms of success. She will make it huge though, she’s one of the hardest working, most original people I know.”

 

 

 

 

Yaelle on the flip side of the release, hailing from la Reunion Island, sings her verses in Creole and brings her unique flavour to the collaboration.

 

 

 

“She’s [Yaelle] an amazing vocalist. She has a really unique voice, and I think she adds so much emotion to that track, such a sense of loss and desolation on it, and really accentuates that feeling. She brings the track to life.”

 

The song, Mercy, was born in la Reunion on one of Mix ‘n Blend’s previous trips to the Island.

 

 

“If you listen to the tune, when I was writing it, I think quite a lot of the imagery that we saw when we were there was playing on my mind. This lush tropical island, so beautiful with a sense of desolation to it, and the volcano looking down over everything. My ex-girlfriend from there also had introduced me to a band called High Tone while I was driving around with her, and their sounds really influenced that track. Then we saw Yaelle singing on that trip and we thought she was amazing.”

 

Seeing her perform at Sakifo Festival, they knew immediately that they had to make music with her. A classic horn line composed by the bands brass maestros Lee Thomson and Ross McDonald rounds out this hooky affair.

 

 

These two tracks are released through the record label Ngomso – a boutique label looking towards the future, created by Mix ‘n Blend, allowing for the easy release of their own music and other artists whose music they admire, as and when they create it.

“I think we’re basically going to be focusing making Mix n Blend about our live band, which is what it should be about. We’re going to release more music. Hopefully, we’ll get to write a new full length album somewhere in the course of this year.”

 

Listen to Rebel Gun and Mercy on SoundCloud here:
https://soundcloud.com/mixnblend/sets/mercy-rebel-gun-release

 

Both tracks will be available for purchase within the next week on iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, 7 Digital, Juno Download, eMusic, and more.MIX N BLEND

 

 

Contact:

 

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mixnblendTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/mixnblendyoSoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/mixnblendWebsite: http://www.mixnblend.com

Professor Mystery – Vulture’s “Sexy Swingin’ Sounds”

Professor Mystery might sound like your average super villain but you’ll be more likely to find him creating beautiful beats behind the decks than pursuing an evil plot.  Representing the Hi-5 Caravan stage at this year’s Olmeca Presents Grietfest 2013, Professor Mystery promises nothing but the best “Sexy, swingin’ sounds”.  He started his music career in Pretoria, South Africa as part of a popular local band, Havoc Vultures, who have appeared on shows such as MK and TuksFM.

In 2012 Professor Mystery shared the stage with legendary UK producer KOAN Sound at Arcade Empire in Pretoria.  His creative and energetic personality portrays his love for music perfectly as he throws down banger after banger.  Professor Mystery is an act you should definitely not miss at this year’s Grietfest in Newtown.

Links:

LIKE PROFESSOR MYSTERY ON FACEBOOK

INTERVIEW

Who is Professor Mystery and what’s your general interest in this beautiful electronic music?

Professor Mystery is just some guy who likes to see people dance.

How did you focus what you’ve learned while playing for Havoc Vultures on a DJ career?

Being in Havoc Vultures definitely prepared me for the fame and all the fans and autograph hunters.

 

You’ve been involved with the South African live music scene for quite some time.  Why does this inspire you to get more involved?

The moment enough people support something, it becomes a scene and scenes are cool. I just love it when people are creating things – music happens to be one of my favourite things. 

Griet is bringing in some big names for Grietfest 2013 such The Upbeats,  F.O.O.L. Music and Bart B More.  Which particular acts to look forward to seeing at the festival?

I’m really looking forward to partying with Sassquatch and David and Goliath and I also really like what Gateway drugs and Yesterday’s Pupil are doing. There are so many good acts and it’s great to see so much awesome stuff happening in South Africa at the moment.

Grietfest brings together electronic acts from across the country.  Why is an event like Grietfest beneficial for our music industry? 

Because even though you can’t eat exposure, you can’t beat it either.

Professor Mystery will be perfoming on the Hi-5 stage at Grietfest 2013.  What can the crowds expect from your performance? 

Sexy, swingin’ sounds!

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RavingFox

Vexille – Africa’s Bass Breakthroughs Part 2 July 2013

Barend van der Walt a.k.a Vexille has been making quite the impact in the Johannesburg drum & bass scene.  Performing at events such as Science Frikshun,  Addictshun and Tomorrow Never Happened, Vexille became quickly well known for his aggressive sets.  He recently released his Shattered EP and RavingFox caught up with him for our Africa’s Bass Breakthroughs Part 2

INTERVIEW

Music has played a massive role your entire life.  Tell us where your 
relationship with music began and what role has it played in your life?

“Yes music has played a massive role in my life, all thanks to my dad. He ALWAYS had some good music to play, whether it was rock, old school, classical or Queen, he always educated me. But more importantly, he never forced me to do anything musical. This is what kept my interest and passion for music.”

You are frequently seen on Tomorrow Never Happened line-ups playing 
as either Vexille or teaming up with King Rat to amaze crowds as Bassik 
Assault.  How has King Rat a.k.a. Sean Nel fulfilled his role as your 
mentor?

“Tomorrow Never Happened parties are always a “jol”, and as Sean is the owner of TNH, and my manager as of recent, he would obviously want me to play his parties. He has also been the biggest influence in my musical career because he always pushes me to do better. He taught me how to DJ the music that I now produce, and in return I’m teaching him how to produce the music he loves. Watch this space, King Rat has some SICK ideas in terms of production!”

Your track “Comfort” from your “Shattered” EP is definitely a sound that 
has the flow of a Hybrid Minds track and the soul of liquid drum and bass.    
Where did the concept for the track come from and is this the general 
direction in which you want to produce music?

“For my whole EP, Hybrid Minds was the sole influence. The concept for Comfort came about after I spent a few days in that piano progression. I wanted something with body and meaning, and after I felt the piano progression was right, I just made the rest of what that progression made me feel like.”

In 2012 you toured with Dubsidia as part of the “Empire Strikes Back 
Tour ft Dubsidia”.  What was this experience like and which important 
moments will you always keep close to you?

“That tour was safe to say FUCKING MENTAL. Gabriel from Dubsidia is one of the nicest dudes I have ever met. But don’t get me wrong, he’s one crazy motherfucker. It was a once in a lifetime experience to tour with such an amazing group of people and I will remember, well, most of it for the rest of my life. We got robbed in Durban, we got shitfaced in Port Elisabeth and everywhere we went, we had the biggest fights, and the best times ever. It was a blur from beginning to end haha. ” 

Describe to us the emotion behind your mix and why did you chose 
this particular track selection.

“My emotion behind this mix is a bit more agressive than my EP haha. This particular track selection is all the older and then newer stuff that I like played together to get a feel of the new and the old and how they work together. I always like to play older stuff aswell as new stuff. Play what you know, and go from there…”

You often perform at Addictshun as either Vexille or Bassik Assault.  What 
always excites you about this event?

“The fact that nobody goes to Addictshun to get drunk or party, they go for the music. I LOVE the vibe there, and Ryan Green has made it my favourite DnB event. Don’t get me wrong, I love Science Frikshun with all my heart, but Addictshun inspires me to produce and progress the genre.”

You have an EP coming out soon, “Shattered”.  How much energy went 
into the production and will it carry a true Vexille signature?

“Yeah my EP is out now and does carry my signature. Sean tells me I have something in my liquid tracks that makes them good, so I believe him haha.” 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

RavingFox

The EP can be downloaded for free here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/t3cfo2dr162c42k/VEXILLE_SHATTERED_EP.rar

Hybrid Minds – Meant To Be

Comprising of Josh White, Matt Lowe on production, and Jeff Crake on vocals, Hybrid Minds represent a new musical force, with their melodic, soulful Drum and Bass already making waves across the globe. A synergy between influences including trip-hip, acoustic, soul and jazz, Hybrid Minds, consisting of Sensa, Josh and Grimm, draw on a myriad of influences to produce the smooth sound they are known for.

Josh and Matt [Sensa] had worked with one another for a few years running record labels before deciding to put their drive into music making. After only a few joint efforts, the duo immediately shot to the forefront of the Liquid scene, with household names such as Netsky, Lenzman, Marcus Intalex, Logistics, John B and Camo & Krooked all playing tracks from the newly formed duo. Their method of bouncing ideas off each other in the studio yielded immediate results with one of their first tracks, ‘The Place’ becoming one of the biggest liquid tracks of 2011, and receiving vast amounts of love from the UKF fans, a market they did not expect to reach. Combining hard drums, delicate vocals and enchanting melodies, ‘The Place’ features all the elements that now make up Hybrid Minds’ distinctive, soulful sound.

After the unprecedented success of ‘The Place’, Sensa and Haste made the permanent jump to liquid, to the delight of millions of Drum and Bass fans, and began to look for a permanent vocalist. That search ended in the discovery of Grimm, a vocalist from Canada, thus Hybrid Minds was formed.

Hybrid Minds are now set to solidify their rapidly growing reputation in the scene, and become one of liquid’s new supergroups.

Read the RavingFox interview with Hybrid Minds:

Hybrid Minds – A Melodic Dream Affair [INTERVIEW]