Debut at festival is Concrete evidence of when Lions roar

ONE OF the most interesting Afro-pop-rock bands to come out of Cape Town in a while gets its first chance to roar at Superbalist is Rocking the Daisies next month.

Founded last year, Ben Dey and the Concrete Lions comprises Ben Dey (lead vocals, guitar), Ongama Mona (lead guitar, backing vocals) and brothers Alex (percussion) and Dillon Birns (bass).

I spoke to the band’s namesake as he watched a protest unfold at Stellenbosch University. Dey, who is a geology student at the university, told me: “It’s not looking too bad in this protest. The guys are singing. So at least there’s some music in the air.”

The muso, who is not related to Tamara Dey, has found a family through the band he first started with Mona. “Ongama and I started as a duo in Noordhoek about a yearand-a-half ago,” he tells me.

“Then when we recorded our first single, Easy Love, I asked Dillon and Alex to come in. The single did surprisingly well. This is a new project and the Concrete Lions came about that way. Ongama got the Concrete Lions name as an idea from an early recording of a song we did called One Day. It’s got a Jamaican and African feel and vibe to it so people can take what they want out of it.”

Easy Love has worked its way up to regular rotation on regional and campus radio stations. Next month, the band will unveil a video for it. Their very first one.

“We don’t have any visuals out yet, but on Saturday we will release our first video for Easy Love,” says Dey.

“That song is very special to us because it was our first single to go to radio. We’re pretty excited about it.”

It will be followed by a song called Mars which starts with the lyric: Don’t know when, but I want to start moving up.

The 22-year-old Dey is giddy about Mars. He explains: “It’s about life on Earth and treasuring what we have here. The video will be very colourful and will sum up everything.” Another thing he and his band treasure is the opportunity to play at Daisies.

“This is my first Superbalist is Rocking the Daisies,” he exclaims. “It has always been a dream to go and check that festival. The chance to play on the main stage is really amazing. I wanted to go at the right time. Maybe that time was going to be when I’m actually going to play there. I’m experiencing everything first-hand through the music.”

Catch Ben Dey and the Concrete Lions on the main stage at Superbalist is Rocking the Daisies, October 6 to 9.