LATEST RELEASE
DEREK GRIPPER
CATALOGUE
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following on from his two previous critically acclaimed albums, 'dark days exit' reflects felix’s forays into classical instrumentation whilst still audibly remaining true to his unique style, walking a thin line between lush and disconcerting beat scapes. felix describes it as his first “true album”, where he feels the music represents his vision alone. the result is a truly beautiful electronica album, mixed and arranged with absolute genius – each track has distinct character, never slipping into the wallpaper monotony of current lounge fodder. TRACKS: dark days exit is available on itunes worldwide (compost records release) PRESS
QUOTES: "an inspired and deep album of esoteric kindness and warm technology" - peter kruder / g-stone "miss teardrop is a sublime brill supertune.. sneaking carefully into your ears and remaining there for a long long time... excellent" - richard dorfmeister "stunning album" - laurent garnier "dark days exit’s all-round unabashed loveliness could possibly convert even the most misanthropic marilyn manson fan" – bbc collective’s paul clarke "it has the dark sparkle of air`s `moon safari`, random trippy flashes of pink floyd´s earlier sounds, and if david lynch had based `twin peaks` in cape town´s city bowl, then this would work as the soundtrack." - sa / rockdigest "he's clearly an architect, a visionary, and his ongoing musical creations bear testament to this. his tunes — a collection of collages, textures interwoven with lucid melodies and twisted, yet simple, beats — stand tall in an industry which all too often rewards the followers rather than the innovators." - stephen timm / iafrica.com "laband's music reminds one of modern classical composers like reich and glass, leftfield electronica artists like boards of canada, aphex twin and the audio pranksters at ninja tune. it is head music which makes your foot tap. it is delicate, yet earthily funky.." xxxxx charles leonard 48 hours "the latest offering from mr laband is a real alice in wonderland soundtrack; surreal but wonderful. ..a melodic overture of good sounds with an off-beat melancholy which reminds me of autumn." - cape etc "though both laband's previous albums were superb in every respect, they pale in comparison to his new masterpiece - an album so far removed from the usual electronic fodder that it is impossible to categorise. most great albums are." - jon craig canavan / SL magazine "the soundtrack for sensitive people's lives - very recommendable." - martin gretschmann / the notwist / console “sometimes dark and sinister, always a little melancholy, infused with a retro hipness that is entirely cocktail inspiring. felix´s greatest quality must be his use of space – the music breathes with space around the beats, fresh fresh fresh. infinitely listenable, especially outdoors.“ - world online “an insane swirling ambient dub glitch freak show.“ - dazed & confused magazine “the album is a warm space of melody and rhythm that lets you move through colours of nostalgia and déjá vu with endless possibilities of hearing something new.“ - philippa cameron “laband´s superbly-layerd, multi-tiered soundscapes are tantalizingly tranquil and intriguingly unique – they amble like ambient and slip into the bloodstream like liquid lsd.“ - rage.co.za “...if you have too less money to travel to south africa, no problem, just listen to “dark days exit“ and close your eyes...“ - nat queen cool / sounds good inc. “kraftwerks´s autobahn might have been a prelude but this is the omega! fur sure!” - helene ramos galagarza “the new album takes felix's music deeper than before. 'whistling in tongues' is a hypnotic tune perfect for late-night driving.“ - ennio styles |
cd:
blomdoorns
cd:
sagtevlei
derek gripper has been described by the cape argus as “one of cape town’s best-known acoustic guitarists.” his most recent work has been a series of collaborations with vastrap maestro alex van heerden. the mail and guardian called their first release, sagtevlei, “a seductive fusion of cape melody and classical traditions.” gripper’s second release, blomdoorns, is a cd of cape-inspired compositions by van heerden and gripper, performed on a specially designed 8-string guitar.
“listening to blomdoorns is being granted a moment of very intimate discourse, a glimpse of secret audio-emotional imagery…the songs are simple, modest and touching, a gifted artist.” [mr]
“blomdoorns should go down as a classic of cape music…gripper follows in the footsteps of steve newman, tony cox, abdullah ibrahim and all the best painters of the cape’s aural landscape.” [julian jonker]
gripper was trained as a classical guitarist by some of the world’s leading virtuosi, as well a cape town’s ganeefa van der schyff during which time he received a bachelor of music with distinction and a master of music. gripper has spent long periods of time in southern india where he has studied with some of the country’s top performers. he has also performed in britain at the classical guitar festival of great britain and in sweden and germany. most recently he has taught classical guitar at the university of cape town.
gripper has won first prizes in both the avril kinsey guitar competition, and the guitar society of south africa’s national guitar competition. his music is frequently used for television and radio, and his latest composition with alex van heerden was performed with the sontonga quartet at the grahamstown festival’s new music indaba.
at present gripper is playing a hermann hauser classical guitar. the hauser dynasty is a famous and well-respected family of guitar makers now in its fourth generation. they are best-known for the guitar made for andres segovia, who called his hauser “the guitar of the epoch.” hermann hauser iii was so pleased with gripper’s performance on the new hauser iii guitar that he has offered to build a guitar especially for gripper’s playing style. gripper’s present hauser iii special edition 2003 guitar can be viewed on http://www.hauserguitars.com and the hermann hauser guitar foundation
gripper’s latest concert programme explores some of the famous masterpieces of spanish guitar, in the tradition of segovia and bream, as well as original works off his latest cd. to hear this music carried by the unique voice of one of the most famous guitars of the twentieth century promises to be a unique and enchanting experience. this is certainly a rare opportunity for south african audiences.
“exciting visionary…thrilling, vibrant.” [argus]
“consistently fine and immediate.” [mail and guardian]
blomdoorns is recommended by sl magazine, safm, home and leisure and you magazine.
derek gripper grew up in cape town, receiving a masters degree in music from the university of cape town. during a three-year research period gripper studied contemporary microtonal harmonic theory, exploring further resources of the harmonic series in new compositional techniques, notations and instrument designs. during this period he made a study of the theory of carnatic percussion during numerous visits to chennai, india. as a classical guitarist gripper has been the winner of two national guitar competitions, participated in numerous guitar festivals in europe, been selected to perform on a programme of young guitarists at the 9th classical guitar festival of great britain and taught at the uct college of music. most recently gripper has been exploring the music of the afrikaans-speaking western cape with alex van heerden. the pair's first serious collaboration, 'sagtevlei', is a cd of collaborative compositions for string quartet, trumpet, voice and accordion, inspired by the unique music and landscape of the western cape. it is in this area and its music that gripper has found a creative foundation for his previous work. finding the allure of his own culture stronger than any other, he has committed to developing a contemporary south african sound. gripper has now released his solo 8 string guitar album ‘blomdoorns’, having also just finished recording with stockholm-based electro/acoustic outfit hemisfar.
derek on the coffee beans site
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01 enkeleen ek is legio full details buy online |
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02 alex van heerden & derek gripper sagtevlei full details buy online |
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03 brendon bussy diesel geiger full details buy online |
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04 benguela sui full details buy online |
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05 derek gripper blomdoorns full details buy online |
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alex
van heerden |
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CONTACT
ross campbell
iliketea@iafrica.com
cape town
south africa
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contact alastair
tel: 021 424 1959 alastair@kursemusic.co.za