Touch Grass with Basson Laas

In a recent episode, Meagan spoke to Indie Folk/Alternative artist Basson Laas. Here are some major musings from the full interview.

Basson Laas is from the plaas, but his dreams are far from grounded.

As a teenager, he never imagined performing for a living. Now, his vision for the future includes theatre stages, talented collaborators and taking his music on the road.

After a few years in the industry, Basson has built his repertoire to suit different corporate and social events. To him, the distinction lies in attention. For gigs in the scene, it’s time to bring the full band and generate the energy of the room. For intimate settings, his focus is on storytelling. For festivals, Basson plans to pump it up. For events like weddings and parties, he understands that his role is mostly atmospheric, opting for “chilled, acoustic covers” that underscore the conversation. These events ask for 2-3 hours of music, and so he has a flip-file of over 80 songs, ready on request. 

Basson’s Set Builder:

• Break the ice with a released original
• Warm-up with the comfort songs
• Use the middle to crowd-test unreleased originals
• Fill in the blanks with hearty covers
• End with a released original

Basson is just as happy to play background at restaurants, as he is to headline at bars. Just short of a residential, his best experiences have been at venues that frequently host music events, provide a decent sound setup, pay the full performance rate and have a healthy ratio of regular to new patrons.

From Vivaldi to Coldplay, Basson credits his father and friends for his taste in music. He learned violin and piano as a kid, picked up guitar in his teens and has kept a lyric journal since 2010 - each skill has informed the next. Basson notes that being exposed to other instrumentalists has broadened his imagination for songwriting. With the addition of drummer, Jannie Labuschagne, he can save his stomp-box and tambourine for rainy days. Eventually, he hopes to translate his versatile influences into a versatile discography.

After playing at Misty Waters, Basson has caught festival fever. If it was up to him, he would perform at “all of them, as soon as possible.” His wish-list includes Mieliepop, SplashyFen and Up The Creek. For Basson, gigs like these are about the fun and exposure. He states that securing a festival slot and “giving the folks a vibe” is a sign of becoming an original artist. Jannie and Basson have been working on a festival set, looking for new members to join them on stage.

Basson’s Band Audition:

• Play Bass
• Play Keys
• Be tight like Jannie
• Enjoy the open road

If you meet 3/4 of these requirements, consider waltzing into Basson’s DMs.

Ultimately, Basson wants to make music for people “that can sit down and listen to the lyrics.” He mentions Fairtree Atterbury Theatre, wanting to put on “a very intimate, story-telling performance where people are really tuning in.” He brings up a great example, Music in the Hills, a venue that has appreciation for music baked into its bricks. Basson points out that MitH even has signs on the walls nudging people to be quiet during the performance, and the audience typically seeks an original set. 

This desire warrants writing that rewards close inspection, something substantive to offer attentive ears. Basson feels like he doesn’t have a go-to process for lyric writing yet. He sees it as a practicable fitness like any other. Sifting through the unrecorded songs in his notebook, he thinks it would be helpful to attend some songwriting workshops. He acknowledges that coming up with a song idea and actually executing on it requires two different skill-sets.

In his opinion, a well-written song is one that can easily be drafted into the lives of listeners. Simply put, “a catchy song is catchy.” To create this effect, Basson takes notes from musicians like Noah Kahan who prioritises the lyrics and melody of the hook, and then develops the rest of the song around the chorus.

Basson reflects on his latest single, saying that the chorus of ‘Worth Loving’ used to be “I’m worth loving too” because the first verse used to be more about self-love. ‘Worth Loving’ has been a work in progress, with iterations on lyrics, rhythm and melody. He wrote the first version of the song in 2011, performed it with a previous project (Man The Fields) from 2014, and released it officially a decade later. He recalls coming home after a night at Hatfield Square, “inspiration struck”, so he sat on the kitchen floor and started writing in his notebook. Over time, the verses opened up to themes of romantic love and he changed the chorus line to speak directly to the listener. Basson remarks that some songs take hours, some take years.

Basson’s first real studio experience was with Werner Khatz, from Good Morning Sweet Songbird Studios, who helped him bring his debut EP, ‘Good Morning Dreamer’ to life. Basson has a good attitude towards the challenge of meshing well with a new collaborator and discovering a sonic identity in studio. He tries to “allow the process to take shape on its own.”

Basson’s Studio To-Do:

• Drink a lot of coffee
• Start with a proper listen to the demo
• Have a lekker saai
• Lay the beat
• Add some bass
• Marvel at the producer’s proficiency

Considering which demos to immortalise in .wav, Basson suggests that if you want to make a name for yourself, you should prioritise your radio-friendly songs. Going forward, his objective is to be able to capture his musical ideas more readily, perhaps with the option of a bedroom-studio setup and the help of strong industry contacts. Basson reveals that his next single, ‘Smile’ has elements of Rock with a fun, upbeat twist. He wonders if the culture of Spotify’s New Music Friday is more overwhelming than effective as a release strategy, but he enjoys deciphering the analytics and trying out new methods. He admits that releasing consistently as an independent artist is expensive, and so he reserves his budget for the fun stuff - production, marketing and making a music video.

But wait, there’s lore. The music videos for ‘Guardian Angel’ and ‘Tightly Bound’ are connected. Basson explains that the idea for ‘Tightly Bound’ came first, it was inspired by his childhood memories of playing with his friends on the farm and feeling “a sense of freedom”. At the time, he knew he also wanted to create a music video for ‘Guardian Angel’ but he was worried about its long intro. Add to that, the creative challenge of stitching the stories together despite their contrasting emotions - ’n Basson maak ’n plan. ‘Guardian Angel’ follows a man travelling to the same place featured in ‘Tightly Bound’. Spoilers: It’s revealed that he was one of the boys in the field and has returned to his childhood home. Basson says they used the same locations in both videos for continuity and affordability. He feels that working on these projects has uncovered a love for film and all things cinematic.

In 2014, Basson Laas joined the scene as part of Man The Fields to get a sense of the live circuit as a hobby. By 2019 he was a solo player for a few weddings. Then, in 2022, as venues reopened, Basson celebrated his 30th birthday and asked himself a big question under Capetonian skies.

“What have I done so far?”

He had been a pilot, a baker, a farmer and more. Basson thought of the notebook he had been filling with songs since circa 2010, and knew he didn’t want to let the good ones go to waste. After marrying his wife, Louise, the pieces were falling into place.

“Honey, I just feel like I need to try this, even if it’s just for a year.”

He gave himself a year to pay the rent with his Rock and hasn’t looked back since.

“I’m in year three now, so far everything is still going good and I’m happy.”

Basson remembers being a shy and confused teen who couldn’t foresee becoming a professional musician, and his mother specifically asked him not to start a band. So far, if he was a time-traveller, he would make no edits. He says, “Everything will be okay, don’t worry.”