The Busiest Month In South African Alt This Year

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Thank you to PSB. Praise B.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to another episode of Ground Up on Sludge Underground Podcast. I am Nasi P is one is my surname, and I am with Marcel Smutz, the sexiest Dolph in the game. And uh yeah, today we're gonna be giving you guys we're gonna be giving you guys a whole lot of wholesomeness as we generally do, wrapping up everything that has sort of happened, or as much as we can cover uh of what happened in the month of October. Uh Marcel's busy trying to recover there. What's happening, bro?

SPEAKER_02 0:34

Dude, I'm just imagining Dom like fucking having that X Files like fucking music. Because as far as he's aware, that message of hey, you should talk about this went up like almost an hour ago. So it being in the intro is just he's gonna be so fucking confused.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

No, but obviously, you know, of the day, I mean, we we we're gonna be recording this right now on the day that we're recording it, but it's gonna come out, you know, a few days later as well. So some of the stuff uh basically the reason why I'm telling you this is because I don't want people coming for us. We we generally have people, you know, dropping us DMs and being you know warning our heads because maybe certain things haven't been mentioned, but just bear in mind that uh yeah, of the time of recording, it's not exactly the end of October. And yeah, so there might be stuff that happens after we record this, which we can then cover in the next one.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Everyone has been incredibly fucking busy in the month of October. It has been a jam-packed month of releases and going-ons and a whole bunch of stuff. So, yeah, we're gonna try and get through as much of it as possible, especially the things that Naz and myself have interacted with. And yeah, we're gonna start with going over some of the shows that are coming up that have happened, that we were at. Uh Naz, you want to start? You want to take it away?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

What I firstly want to take it away on is what is upcoming. Reverberate has got KZN's top alternative event organizers behind one night. It's called Ghost Town, and the lineup is stacked. You know, the legends of the Winston scene are back in one room. Mouse, the psych rock duo that kept Durban going through the last days of the Winston, Taekwondo sleepover, uh, with big fast riffs and live sets that go completely off the rails. And Heat Death, the Dark Synth Noise Project from Earthy One Zone Spam Love Strand. Joining them are Nine Refrain, the Viking Metal Battle Durban Heat winners and Pink Slip and Political Indie Rock Band. Uh and opening the night is uh Eva, uh, who is basically an exciting new voice playing her very first show. If you were there in the Winston days, uh, this one's for you. If you weren't, this is your chance to see what everyone still talks about. Uh, there's a costume contest with prizes and alt DJ till 2 a.m., Halloween cocktails, and part of every ticket goes to charity. Saturday, the 31st of October, the loft at West Town in the upper highway. Uh phase one is already sold out. So grab your 100 Rand tickets on Quick It before the prices go up. Uh, 18 and over, see you in the pit.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

If you're in Durban and you can't make it up to the Ram Halloween event and catch Silverstein and all the bands that are gonna be playing up there, but then yeah, it is a great alternative for uh Durban or KZN Halloween Joel. So uh I'm pretty stoked for that one. I think it's gonna be pretty cool. On the same night as what's happening for Marshall Halloween Mash Mesh Mesh? What the fuck? Can I actually get a sentence out? Um, yeah, so on the same night as Marsh Halloween in Durban, it is going to be the Halloween event in Pretoria. And we are pretty spoiled. We are getting Silverstein. They are coming out. So pretty much every Elder Emo in South Africa has been uh, you know, uh pretty, pretty fucking stoked. Um, I think it's a great constellation prize after having not had a data remember come through. And obviously, the lineup of local bands on that is extensive, and a couple of uh the homies are having their first appearances on that stage. And yeah, we are looking at Rough Magic, PH Fat, The Tasers, Doom Trigger, Fuzzy Gish, Human Nebula, Your Cynical Sanity, Middle Grounds, Man's Machine, Walk These Skies, Daisy Arson, and Worms. I've been doing this way too long, being able to read all of these fucking band logos. Oh my god. But yeah, absolutely a stacked lineup of bands. Um, fun fact, we've had almost every one of these people on the show at one point. Now that I think about it. If you're gonna be in Pretoria and you're gonna be at the Halloween event, I will be there. I'm gonna be do shooting some video for some bands. I'm also going to be like just documenting the event in general. If you spot me, come say hi. Come just say hello. Uh, I will probably be very easy to spot um as per usual. Six, so I was at uh Whitecollar's uh second ever gig. Uh if you're not familiar, Whitecollar is essentially one of the newest offerings that we have in South Africa. It is a new metal band, and I'm gonna be honest with you, I was pretty fucking blown away by that band's performance. It's got a stacked lineup of musicians in it. I mean Liam from As Above, So Below. Uh, we've also got Merrick, uh, Merrick the Bear, who is playing bass on that band. And uh it looks like almost everyone else in the band, who though I'm not too familiar with, has some kind of like endorsement sponsorship or something. Everyone is a seasoned musician and they play like it. Definitely, definitely worth checking out, giving that band a watch, seeing what's happening in the future. I was also at the Drunk Wizard album launch, which was pure fucking chaos. I was at Smoking Kills for the first time, and holy shit, what a claustrophobic little uh venue, but my god, what an experience. I absolutely loved every bit of it. The bits that I actually could breathe were sick. Um, but yeah, pure chaos. I got the shit beaten out of me. I'm pretty sure I took a flying kick to the back. I banged my knee up on stage. Um I had a person thrown into my chest so hard that I was winded. Uh that's yeah, yeah. You'll there'll there'll be some b-roll footage. Uh you'll you'll get an idea of me fighting for my fucking life. Nice, bro.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Nice. I think it's it's part of part of the job at the end of the day, bro. No one takes risks like you do, dude. Like, I can't believe like there's this one shot where you go into the mosh pit with the camera, and I'm just like, ah dude, walls of death are particularly terrifying.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Oh my god, I've misjudged it a couple of times. Wild, bro. I miss my camera.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Yeah, so so now we're gonna be going into some industry awareness. Uh it's basically where we touch on you know current music-related causes, uh initiatives uh that need support from the scene, as well as if there are any open editions or opportunities uh for upcoming musicians and industry members. Now I see Marcel, you've listed Black Coffee Music Conference. What is happening?

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Cool. So Black Coffee is hosting a uh music conference and exhibition in 2026. This is happening on the 27th of November in Johannesburg, and it is going to be hosted by Black Coffee himself and the Black Coffee Foundation. It looks like they are going to be exploring like kind of the evolution, exploring the changing sound business and the future of the music industry. Um, it's a focus on a space for learning, connecting, growing rather than a performance showcase. It addresses topics such as mental health in the industry, music law, copyright, artist management, and financial sustainability. And it looks like the target audience for this is upcoming artists, DJs, producers, songwriters, managers, creatives, and industry professionals. Now, this is something you have to apply for, and it looks like the deadline for this is the 13th of November 2026. So you still have a bit of time as of this episode coming out to apply for this. Now, you might think that, hey, we're in the alternative scene. How could this benefit me? And I feel like that is potentially where you're shooting yourself in the foot. Because learn how the wider industry works, build connections outside of the small little circle that we have. If anyone wants to give that a shot and go to it, I still feel like there could be some value in learning and making connections outside of the alternative scene and within the wider industry overall. So give it a look. If it's not your cup of tea, so be it. But you also need to understand that Black Coffee is quite literally like world-renowned at this point. He is arguably one of the most successful South African musicians and artists. And irrespective of what genre you are in, I still feel like there is some value in what the man has to say just about how the wider industry works and how things work in general. And you know what? Maybe a bit of a different perspective from what we've all been looking at is incredibly valuable. Who the fuck knows? I I would probably go if I had the opportunity to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Yo, I think people mustn't be put off by the fact that you know it's some DJs are mentioned in there, or whatever. You must realize that Marcel, in reading what he was reading there, did mention, you know, songwriters, producers, and so on. Just because you're doing that within metal or alt doesn't mean that you're no longer that. So actually, it does apply to you, buddy. Uh, and I think I agree with what Marcel is saying. Black Coffee is one of our biggest exports, uh, just all over the world. He's a resident DJ in Ibiza and all these massive places. He's a global superstar. So just yeah, getting a different sort of perspective from that would be absolutely brilliant. Uh, if you do sign up and you do go, do let us know how the experience is for you and what you pretty much you know learn from the whole thing. I think definitely if I were any of those labels, dude, I would definitely go in there. I think there's a lot to be learned.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

Even the aspects of you know, mental health in the industry, music law, copyright, artist management, financial sustainability, those are all super valid things. Music law and copyright, especially considering the landscape that we're entering with so many disputes over the the age-old favorite word of AI, and just with everything that's going on, I think having a better understanding of music law and copyright is a huge, huge important like the huge, huge important.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

That's I speak English great. It's a very, very awesome point, man. Uh, and then yeah, obviously, one one thing that I had pinned here was basically a backup buddy uh that is basically been put together by Half Price. Uh, you guys might be familiar with Half Price, and it's basically something that they've put together for their videographer who has obviously passed away, and uh they're trying to basically, you know, look out for his family. I'm gonna read a little post that uh they did here. Um, this was in the month of October, uh, where they basically say, you know, Denton has been a friend of our band since day one and has acted as our videographer for most of the last 25 years. Much of our video content has been filmed and or edited by him. Most of his work he did for the love of our music. Unfortunately, our beloved friend passed away at the end of September as he was supporting his mom, his closest friends, including us, you know, set up uh a backup buddy basically crowdfunding campaign to support his dog and cover his burial costs to support her. So if he wants to support this campaign, we will greatly appreciate it. They've left the backup buddy link, which I feel we should also maybe copy, paste, and leave into the description of this episode. And uh yeah, if you knew him personally and want to find out about uh his memorial service, send us a private message. But I suppose that I think that might have already happened considering that this was like mid-October. However, the backup buddy campaign is still going. I did uh check just before we actually started recording here, and I see that the the goal is 100,000 Rands. Uh, the scene has come together because right now it's on 84,899 Rands at the time of recording. So, yeah, I mean, if you if this is still up by the time that we release this episode, do click the link in the description and support as well. I feel like it's important for us to support one another uh in the scene, just to you know show a sort of sense of solidarity and just being there for one another as a community. But yeah, that's a great initiative that you can check out as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Uh and then unfortunately, in kind of the same vein, um, we've also lost a photographer, a legendary photographer within the scene by the name of Liam Lynch. And he passed away also, I believe, somewhere in the beginning of October. Now, I personally am not familiar with Liam Lynch with Liam Lynch, but the impact that this man clearly had on the scene, on the community, and just the overall music industry overall in South Africa. This gentleman was absolutely beloved. Um, I've seen a lot of photographers who I've looked up to and respected um sending their regards. Uh, there was Wade Flower Day who put out a message saying that the the first time he saw Liam's name was in Blunt magazine. And just the impact that this man had on capturing South African music and just capturing things in general uh was massive. So it looks like two very, very sad losses within the industry within a very short space of time, which is very, very sad. And condolences to all families involved, dude.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

You know, you know the impact is massive when people that are outside of the scene that you're sort of familiar with are even posting. I was seeing Zoo. There's a there's an artist by the name of Zoo that's Zed U. We had her on the show as well, uh, many, many years ago when she came down to Durban, and uh she even she posted a photo that was taken by him. So it's like, what you all you you see? I mean, I was seeing Paul Joya putting something up of ATFN, you know, putting a couple of photos up and so on. I'm here thinking, okay, so you know, he was obviously very prominent in the alt scene, but his reach had gone beyond that as well because Zoo isn't part of the the alt scene, but obviously, you know, a completely different space. So massive, massive, massive impact there.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

I think he was just involved in the music industry overall and was beloved overall. I have not seen I've every post that I've seen has been just an absolute outpouring of love and admiration for the work that he did.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

So, yeah, Michael Bauer basically uh uh introduced a little something that he's actually working on, which I found really interesting. Uh, it's basically called Accra, so A-R-C-R-A. So, what he basically describes this as is a radio station or rather a radio uh and streaming platform that gives listeners the ability to choose the music they want to hear between live radio content. It is designed to give you the content you like from radio presenters you like, but you emphasis on the you choose the music that you want to hear. So basically, this is something that you know he says he spent a long time uh working on and he's pretty excited to see it, you know, come to life. Uh, it's basically a streaming app that has the functionality that I've just explained to you guys. Uh, but yeah, it's obviously at the moment it's something where uh it seems more like a startup of sorts. So he's basically looking for a small group of people who want to invest in what he is building. And he specifically states that he's not looking for donations, uh, he's uh not looking to raise millions of Rands and so on. He's just looking for investment partners, so people who are willing to invest uh capital in exchange for equity in Accra, uh, but who would also like to contribute ideas, experience, connections, and insights as you know the business basically uh grows. So he currently has put together like a short demo basically showing off how uh you know this obviously streaming app works. Uh and uh obviously, yeah, if you I'll try to see if we can share the link to the specific post so that it can basically then take you to where you know the demo is. But uh he has mentioned here that um at the moment uh he has multiple packages that are available and none of them exceed 50k. So if that is something that you might be interested in, uh do reach out to Michael. Uh he's an absolutely brilliant guy. You may have seen him at some of the Varkin shows where he's basically an MC. So yeah, I mean, cool guy, cool initiative, and do check it out if you haven't done so.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Yeah, he's actually been on the show indirectly as well because he was a massive source of information and insight into the Afrikaans alternative scene and our little deep dive into that as well. Um, I don't think I would have learned nearly as much about the history of the scene if it wasn't for him and his experience at Tix, uh Tix FM. Um, I think even now he's with 5FM. And yeah, I if if you're unaware of Mike, he is very, very deeply involved and he has been involved in the music industry in South Africa for a long, long time. There are too many mics, dude. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's just like there's too many mics doing too many cool things.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

God damn it. We literally have like a Discord group with two mics, and Megan and I have had to sort of try now separate them and split them up. We've got Mike Ostia and Mike Durbin, and it's just like you have to come up with these code names, though. It's wild.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

It's great, dude. And we're gonna just move over into the releases for this month. Now, South African alternative artists have been fucking busy this month, so this section is going to be a little bit more condensed than usual. Naz, take it away.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Who was your favorite releases of this month? Man, so yeah, this month uh we basically just had YCS drop something juicy along with uh obviously a music video as well. Uh, the track is called Empty, absolutely brilliant. I'm always gonna hype up YCS because they're Durban O's, so yeah, it's always gonna be just a favor of mine. And then obviously, there's also Doom Trigger that I uh uh gave a listen with uh Circles Part 2. Absolutely brilliant. Uh so if you haven't checked those out, uh do so. For YCS, I just wanted to just touch on them briefly as well because this is their first ever sort of like pro actual sort of music video that they've ever dropped. Uh this band has been around for like 13, 12, 13 years now. And uh to think that you know it's only now that they're dropping a music video, uh, you know, you can rest assured that you know the music video itself is I I feel like it just encompasses everything that they've sort of carried throughout the years and it's very impactful. You can see that these guys are experienced. I was fortunate enough to be, you know, the one who actually shot the music video as well. So I'm really excited to just see what you know people are thinking uh in terms of the music video itself. Uh Mike came through with a really solid concept there. Uh, you know, he basically when whenever we we chat, you know, we chat a lot, Mike and I, and he was telling me about some of the influences. And you know, Dexter is one of the influences that he had when it comes to sort of like this kill room. Uh so you've got like you know this plastic sheet um that's basically surrounding the entire room, on the drum kit, on the walls and everywhere. Uh it was so sick, man. Even you know, seeing them set that up and also then coming in and setting up, you know, my camera, setting up the lighting. Uh, and I think it really even the tone, you know, when it came to sort of editing the video, being able to make it, you know, give it a very cold uh look. Uh I feel like you really get what the guys are trying to go for with what they did. So I really hope if if you have seen the video and you absolutely love it, do let me know in the comments what you think of that because these guys are absolutely sick. One of the best performances live as well. They're gonna be performing as well at um at uh Halloween uh in Pretoria. So I think this was the perfect sort of segue into that, you know, dropping in the same week, you know, your first music video as a band to then your first performance at you know the Halloween event. Uh man, YCS are having a generational run at the moment.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Absolutely, dude. Absolutely. And yeah, um, for me, my most anticipated release of the year also came out, and that was uh I cast Drunk Wizard by Drunk Wizard. And I have been watching this band very fucking closely um since I stumbled into their debut single, which was Break Glass. And I have been fucking harassing this band about when they're going to release an album, and I've been very fortunate to just have ended up working with them and doing a couple of shoots, like video shoots for them over the last year, and boom, we got the album at long last.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

I want to quickly just go back a little bit just to to I mentioned Doom Trigger as well. So for Circles Part 2, I just want to sort of give you some of the names behind that, you know, that joint there, because wow, it's absolutely incredible. Uh it's absolutely incredible. It's Chris Zen is on there, you know, he's credited, and Dolph as well. Oh so you know that if those two are there, bro, it's it's curtains, you know that it's it's gonna be incredible. Yeah. Shout out to Doom Trigger, yeah, dude. He actually mixed uh the he actually mixed uh your Cynical Sanity's uh empty single as well, the one that I was talking about with the musical video. He did that.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

Yeah, and I I think the reason that he ended up uh mixing it for them was because he mixed the live performance audio for their live performance of Eat Shit and Die. So I think that was kind of the the segue into him doing empty as well. Um, everything connects, everything. Oh, it's beautiful, and then yeah, there's a bunch of other releases which Naz and I are gonna kind of rapid fire through. BCom dropped a new track called Weatherman. Absolutely unbelievably talented band there, and the uh promotion for this track was absolutely hilarious. Uh, I highly recommend you, even if you don't listen to the song, go listen to the pro go watch the promo videos, and it'll make you want to hear the song.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Uh okay, so we also have Internet Girl. Uh, they dropped high as heaven. This is one that uh Marcel identified here, and we did have a brief discussion about Internet Girl in uh last month's uh uh ground up, and yeah, they're doing really well representing the country. I know that it's either they've gone on tour or they're about to go on tour overseas. One of the South African bands that are just really doing the most right now.

SPEAKER_02 23:45

Cool. Yeah, so uh next release was Hundred Arrows, released a track by the name of the Wait of Vacancy. I have added way too many words to that sentence. This is featuring Regan of Facing the Gallows and Luke of Atlantic South. It is heavy as fuck, and the music video looks super, super sick. So uh definitely worth checking out and going giving that a listen. 100 Arrows sound has evolved a lot over the recent, like the past few releases. I think all the different collaborations that he's been doing have definitely started like broadening the sound and how he's approaching writing songs and giving these over to these artists to collaborate with.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

I want to also send a shout out to Regan, uh, obviously being a part of that song there. Uh, big things are coming up for uh 3D's That Cup. Uh, really excited for that. Obviously, cannot sort of jump into it, but yeah, besides just being an incredible you know vocalist, uh, some of the stuff and the things that they touch on when it comes to 3D's That Cup, phenomenal conversation, great chats. Do check out. I think they've got three episodes out at the moment. Uh, so check that shit out. It's on Slash Underground. Uh, and then we have Southern Wild, uh, who have released uh track called Right on Time. Now, the interesting about uh interesting thing about Southern Wild is that the drummer uh is a person that I saw for the first time playing for uh Pest Troy, and I've sort of always had like this keen interest on just the moves that he had been making, and it's so incredible seeing him be in a band that is doing really well. Southern Wild. I think the vocalist uh of Southern Wild as well, he was on one of the competitions. I don't know if it was if it wasn't idols and it was uh the voice, if I'm not mistaken. If you have any information on that, do leave it in the uh description. It was one of those though, but yeah, Southern Wild is just jam-packed with the superstars, man. It's it's really a band to look out for, and right on time is a single to look out for as well.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

And then next up we have uh Cerdus has dropped a new track as well. It looks like a redux of an older song. Cerdus has been around for a really, really long time, and it looks like they re-recorded the track with Chelsea doing the vocals, and they just did a a bit of a nice like redux of it. The song is called Strip the Rot, and uh they've got it as re-tarnished, which is pretty. I don't know, is that like a a Dark Souls reference? Is that a is that a bloodborne reference? What is where is tarnished? Is Tarnished from I feel like it's somewhere from the Souls universe is like a reference to that, maybe, unless I've just been committed to the fucking brain rot of the internet at this point, wherever I see a certain buzzword, I just automatically go back to a certain fandom. It just triggers me like a fucking sleeper agent. Okay, so I want to take a moment to talk to you, specifically you. This episode is sponsored by us by Sludge Underground, and we need you to show some interest in our merch. We have a merch store online, we have a variety of cool things like that beanie that Naz is wearing, like this cap that I am wearing, and a couple of six shirts. Naz, do we have hoodies? We have hoodies as well. So what you're gonna do is you're gonna go to the Sludge Underground store online, which you can get to through our website. There will be a link to it in the description of this video. If you love us, if you love what we do, and you would like to represent outside of the internet in the real meat space, go and check out the store, buy a shirt, buy a cap, buy a beanie. We'd love to see you guys out and about. There has been a guy at shows that I've never met or spoken to that I've been seeing wearing slut shirt. Whoever you are, if you're watching this, you're a pretty tall and I think you're ginger. I fucking love you, dude. We've never spoken, but thank you for buying our shit. Heading on to some uh global news that could potentially affect uh you in the music scene. It might not necessarily affect you as a musician in South Africa, but I feel like this particular one will. Uh, recently there has been a massive vulnerability uh found in essentially what is some of the core code that runs the internet. If I'm not mistaken, it is about 70% of the internet uh runs on this particular piece of code. And yeah, it has been so bad uh that governments have ordered certain websites to shut down. As in until you can patch this, until this the security like problem can be addressed, it is advised to shut the internet, well, not shut the internet down, but shut that particular website down, shut the servers down, and so on. There's a massive vulnerability that can lead to a lot of potential data loss, hacks, and so on. So I am not a coder, I am not um a tech expert, but my favorite joke about this has been that one of the critical numbers involved in the security was just the number four. And my favorite joke has been is that that was a load-bearing four. And I get the joke, although I'm not smart enough to fully explain entirely what it means to everyone. I'm just I'm just a musician, man. I just I'm I just make music.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

There's an interaction for anyone who might be lost in regards to what this is. There was a guy on X who basically uh posted, can someone explain the PHP vulnerability to me? Like I'm a six-year-old. Should I be worried or just avoid PHP developers for the next 48 hours? This person basically summed it up. Uh, he basically says, PHP is the kitchen that cooks food for a lot of websites. Someone found that if you shout a large order, the cook panics, then strangers can walk in and put something rotten on the plate waiting to be served to a customer. I think he broke it down in the simplest way possible. So it seems like that would be the scenario. Yeah, yeah. It's it so if you were a bit confused, I hope that basically sums it up.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

That aside, there is also some interesting developments. Um, but DistroKid has obviously not been doing so great. Uh there's been a lot of like just various different concerns and things that have popped up regarding DistroKid and within this last year, to be honest. Now, a lot of the musicians that I know, a lot of the independent South musicians in South Africa, pretty much all use either DistroKid or Tune Core. Those are the two most common services. I think the vast majority of us using DistroKid, Naz and I, uh when we with Thorns, we used to use DistroKid. And yeah, there was a whole thing of that they were looking, there was they were looking for potential buyers a couple of months back earlier in this year, but they've also fallen into another bit of hot water in the recent months regarding AI generated music just being straight up funneled through their platform. And uh a lot of people started taking issue with that in terms of that their guidelines, their restrictions, and their countermeasures were just not strict enough. And the latest development with that is it looks like Umg has just filed a lawsuit against DestroyKid regarding what looks like as the influx of AI-generated content that is hitting streaming platforms due to their just their lack of dealing with it. Um, so yeah, that is interesting. I'm not fully up to date with the section uh with exactly what is going on. There is a great video that is by Fontano, where he is having a conversation with the uh top music attorney, which is Crystal, and she generally breaks these things down really well. And I think one of the big questions was why is UMG laying this lawsuit at the feet of DistroKid when they could be laying it at the source of the AI-generated music, which are the companies that offer these services. Um, I don't fully understand it myself yet. I would highly recommend going to go watch that video for more insight and then just paying attention to it. If you are a musician in South Africa, as vast majority of our audience is, go and just look up what's happening with District, as especially if you use that service to get your music out to the vast majority of streaming platforms out there. Maybe consider a change.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Right. So this next segment is one that you came up with. It's called Six Shots, uh, basically the best music-related footage and images to come out of the pit. Uh, current local videographers and photographers that are documenting the scene. Yeah. What do you have for us today, bro?

SPEAKER_02 32:44

So, this is something new that we want to start doing. And what we would like for you guys to do is as any photographers or videographers who are out there or anyone who makes content regarding and documenting the South African music scene, we want you to send us your favorite shot or clip of the month. And just with a quick description of why this is your favorite shot, what it means to you, and what it entails. And yeah, we would just like to share more of the experiences that you guys are having out there. Uh, what I've got for you today is first of all, it is a clip of Alex who goes by default digital online, and it is a clip of him crowdsurfing and taking photographs while he crowdsurfs. There's a couple of photographers who do do this. I it could never be me, um, because uh I am six foot four at like 130 kgs. People are gonna see me coming um off stage to do a stage dive, and they're gonna get the fuck out of the way. I'm sorry, I'm a big, I'm a fucking big boy. Um, and they are not going to catch me uh like they're going to catch Alex, like they're going to catch default digital. Yeah, so give that a look quickly. Tell me what you think. I think it's so sick.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Oh, oh, it looks brilliant, man. What that is so sick, dude. And he's taking a photo of police. Oh bro, that looks brilliant.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

So technically a bunch of shots. Um, but it's in a it's in a clip, so we'll fuck it. We'll take it. Next up, we have a shot from Devon. Uh, Devin is a photographer from Cape Town. He goes by Devin, but it says photography online, or I think it is by Devin. Um, we'll have the handles up on screen. So he's got two shots there. Uh one of uh Luke from Atlantic South.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

Oh, yes, I saw this one.

SPEAKER_02 34:58

It was such a sick shot, dude. Yeah, he put it in the Discord, and it was oh yeah, he was super stoked about it as well. And then this little uh romantic bromance moment between Regan and Aiden. You can just see the love in the gallows, in the gallows camp. Absolutely adorable. Love it's beautiful photos. So if you're a photographer or a videographer in the South African music scene, please reach out to us if you want to just send us your favorite clip, your favorite photo, why it's your favorite for that month, where it's from, what show it was, who you were shooting, and pop it over to us so we can just shine some light on what you guys have been up to as well. If you want, you can join the Discord. We can also chat about these things there. Let us know what you are up to. I love how Mex is just chiming in the Discord, these are awesome. Sick. We inadvertently got Meeks a part of it. Yeah, of course. Yeah, dude. He is honestly such a talented photographer, and I'm so keen to see more of what he does in the future.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

In other news, uh, basically recent local uh music-related news uh that could affect the scene. So, yeah, I've got two things uh I'm gonna try to quick fire these, uh, although I do feel they are pretty awesome. Fading Grey announced a new drummer, uh, Wayne Swatts. So absolutely brilliant that they managed to get a replacement so quickly and looking forward to some of the shows that they play with him. And then uh to round it off on my side, the Man Motels uh basically recently celebrated eight years of making music. That's a very long time. And if you have seen uh obviously the Man Motels playing live, then you definitely need to see the episode that Marcel did with them. I know we always plug it, but it's absolutely brilliant and puts things into perspective. Eight years of Man Motels, that's absolutely wild. You must be stoked about that, Marcel.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm super keen to see what more the band actually does. We're obviously approaching a decade of being a band is no small feed. Okay, and then you've got Altfest lineup. So uh the last roundup that we did, we actually didn't have any of the lineup drop for AltFest, and as of recording this episode, we have two lineup drop announcements. So, looking at the latest ones, which I think has all of the lineup announcements so far, the Altfest lineup is looking fucking stacked. We have got Delta Heavy on the drum and bass side. Uh, I I think I've said this before, I don't know much about drum and bass, but based on people's reactions online, this is a big deal. The next one is a big deal for me. They are bringing filth. Holy shit. Naz, have you heard filth? I don't think I have.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Besides maybe anything that you might have sent me towards, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:52

Oh dude, uh chin check, get your shit wrecked. I can't fucking wait. Okay, um Pyth Py Pythias, I am not 100% sure. I think that might be another drum and bass artist. Um, Blanket Hill is a hardcore band from Luxembourg. They are sound, they sound pretty fucking sick. This was uh my first introduction to them based on this lineup. And yeah, there's a whole bunch of local guys as well. Um, Desk Capital, I believe being drum and bass artists because they're not names that I recognize. Facing the gallows, Holvar, Hyphen, the Fallen Prophets, then uh where you've got Behated, Donny Basco, Grift, Irony Destroyed. Irony Destroyed is a Kenyan metal core band. And if that those two words sound like they don't belong together, I highly recommend you go and check out Irony Destroyed because they were a Viking finalist, I believe, last year. And holy shit, what an incredible band! And to have come out of Kenya of all places, absolutely fucking beautiful. We've got Killing Eden, mid mid-sector, mouse are playing that lineup as well. No closure, radical, who's also drum and bass. We've got sex tape, uh? I dude, these random bass names confuse me so much, and I'm probably gonna get fucking roasted for this. Um, and zero one and Zane Wolf. So there is a big kind of like diversity of bands on this lineup, man. Like it's Lord, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Shout out to the organizers. Actually, dude, just to go back to what you asked me earlier, I do actually do know filth. There was a song, Shelltown, uh, that uh that I did check out actually, and I sent it through to Mike as well, just looking at some of the videography in there and how it's like it's simple but also super impactful. Like uh they're literally standing on the side of like this building for some of the shots, and they've mixed it up with you know some live shots. So, yeah, that is the only song that I think I checked out. I never I was absolutely mind blown.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

Fucking I'm so stoked. I I know they've expressed interest in coming to South Africa for a long time. Um, honestly, I had a a wee bit of a gut feeling that they were gonna be one of the lineup, and I am but I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want to jinx it. I didn't want to fucking you know say something that would and then it doesn't happen, you know. So fuck yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Exciting times ahead. Uh and then yeah, one that one that I forgot to mention was Megalodon, uh their guitarist has left the band. So yeah, but uh they didn't mention that with the shows that are gonna be coming up, they're gonna be uh there's gonna be a session guitarist that's gonna fill in. Uh very big band. And I feel like whenever they make moves, uh definitely people should be aware of what's going on because they obviously represented South Africa, the Vakin metal uh at Vakin, you know, years years ago. So yeah, they're definitely one of the giants in the scene, and yeah, seeing a member leave obviously is sad. But if they're able to get someone to fill in, it means that the band is still going and that can only be good for the scene.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

I'm I'm telling you now, it's probably like with how technical that band's music is, it's probably gonna be someone like Daniel um or the other like Fallen Prophets guitarist or someone from that vein. Because fuck me, I've listened to that shit and been like, what is going on here? So let me know, let me know if I've predicted it. Cool, and yeah, so I have not a single thought in this brain of mine, and that is the greatest way to close out this episode. So if you want to not share any brain cells with me, please join the Discord. That is uh a whole bunch of interesting discussions. We just chat about what's going on in the music scene, and yeah, share some music with us, have a chat with us, tell us your thoughts on what's going on with the music scene. It is the easiest way to have a direct line to us and just build up the community within the South African music scene and interact with some like-minded people. Just come along, we'd love to have you there. Come have a chat.

SPEAKER_00 42:07

And uh, yeah, as always, check out uh and submit your music uh to Sahara, where we basically it's essentially a platform. You guys, if you've seen our ground up episodes, you should know by now what Sahara is. But for anyone who doesn't, it's literally just this archive where you know, if you're in a band and you've got new music out, do head on there, put it on there. It's basically an initiative where we're trying to, you know, whenever someone googles, you know, South African music or whatever, we want to be able to get everything under one banner and not make it difficult for people to discover new like South African music. So uh Sahara can literally be that hub where any new release that comes out by any of your favorite local bands is literally there. So it's on the websites, and we've basically left the link in the description for you to check out more information and details on that. Uh, and obviously, shout out Roan, shout out Megan for working on that and making it what it is today.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

Absolutely, and then guys, another great way to keep this platform afloat and show some support is get yourself some merch. You can check out the merch store. There is a will be a link to it in the description of this video. Get yourself a shirt, give yourself a cap, a beanie, uh a hoodie, or something along those lines. Some of the designs are really sick, and we'd love to see more people at shows wandering around, uh, wearing some sludge merch. It makes me feel awkward and um want to come speak to you, even though I feel weird about it sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 43:38

But fucking definitely, and then obviously keep the uh sludge flowing uh with the monthly subscription that we have uh every month. You are able to then help us out in terms of the monthly costs of running this entire platform because it is something that we have been doing uh from the very onset, you know, 10 years ago, uh, without any financial assistance or anything like that. There, there are costs that go into it, so yeah, any contribution really does go a long way. We'll leave the description, uh obviously the links in the description. Uh Marcel has all our subscribers coming up, bro.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

I would like to thank these four beautiful people whose names I will be putting on screen. Just so you don't think I'm just standing here like praise be Jesus. Um thank thank you to these be. Praise be thank you to these four beautiful people for just having a subscription to Sludge, and we cannot express how much your contribution actually affects and helps this platform. Our hearts are just filled with love. I I don't know why that came across so sarcastically, but we do love you. Absolutely, you make the world of difference to this platform, and thank you so much for the support that you've shown us.