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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 |
01/12/05
felix has just returned from a series of gigs and promotional work in
germany with compost
records. he featured as support act for royksopp
on the german leg of their tour and is also busy with a remix for alif
tree, an artist on the compost label.
felix laband`s album "dark days exit" just charted #31 on CMJ RPM charts top 40 in the US! more
01/09/05
Brendon Bussy and James Webb perform at Unyazi
Electronic Music Symposium and Festival 2005
1st - 4th September 2005, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Unyazi
2005 is the first electronic music festival to be hosted in Africa,
presenting musicians from across the world - Argentina, Austria, Brazil,
Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
and the USA.
01/08/05
pics
from felix laband's sold out launch at the royal theatre added to the
gallery.
01/03/05
alex van
heerden & derek gripper perform "spore by die bek van 'n ystervarkgat"
in cape town at the st georges cathedral with the brilliant sontonga
string quartet. thursday 3rd of march 2005. pics added to the gallery.
20/01/05
tsunami
disaster relief concert pics added to the gallery.
as
result of an urgently planned initiative spearheaded by brendon bussy,
ross campbell and martin sims and supported by principal sponsor mercury
live, a concert was held on the 15th january to raise funds for tsunami
disaster relief. after initial nervous anticipation, the event turned
into a huge success with 700 people attending. a sum total of R18 000
was raised, comprising the entrance donations as well as a substantial
cut of the bar takings. not bad for an event organised over less than
two weeks!
R14 230 Door takings
R02 860 Bar %
R00 910 Photos & Face Painting
R18 000 Total made out to the Tsunami Relief Fund
(R300 over and above the R18000 was paid to the 3 organisers for phone
calls made etc)
the entire amount raised has been handed over to the independent newspapers relief fund. (see cape times fri 21 jan for hand over pic and story)
running
from 4.00pm until 4.00am, the evening can best be described as having
been a very serious jol. starting off with a number of rock acts, the
night culminated with performances by hip hop stalwarts brasse vannie
kaap; dj ready d, and djs krushed and sorted.
the other bands that performed are:
adhd; andy lund with brydon bolton & sean ou tim; abel steen; the
sunday family; 3 bored white guys; wild eyes; rudimentals; djs: ak47
and quake, the track and field djs; and vj inka
these performers all gave generously of their time, making this a truly memorable evening. in this respect we also have to thank the nostalgia djs who gave up their mercury live booking, and who provided the late late party for those unwilling to leave.
besides
the bands and other performers, the evening would not have happened
at all if it were not for venue mercury live who sponsored the venue,
staff and sound system as well as donating a substantial percentage
of the bar takings on the night. in particular kevin winder and sean
wienand of mercury live were instrumental in ensuring that the evening
ran like clockwork.
and in this respect we would also like to thank all of the other sponsors:
blue cow productions; emi cape town; hell fire hire; kurse music; www.liquidfridge.co.za;
open record; sony music cape town and white china.
and finally, we’d like to thank those friends and members of the public who supported us on such short notice in this our response to the largest natural disaster in living memory. without you, there would have been no event.
01/12/04
knobfest 2004 - wed 1st dec at the armchair theatre - pics by toast
coetzer added to the gallery.
01/09/05
james webb is currently 'artist in residence' at the centre for contemporary
art in japan - his latest installation KAMIKAZE is for a show called
typhoon which opened last saturday.. Here's pics of his studio and installation
20/07/04
alex van heerden & derek gripper's performance of their new three
part composition "spore by die bek van 'n ystervarkgat" with
the sontonga string quartet was possibly the most moving musical experience
i've had in the last 10 years! absolutely brilliant!! and there are
thankfully plans to perform the piece further field. we've also yet
to hear the recording from the evening - hopefully that will be just
as amazing.
james webb & james sey's performance of “a
compendium of imaginary wavelengths” with webb's great sound
reworking's, the set in total darkness save for the light of laptops
and sey's glasgow twang, came across as the wonderful imaginary radio
broadcast it's meant to be.
pics from grahamstown festival
the new music
indaba
review
by toast coetzer
01/04/04
sound artist james webb’s prayer installation is exhibited at
the south african national gallery as part of the major decade of democracy
show. the gallery is airing out their permanent collection acquired
over the last ten years. possibly webb’s most accessible work,
in the sense that it uses voices and not malfunctioning technology,
prayer is a sound installation that explores and investigates contemporary
south african religion through the sound of praying. begun in 2000,
the work commands a special, and more international reading what with
the events of 9/11 and the recent gulf war.
venue: south african national gallery, gardens
times: tuesday – sunday 9-5 april 2004.
01/03/04
benguela’s music has been used in the documentary 'being pavarotti'
and will hopefully also be used in a film by revie fox called 'the flyer'.
being pavarotti
a portrait of elton nkanunu, a 14-year old xhosa-speaking boy from an apartheid-style township near hermanus in south africa. hermanus is famed among international tourists as a top whale-watching destination. where will elton’s uncanny ability to imitate pavarotti take him? with an eclectic style and sympathetic gaze, the viewer is taken into elton’s life. his rite of passage is gently revealed, with him finding a reality that is his own.
the film
was directed by lawyer-turned filmmaker, odette geldenhuys, a first
time director. it was produced by ingrid gavshon of angel films, who
has produced and directed among others the award-winning facing death
… facing life.
the film premiered at the berlin film festival (2004) and has also been
shown at the african, asian and latin american film festival in milan
and the national geographic film festival in washington dc. it will
be screened at visions du reel, switzerland during april (regards neufs
competition). it was commissioned by the south african broadcasting
corporation, and was made possible with the support of among others
the national film and video foundation (sa) and the binger institute
(netherlands).
being pavarotti
has been invited to the tribeca film festival 2004. screening times
as follows:
1 may 2004, 15h30, united artists theaters 10
3 may 2004, 21h15, united artists theaters 9
4 may 2004, 12h15, united artists theaters 7
ua theaters at 102 north end ave (enter on vesey st between north end
and west)
05/02/04
james webb peers over laptop on bush 89.5FM, monday 2nd feb in the debut broadcast of "a compendium of imaginary wavelengths," - a new radio artwork by james webb and james sey. the live broadcast forms part of MADE UP SOUNDS FROM THE THEN AND THERE, a weekly radio slot curated by brendon bussy and featured on martin sims's 'ardcore program. more..
01/01/04
feedback & pics from benguela and brendon bussy's fantastic durban
trip here.
01/12/03
sui and ek is legio feature in the musica
staff choices of 2003
20/11/03
jacqueline
stecher wins the geraas award for best design for sagtevlei. a first
for open record since opening in july this year. the awards were held
on mon 17th nov at gold reef city. congrats and thanks also to roxanne
spears for her major part in the overall layout and logo design across
all open releases. list of nominees and winners here.
01/11/03
get hold of falconetti's ultra hip remix of benguela's 'beating round
the bush' and enkeleen's remix of boo!'s 'oo aa' on sl magazine's selection
18 this month (nov '03).
15/10/05
alex van heerden and derek gripper's album 'sagtevlei' nominated for
two geraas awards - for best design and best classical album - enkeleen's
album 'ek is legio' nominated for 'best electronica / dance album' (which
is a bit far fetched but hey)!!! - see all the nominee's here
01/10/03
check out the open gigs that took place every thursday at the armchair
theatre in september 2003 here.
01/09/03
oh crap, we have a problem - it seems we managed to get the track listing
on the 'chop sui' side of the benguela album wrong - track 8 should
be rovertman and 9 should be captain asthma - huge apologies to both
- we will correct the mistake by the second pressing. how embarrassing.
01/08/03
downstairs music are the first to have albums for sale in cape town
- you can find them upstairs at the pan african market - 76 long street.
you can now buy these albums online at the one
world cd store - click the links below each cover to go direct.
all albums now also available at cd
wherehouse (check out their online profile!) waterfront, look n
listen cavendish, canal walk and select ones up in jhb. also seedy's
in pretoria and african music store in cape town.
01/06/03
we're now being hosted by quattro
with huge thanks to paul honig for superb service and also thanks to
iafrica for having hosted us for so long. you can also now subscribe
online to our newsletter to be the first to know about new releases
/ gigs / specials etc. with thanks to graphicmail.
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open
01 enkeleen ek is legio full details buy online |
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open
02 alex van heerden & derek gripper sagtevlei full details buy online |
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open
03 brendon bussy diesel geiger full details buy online |
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open
04 benguela sui full details buy online |
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open
05 derek gripper blomdoorns full details buy online |
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content © open record cc.
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CONTACT
ross campbell
iliketea@iafrica.com
cape town
south africa
distributed
in south africa by
kurse music distribution
contact greg donnelly
tel: +27 21 424 1959
fax: +27 21 424 4051 greg@kursemusic.co.za