BlogBloghttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010-03-05T10:21:12ZSquarespaceDriemanskap Featuring in Hip Hop Kaslam at The Baxter Theatre, Cape Townhttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/3/5/driemanskap-featuring-in-hip-hop-kaslam-at-the-baxter-theatr.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-03-05T09:50:59Z2010-03-05T09:50:59Z
Cape Town's Baxter Theatre will host an explosion of Xhosa street slang and Spaza hip hop on Saturday 6th March 2010 at 6pm. This musical celebration of homegrown hip hop from the kasi features a jam-packed line-up lead by local legends of the genre with an exciting crew of emcees, singers, dancers and musicians. Expect performances by Driemanskap, Delft South Origins (D.S.O), Maxhoseni. The show is directed by, and stars, DAT.
There will be a FREE after party at Dumalisile Arts and Culture Centre (KwaMlamli), Guguletu. Taxis will be available to transport people from the Baxter (usual rates apply).
That's how we rrrrrrroll!!]]>Nguwe Remix - Rattex Ft. Siyahttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/3/4/nguwe-remix-rattex-ft-siya.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-03-04T11:53:28Z2010-03-04T11:53:28ZNguwe by Rattex from his debut solo album, Bread and Butter. Produced by Hipe. Featuring Siya on vocals. Dedicated to all the Grannies out there! Yours to download for FREE (click the little black downwards-pointing arrow on the right of the widget below)...
That's how we rrrrrrrrroll!!]]>New Video: Sweet by Jaakhttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/3/1/new-video-sweet-by-jaak.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-03-01T07:07:06Z2010-03-01T07:07:06ZSweet by Jaak. 'Sweet' ('sweat' in Afrikaans) is the first single from Jaak's debut solo album, Fletse Maniere. With Hipe on production, the video was directed, shot and edited by Christian Denslow & Garth von Glehn for Greenhaus Productions.
Sweet is a track about the everyday struggles of the people of the Fletse (the ghetto housing projects of the Cape Flats) - from the mundane, like remembering to buy safety pins for the baby's nappy, to the the more substantial, like poor service delivery and crime. All these struggles make the people sweat to make ends meet whilst striving to make their dreams come true.
In related news, Jaak also appears as Jaak Paarl on Die Antwoord's new album, $0$. If you have managed to miss the massive international buzz this album has generated, just Google 'Die Antwoord'. Jaak features on the track, Wie Maak Die Jol Vol, alongside Isaac Mutant, Knoffel Bruin and Scallywag. Listen to $0$ by Die Antwoord here.
That's how we rrrrrrrrrroll!!]]>Ben Sharpa in Studio with John Robinson and Tumihttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/2/26/ben-sharpa-in-studio-with-john-robinson-and-tumi.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-02-26T13:02:51Z2010-02-26T13:02:51Z Ben in the booth, JR on the boards (click for larger image).
While we were rehearsing for the 4DLS project at the Red Bull Studio, DJ Raiko turned up with John Robinson who is in South Africa for the Kool Out Live gigs in Cape Town and Joburg.
For those that don't know, native New Yorker John Robinson, AKA Lil Sci, was part of the legendary east coast group ScienZ of Life. He has worked with the likes of The Roots, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Run DMC and MF DOOM. In other words, he is a bona fide heavyweight in the game.
JR sat in on our rehearsal for a while, then him and Ben Sharpa started a little freestyle cipher. Hipe was sitting in on the session and just happened to have a selection of his sickest beats with him (as any good producer should). One thing lead to another and before I knew what was happening, Ben and JR were in the other studio laying verses down on one of Hipe's beats. The result is a classic.
As I write this, Ben Sharpa, Tumi (of Tumi and the Volume fame) and John Robinson are in Johannesburg in the studio collaborating on another track. With 3 lyrical heavyweights, that promises to be one of the illest collaborations ever made in South Africa. Can't wait to hear it!
Check out John Robinson at Kool Out Live in Johannesburg tonight at OSC (Cnr Henry Nxumalo and Bree Street, Newtown) and in Cape Town on Saturday at Zula Bar on Long Street.
That's how we rrrrrrrrrroll!!]]>4D Light Show Rehearsals at Red Bull Studios, Cape Townhttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/2/24/4d-light-show-rehearsals-at-red-bull-studios-cape-town.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-02-24T08:58:29Z2010-02-24T08:58:29Z
Every night this week I've been at the Red Bull Studios in Cape Town with Ben Sharpa, DJ Raiko and spo0ky, rehearsing our new collaborative project, Fourth Density Light Show (4DLS). 4DLS is a collision of freestyle underground lyrical hip hop, improvised electro-dub Robot Army Music (RAM) and analogue impulse triggered visual stimulus. Our 'band' consists of Ben Sharpa on vocals and Korg Kaoss Pad, me on Ableton Live and Akai APC40, DJ Raiko on Serrato and SL1200s and spo0ky on VDMX (VJing software).
These sessions are our first rehearsals together after months of planning. We first discussed the project with Ben while we were on tour in Réunion Island in June 2009. Having thought about this for so long now, it's exciting seeing and hearing it come to life. Our first sessions are all about seeing what we can do together, so it's a bit chaotic - but that's just how it goes - we'll work on polishing and tightening up once we've seen where we can take this.
It's really important for us to maintain a feeling of improvisation throughout the show. So many so-called 'live' electronic music sets are a disappointment because there really isn't that much improvisation - producers often just run their tracks and add a few effects. Obviously tracks need some sense of structure but there is no point going to a live show to hear music exactly the same way it was recorded. Reading the crowd and feeding from, and into, that energy is more important than getting through every track in our set list.
We don't have plans to release this project as a recording at the moment - it's just a live show concept. It's possible we might release a DVD of a live show at some point, but we'll think about that after we've done a few shows.
Ben and Raiko are flying out to France for the start of their latest European tour on March 1st. We'll resume rehearsals when they come back in May. We hope to start touring 4DLS in the last quarter of 2010. To book 4DLScontact us.
Check out some lo-fi videos of our first rehearsal session...
That's how we rrrrrrrrroll!!]]>Ben Sharpa - Vagina Rush Tourhttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/1/25/ben-sharpa-vagina-rush-tour.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-01-25T11:37:13Z2010-01-25T11:37:13Z
2010 is going to be a busy year for Ben Sharpa. Ben is back in Europe for the Vagina Rush Tour with R;zatz, K-the-I??, Bluebird and DJ Raiko. So far they have 9 dates booked for March and April, but more are being added all the time. Check out the gigs page for more info.
We're also working hard on the new 4D Live Show. Rehearsals start at the end of February before Ben leaves for Europe. 4D is a live improvised hip hop, electro-dub, grime mashup featuring Ben Sharpa on 'freestyle', dubbed-out, sampled, re-sampled, chopped-up, cut and scratched vocals. Dplanet on production, using Ableton Live and an Akai APC40 to manipulate heavy Robot Army riddims. DJ Raiko behind the decks, using Technics SL1210s and Serrato to create cuts, scratches and live DJ effects. spo0ky on the Vidvox VDMX using bespoke graphic and motion design to create high-impact visual stimulus and Siya singing dubbed-out African melodies
4D is a collision of futuristic freestyle underground lyrical hip hop, apocalyptic electro-dub Robot Army Music (RAM) and mind-altering, analogue impulse triggered visual stimulus. Participants will be taken on a 4 dimensional journey through the heaviest, darkest, dirtiest, raw dubs narrated by the astro physicist Kaptin' of your ship, Ben Sharpa.
We've also started working on Ben's second solo album. It's still in the concept phase but you can expect more dark, grimy, electo-dub - this time we'll be twisting the fabric of time and space to create a project that goes back to Ben's GroundWorks roots in hip hop.
The collaborations keep on coming too. Ben has worked with Mode 9 (Nigeria), Siete Nueve (Puerto Rico), Foreign Beggars (UK), Milanese (UK), K-the-I?? (US), High Tones (France), R;zatz (France) and, most recently, LV (Hyperdub, UK). Expect a lot more for 2010!
That's how we rrrrrrrrroll!!]]>Ben Sharpa - "King of Grime"http://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2010/1/25/ben-sharpa-king-of-grime.htmlPioneer Unit Records2010-01-25T08:50:39Z2010-01-25T08:50:39Z
French music publication, Visual Music, has controversially hailed Ben Sharpa as the 'King of Grime', claiming that artists like Dizzy Rascal and Wiley have musically fallen off in their relentless paper chasing.
"In fact, the new boss of grime is not even in the United Kingdom. No, he is originally from Cape Town, South Africa. His name: Ben Sharpa"
We're not sure how this news will go down in London, especially as we've never thought of Ben as a Grime artist, but if the crown fits, wear it!
That's how we rrrrrrrroll!]]>Seasons Greetings from The Pi-Unithttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2009/12/28/seasons-greetings-from-the-pi-unit.htmlPioneer Unit Records2009-12-28T14:49:08Z2009-12-28T14:49:08Z
As the year comes to an end, we'd just like to thank everyone who supported Pioneer Unit in 2009 - whether you bought our CDs, downloaded our music, came to our shows, visited our blog, followed us on Twitter, or emailed us messages of support - we appreciate it all. It's your support that keeps us motivated and makes all the hard work worthwhile.
We're fully committed to bringing you a whole lot more great music in 2010. Whether it's straight kasi, cutting-edge underground or genre-defying mash-ups - we're in it!
Have a great festive season. Stay safe on the roads, stay away from negative people and protect ya neck!
Peace from the Pi-Unit family! See you in 2010.]]>Rattex Collaborates with Filewile in Cape Townhttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2009/12/17/rattex-collaborates-with-filewile-in-cape-town.htmlPioneer Unit Records2009-12-17T09:10:48Z2009-12-17T09:10:48ZTracy Semptember for organising a collaboration between Swiss electro-dub band, Filewile, and Rattex during their recent visit to Cape Town.
The combination of Rattex's spaza lyricism and Filewile's dubby electronic melodies was beautiful. Filewile are good peoples and we hope to continue working with them in the future.
Check out some photos of the performance at All Nations...
That's how we rrrrrrrroll!!]]>FREE MP3 - Air Maxin' by Rattexhttp://www.pioneerunit.com/blog/2009/11/23/free-mp3-air-maxin-by-rattex.htmlPioneer Unit Records2009-11-23T12:39:07Z2009-11-23T12:39:07Z
Check out Rattex and Dplanet on that spazatronic tip for the Nike IAM1 campaign...
