Jedi Rollers mark 22 years in the game with new singles
It is hard to believe that 22 years have passed since the formation of Gqeberha experimental rockers the Jedi Rollers.
The turn of the millennium was not only a different time, but a different place in many respects.
In those heady days, thenPort Elizabeth’s night scene offered so many clubs, pubs and speakeasy haunts that it was almost impossible not to have somewhere to go every night of the week.
From this Y2K ooze, with its vibrant rock, rave and groove lounge cultures taking over the midnight hour and beyond, emerged the Rollers, a fantastical band of city artists and musos never shy to tinker with incoming technology while plumbing bass line depths and asking the inexorable question, “What else can we do?”
Now, to celebrate their two decades-plus in the music game, the Rollers have released two new singles — the satirical electronic rhyme journey, Mint Imperials, and the double-dub love story, Sovereign Coin.
The tracks are produced by band multi-instrumentalist Kendal Beadon and feature melodic rap by long-time Rollers vocalist Hagen Engler.
The band was founded at an open-mic session in the city in September 2000.
In the decades since, it has become the focal point of a loose collective of musicians, artists, poets, producers, rappers and other collaborators working around the coastal city and in other parts of the world.
Rollers alumni have gone on to form other bands like We Set Sail, Village Seed, Tofu Goat, Sixth Man, High Water Bridge, The Near Misses, The Feel So Strongs, Flipside, Natural Born Swingers, Special Agents and several others.
Three albums, several singles, a concert movie, and an EP have appeared under the Jedi Rollers name, with their most successful release being their third album, Cloud Control, which made the SA Rock Digest Top 10, and also spawned the Top 10 single, Soul Glazier.
Frontman Engler became a writer and novelist, publishing more than a dozen books and editing FHM magazine for several years, while retaining his Rollers membership card and also performing solo as Inspector Ras.
Drummer/keyboard player Jason King, guitarist Nelis van Tonder and Beadon also perform in High Water Bridge in Gqeberha, while Engler is also a member of Johannesburg bands The Near Misses and The Feel So Strongs.
“We’re so happy to still be making music together,” Beadon said.
“Our current sound is dark and electronic, with dub elements.
“We’ve been through pop, punk, reggae, spoken-word, alternative, hip-hop ... so many stylistic phases.
“Now it’s just about creating the kind of music we’ve never heard before.
“It’s really challenging, but rewarding to make, and hopefully to listen to as well,” he said.
Engler believes the lyrical themes of the new tracks reflect a type of grown-up electronic rock, “even if Eastern Cape sophistication might be a bit of a contradiction in terms”.
“There is a kind of existential honesty to the lyrics,” Engler said.
“Mint Imperials is about finding your place in our emerging national identity, while keeping your personal essence.
“Sovereign Coin is a message of self-determination, encouraging young outcasts to nurture their own uniqueness.”
No doubt Rollers fans will welcome the new singles, which are available on all streaming services.