A dope celebration of live music and more
Going for the feeling that will soothe lovers of music, writes Masego Panyane
WHAT do you get when you put together some really cool musicians and the aquarium? A dope celebration of live music.
That’s what Afterdark, brought to you by Texx and the City, will be bringing to the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront for the next three months. The six musicians who’ll be performing at the aquarium include Southern Wild, Grassy Spark, A King, Bam Bam Brown, Majozi and Gemma Griffiths.
According to Ingrid Sinclair, the aquarium’s marketing and online executive, the musical showcases are making a return because of popular demand.
“We used to host music recitals at the Aquarium years ago, and they were very popular. Because of demand, and recognising that the Aquarium is a unique, spellbinding venue where truly anything is possible, we’ve been keen to bring live music back for quite some time now,” she said. Sinclair added: “Of course, we needed to make sure that we could put on the perfect show that showcases the best of local talent while inviting listeners through our doors, after closing time, to experience music in a whole new way.”
Chatting to Tecla Ciolfi, founder of Texx and the City, and organiser of Afterdark, for her to have the event at the aquarium was rather selfish, as it combined two things she loves. “I am huge fan of the aquarium. I started going there when I was doing my honours thesis because it was the only place that de-stressed me. I would go there and be able to just zone out,” she said.
Being a real fan of the aquarium, she even has a year’s membership, and when she was approached by the aquarium to organise this event, she was beside herself with glee.
“I felt that this was the coolest thing I have possibly done. I just started in the meeting. To be able to organise live music performances at the aquarium is a career high for me. I remember seeing Fokofpolisiekar play at the predator exhibit, and I remember thinking wow this is quite loud. I was wondering how the fish must feel about this,” she finished with a laugh.
This, in part, helped her hone her vision for Afterdark, it would feature a very relaxed, intimate set up with the bands playing mostly acoustic sets.
“I thought if we do this, we do an intimate thing with acoustic sets, bean bags and ottomans, faerie lights, with the backdrop of the new I&J Ocean exhibition that has the most incredible fish and turtle you don’t necessarily want to listen to something that’s very abrasive,” she said.
She’s going for the feeling that will leave lovers of music soothed and lulled.
“The first two bands like Grassy Spark and Southern Wild, who’ve both crafted acoustic sets specifically for this event, I am extremely excited to see what they come up with.
“All of these bands are my personal favourites, I was a bit selfish with my selection,” she said.
The line-up contains musicians who are established as well as newer additions to the Cape Town scene.
Ciolfi added she was unsure at this stage whether the format of this show would be adapted to any city. Tickets for Afterdark are now on sale at Quicket, at R295.