This week we had the pleasure of hosting Arno Carstens, a true icon in the South African music industry. It's an episode that explores guerrilla marketing, the evolution of the musical landscape, and more. Here are some of the key takeaways from the audio interview.
30 Years In A Few Words
With a career spanning over thirty years, Arno takes us back to the beginning, from writing as a teen, to the start of Springbok Nude Girls in his early twenties. He summarises his career in a few words.
'It’s 30 years of being in a lucky situation where the people enjoyed what we were doing when we started out; otherwise, we wouldn’t have gone anywhere. Somehow, that created enough money to create albums and do what we wanted to do when we were school kids. I’m one of those lucky people who has been doing the same cool stuff I’ve been doing since I was 15/16; that’s when I started writing, and the Nude Girls started when I was about 22/23.’
Music & Gaming
One of the most interesting topics Arno touches on is the evolving music landscape, particularly the rise of gaming among younger audiences. He expresses his excitement about music being featured in video games, recognising the immense reach and impact it can have on the music.
'Kids these days are much more into gaming, I mean it’s much bigger than music. If you can get your music onto the gamer thing, it’s very cool. Springbok Nude Girls had a song called ‘Gang Gang’ and somebody made a music video out of it using some game, and it’s fantastic when a song sits well with the action of a game, so I wish I could do more of that.’
Creative Freedom
Arno also sheds light on the advantages of being an independent artist vs being signed, emphasising the importance of creative freedom and the ability to release music independently.
'The fun part about being on your own and not with a record company, is the guerrilla warfare tactics of doing business and selling your music. I’ve got a couple of albums that aren’t with record companies and I recorded us playing in front of a green screen, mixed down the live versions, and made a video of each song and sold them as NFTs and made enough money to record another song.’
Volkswagen Ad
Growing up, one of the coolest moments was seeing that unforgettable Volkswagen Touareg ad that blasted the iconic 'Another Universe' by Arno. So we had no choice but to tap into the dynamics of one of the most legendary songs to exist in South Africa.
Arno says, 'Look, that ad made it. I sometimes say Volkswagen saved mine and David Kramer’s careers. Prior to that, we were all coasting, but then when our songs got put onto Volkswagen ads, it really worked; it propelled you up a couple of notches in the South African psyche. I had two friends that paid for the album I brought out; no record company was interested. ‘Another Universe’ was the first single, and nobody wanted to play it. Then a guy put it on the ad, and then suddenly everybody started playing it, but prior to that, I always knew it was a really good song.’
Conclusion
Our chat with Arno Carstens has been a journey through the evolution of the South African music industry and a testament to the power of creativity and innovation. From his early days as a teenager writing music to the success of Springbok Nude Girls and beyond, Arno has shown that passion and perseverance can lead to a lasting impact on the music scene. If you want to hear the full interview and dive deeper into these topics, be sure to check out our podcast. Arno's insights are not only inspiring but also offer valuable lessons for aspiring musicians and entrepreneurs alike.
