cat #: open 02
artist: alex van heerden & derek gripper
title: sagtevlei

juxtaposing the insanely fast cape klopse' rhythms against that of a string quartet. double bass, trumpet, accordion & vocal retake on a wealth of folk history all but ignored.

TRACKS:
1. koortjie - mp3
2. charlotta se somertuin - mp3
3. okkie langdraai
4. vrou van samaria - mp3
5. dragon and hugo kry lekker
6. twee klein manne onder 'n groot boom
7. koortjie

recorded live at beach road studios by reynaud venter on 2 february 2002 as part of the wonder gigs series held in conjunction with the sabc and afribeat.com
mastered by david maclean at maclean mastering, cape town
design by jacqueline stecher

alex van heerden - vocals, accordion, khoisan mouthbow & trumpet
derek gripper - viola

with
brydon bolton - double bass
Kerryn Bailey - violin
Fiona Greyer - cello

this project began in January 2002 when I joined alex at sagtevlei, a small farm on the outskirts of the boland town of tulbach. what followed was a month-long exchange of ideas and music, centred around our shared desire to create an uncompromisingly understated music, a trance-like introspection. alex had recently returned from sweden where he had been "seduced" by the fragility of scandinavian electronica. my own interests were focused on the 'glitches', scratches and harmonics in the sound of the viola and the "just intonation" implied therein. during the weeks at sagtevlei our compositional process became a means to introduce each other to our respective musical worlds. for me, listening to old recordings and spending the evenings listening to alex's accordian was like hearing the music of the cape for the first time: the wealth of melodies and rhythms that have grown out of musical life in the cape returned to me through the spirit of one remarkably individual musician. my own experience of this music became a search for new ways of presenting this history in a musical landscape born out of the geographic one in which we worked and lived. our daily meetings, under the trees, in the kitchen, by the fireside, were tentative and contemplative. the music on sagtevlei was born of these meetings, which, rather than being purely musical exchanges were ones of appreciation and excitement at the scope of the possibilities presented to us. sagtevlei remains as a memory and quiet celebration of this particular time and place.
- derek gripper, hŠlsingland, sweden, january 2003.

list of thanks: iain and struan of afribeat, madoda and the SABC, brydon, kerryn, fiona, reynaud, ross, magnus, charlotta, kate, lex, derrick, ant (for the cedarberg) and okkie.

PRESS QUOTES:
"an axotic, endearing album that captures magnificently the hot, wide open spaces where it was born. this is organic music, using strange and powerful instrumentation. accordion, koi-san mouthbow, viola, double bass and cello all make an appearance, creating a fragrant, delicate tapestry. van heerden's trumpet rings through through it, drawing obvious comparisons to some of miles davis's playing on sketches of spain. this is an awesome album for those who have open minds, and is unlikely to be like anything you've heard before." - the star tonight 02/10/03 'keeping an 'i' open' by jeremy daniel

alex van heerden
benguela
brendon bussy
enkeleen
derek gripper
felix laband

sir name
james webb
adam lieber
blackmilk