No easy road to fame for Crosscurrent
CAPE TOWN Upstaged winners are ready to take South Africa by storm. Hailing from Wynberg Boys’ High School, these up-and-coming artists took part in the first CT Upstaged competition at Nomad Bistro and are ready to take their music to the masses. We chatted to Crosscurrent to see what the future holds. How was Crosscurrent formed? We all hail from Wynberg Boys’ High School’s music department, but it was friendship that brought us together. We have such great band repartee, it makes being together through practice and performance a genuine pleasure.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Ross Dorkin, bass player for Beatenberg, taught Paul and David to play guitar. The group is a huge local inspiration for us. Our other inspirations include Jeremy Loops, Majozi, Baaba Maal and Mumford and Sons. Even Jaluka and Johnny Clegg have influenced our music, the list is endless. We love music that tells a story and makes a point, but can be enjoyed for its rhythm and sound as well.
How would you describe the Crosscurrent sound?
We are a versatile band and think of our music as afro/indie/rock/ pop, which gives us room to move around musically. We see ourselves primarily in an African context, but also as Cape boys who love the laid back, beach, sun, sea, skies feel of the local indie scene and want our music to reflect that.
For the most part our sound is happy, positive and tends to get feet tapping, and people up and dancing.
How did you hear about CT Upstaged?
We found out about Cape Town Upstaged through a music group on Facebook, probably our most valuable social media tool. We saw this as an opportunity to compare ourselves to other up-and-coming local bands in a competitive environment.
Entering such events forces progress to occur even at the expense of a bit of comfort.
We knew it would force us to be creative and improve our sound, and better ourselves. I think that’s what ultimately happened in the end.
What are your plans since winning at CT Upstaged?
We are going to keep on gigging and building our brand and our followers. We have entered another battle of the bands and we will give it our best there.
There is no easy road to fame and fortune on the South African music scene. It’s all about being serious and wanting it enough combined with the realisation that you are going to have to work hard to achieve success. Cape Town Upstaged was a step on that journey and we are grateful for the win.
What is the most difficult part about being an up-and-coming band?
Finding good gigs, getting people to take you seriously, being able to get pay for play enough to make it a reason to persevere.
At times, it’s understanding that you have to bring people to bring the custom to get paid. There needs to be a give and take. Cape Town is a tough music scene and building your base sufficiently to become a draw is always going to be something you work towards as a band.
What has been your favourite moment so far?
Before Nomad Bistro & Bar presents Cape Town Upstaged, we won the first open mic at Jack Black Brewery and they took us under their wing. Just that faith in us has given our confidence a major boost.
We have gigged around the burbs and Town, but the highlight has to be Mohit Sureka, owner of Nomad Bistro & Bar, who offered up a great event with Cape Town Upstaged.
It’s people like Mohit who bring together music and business so well, offering opportunity by energetically marketing music as part of a Cape Town nightlife choice.
Where do you think the future of South Africa is going?
There is huge potential for original South African music. There is amazing talent in our country.
Music in schools plant the seeds, but then where do you go from there? It’s places that offer us these opportunities, like Nomad Bistro & Bar, Jack Black etc, that need to be plentiful in encouraging and expanding our music culture. Making it feel like all your effort can be rewarded with an income is a huge incentive to budding musicians.
Mentorship opportunities, collaborative efforts between established bands and “school leavers” may be a good way to bridge the gap too. It shouldn’t all be about success, there needs to be a willingness to give back and share.
If you are a talented musician in this county, yes, you need to prove yourself, but this should not necessarily be achieved in isolation.
Everyone in the SA music scene should “do their bit” and something like Cape Town Upstaged and all the different sponsors do just that.
Are there any producers you would like to work with?
Raiven Hansmann, producer at Popsicle Studios, made us feel like real pros when we worked with him previously, but we are open to work with anyone with an understanding of our sound.
What can people expect at a Crosscurrent concert?
They will find it difficult not to move, feel or set themselves free in the moment. Our music is infectious, big and overpoweringly disarming. Our sound is positive and energising; both simple and complex at the same time. We offer something new, something fresh and undoubtedly an entertaining experience.