SYDELLE WILLOW SMITH – AFRICA THROUGH HER LENSES

                                                        AfriPOP! Magazine



                                      

Photographer and filmmaker Sydelle Willow Smith`s work so far can be summed up as photography with an eye for social relevance. Her interest in issues affecting South African society have led her on an astonishing path looking at and documenting topical issues – such as migration and conservation – for her work in film and photography. We sat down with her for a chat on her thought-provoking work.

A. How and why did you get into your career as a filmmaker/photographer?

My father was a darkroom technician/printer at a commercial advertising lab. I remember going to Museum Afrika as a young child, and my mother showing me the darkroom installation, and being fascinated that my father worked in such a space. I began taking courses at The Market Photo Workshop when I was sixteen and started photographing the Joburg Punk Scene, where I used to hang out. I liked the fact that I could fit into small spaces, being small, I could hide behind the drums and take pictures of the musicians thrashing about. The first image that got published was a double page spread of a band called The Vendetta Cartel, in Blunt Magazine. It was a great moment for me. After doing more courses at The Market Photo Workshop in 2007 I decided to go to University to get a degree in Film and Anthropology. My late Aunt was an Anthropologist, and I was always fascinated by the places she had lived and the people she had met. I guess the combination of Photography , Film and Anthropology fits my character so well, as I am naturally curious about peoples’ lives and their stories, particularly people who face great struggle in terms of South Africa’s’ socioeconomic issues. The first photo essay I did was about domestic workers living on the top floor in small rooms, of penthouse apartments in Houghton where my late grandmother lived, called Life Between Two Floors.

B. Was it a conscious decision for you to focus your work on socially relevant topics, or did you gradually drift in that path?

It was a conscious decision. Growing up in a liberal leftist Jewish household in the suburban sprawls of Johannesburg may have had something to do with it.

C. Apart from your documentary film Perils and Pitfalls, what other work have you done on the issues surrounding migration in SA?

When I was a second year student at UCT I was the photo editor of a current affairs student magazine, The Cape Town Globalist. Myself and a reporter visited some of the refugee camps after the May 2008 Xenophobic Attacks, particularly Soetwater and Bluewaters. I was struck by the ways people made “home” for themselves in the temporary space and the difficulties they had faced in getting to South Africa, and what their future in South Africa faced, the series was called No place to call home. During my Honors Thesis these themes inspired by thesis in a temporary relocation area in Delft, colloquially known as Blikkiesdorp. I worked with four South African youth from the “camp” using video and photography together we mapped experiences of the ways home and community were made and broken within the space, the project was called Making Home in Temporary Spaces. When I graduated from my Honors Degree in 2011 I was commissioned by the civic organisation, P.A.S.S.O.P, in partnership with Solidarity Peace trust to make a short documentary, Perils and Pitfalls, about migrants experiences of Home Affairs and Deportation in South Africa. This experience has led me to my current photo/video project which is funded by a grant from The Market Photo Workshop, called the Gisele Wulfsohn Mentorship. The project is called Making Neighbourhood and I will discuss it below.

D. What inspired you to look at migration as a subject in the documentary?

As an Anthropology student you are taught culture is a construct that is used in some ways as a political resource, in a similar vein to nationality and the imagined but imaginary nature of borders, race and ethnicity. I am interested in visually depicting these ideas, and conversations, freed from an academic context. Global village aside, countries borders exist and regulate access and control. I am interested as an artist (visual commentator), about how a country like South Africa with its history of control and separate development handles this influx of people from across Africa. Specifically in relation to a sense of “ubuntuism”, or “panafricanness”. Inherently I think my interest in migration is deeply rooted in my own personal history as Jewish person. My great grandparents arrived off the boat from Lithuania in South Africa and made home for themselves in a new place, granted they were given opportunities not afforded to black or coloured South Africans by The Apartheid Government.
E. How do you think photography and film can be used to play a positive role in representing and defending migrants rights in SA today?

I cannot speak for “migrant rights” specifically, but I do feel that Art has a role to play in South Africa by offering a “fractured mirror” on society’s ills and developments, provoking dialogue and debate.

F. What is your involvement with GreenPOP!?

I am a photographer for the organization on a voluntary basis and plan to be a researcher on a very exciting media project are in the pipeline. Last year I documented their 2012 Trees for Zambia Project for a month which is an absolutely unforgettable experience. I also work with them with my partner Rowan Pybus who is the Director of Makhulu – Moving Images – a video production company based in Cape Town and Greenpop’s official media partner. I work on the video projects as a producer/camera operator. We recently pitched a feature documentary that details Greenpop’s journey with conversing the forests of Livingstone, Zambia at Durban Filmmart during the 2013 Durban International Film Festival.

G. What is your current project all about?

My current project is called Making Neighbourhood which looks at how “immigrants” and South Africans experience forms of conviviality, and togetherness. Yesterday I began photographing two best friends, 13 year old girls who live in the same street in Maitland. One girl is “coloured” , the other from Mali and they see each other everyday. Last week I went to an Easter Service with a Zulu lady who is a domestic worker in Camps Bay, married for 10 years to a man from Malawi. I have met some great people the past few months and am looking forward to bringing their stories into a cohesive form , for my solo exhibition of the work at The Market Photo Workshop later this year. The film is funded by department of Social Anthropology at The University of Cape Town, headed by Cameroonian Professor, Francis Nyamnjoh, whose research focuses on conviviality.

H. Who is your inspiration in terms of your work?

Many different people. Johnny Steinberg and Ivan Vladislavic for their words. Jodi Bieber, Dale Yudelman, Nadine Hutton, Olivia Arthur, Alec Soth, Alex Webb, Mary Ellen Mark, Dan Eldon and Sebastio Salgado for their images. Jim Jarmusch, Oliver Stone, Fernando Meirelles, for their films. People I meet, conversations I have, things I read, all fuel inspiration.

I. You captured some poignant images for The Guardian newspaper on a recent fact-finding mission with Zakes Mda, Lindiwe Magona, Njabulo Ndebele and others to Eastern Cape schools. How did you feel about the trip, and what you saw there?

The trip was unforgettable, and while physically reading a newspaper detailing the state of the education crisis in South Africa can be done with some ease, being in a classroom watching 150 children trying to learn is not so easy – while I am honoured as a photographer to be allowed to visually witness such atrocities, it is horrifying to see before ones eyes the culture of poverty currently being bred in the minds of young school children receiving a failing education across South Africa due to a variety of causes including those historical as well as obvious inadequacies on the part of the Department of Basic Education.

J. How do you see the future of documentary film and photography around social issues in SA?

I want to be hopeful and say it has the opportunity to be abundant, there are so many worthy stories needing to be told, training and opportunities need to be provided to ensure that many different voices have the opportunity to be heard.

Visit her website www.sydellewillowsmith.com for more on her work.

                                                 

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African Stories: Rose Francis’African Perspective Publishing

                                                                                                                       AfriPOP! Magazine

To most 80′s bloomers in Johannesburg the name Rose Francis conjures up flashbacks of a ‘girl about town’, high fashion, and beauty ramps. Amongst the first real high profile black women models in Johannesburg, Francis (51) was ubiquitous on billboards, print and TV ads throughout the 80′s. Along with now actress and author Nakedi Ribane they paved the way for black models to make the transition from township hall beauty pageants to industry recognition locally, and even internationally, working in London, New York and Paris amongst other global cities. Today Francis is an entrepreneur who has yet again blazed a trail in an industry she is equally passionate about – the publishing industry. “In a way my career has come full circle, because my first job was as a reader at a press-cutting agency in my hometown, Durban” she says of her early days in the publishing industry.
 

 It was at the advent of her fortieth birthday that she once again took the road less travelled-her love of history, communication and marketing fused to form African Perspective Publishing. African Perspective Publishing has been in business for five years. It is the latest trajectory in the communication space which began while she was still a model. Part of the journey, its very beginning, was her opening of Rose Francis Communications. “I opened Rose Francis Communications in 1980” she says,”It was a natural progression for me because even as a model I had always seen myself as a conveyor, through fashion, of ideas and messages. I reached a point where I wanted to project myself beyond size and height.”

Being black, she identifies with other black South Africans whose history as a collective was subject to drastic distortions and in some instances deliberate ommisions in the interest of maintaining the status quo during apartheid. “I started African Perspective Publishing with the sole mission to put our history in its proper perspective-to fully explore the African perspective in the collective human narrative in our time” she relates. Through her company, she hosts a number of school programmes to encourage reading and writing amongst teens.”Like any other black business, we harbour a social commitment,” she points out.”The goal is to ultimately get the children to discover, like our name espouses, alternative perspectives on life and what is possible for one to achieve.”

In its relatively short existence African Perspectives has published and distributed an eclectic and wide variety of local fiction, non-fiction and poetry, such as Memory Is The Weapon by esteemed author and poet Don Mattera, an account of growing up in early 50′s Sophiatown. Amongst other publications are The Empowered Native, a fictional take of the 1976 Soweto riots by Letepe Maisela (to be released on mp3 CD in May), Dreams Of Flight by Myesha Jenkins, WENA, a collection of contemporary poetry by Ntsiki Mazwai and The Politics Of South African Football, by Oshebebeng Alphie Koonyaditse. In March the company launched both Fat Songs For My Girlfriends, a book of poems by noted stage actress Napo Masheane, and The Che Guevara Reader, a collection of private writings by the revered Latin American freedom fighter Che Guevara.

We asked her about the state of publishing in Africa five decades after luminaries such as Nigerians Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, and Kenyan Ngugi wa Thiongo catapulted African literature onto the international scene.”There is no dearth of brilliant writing on the continent today: Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Nigeria boast of vibrant and exciting literary scenes. Young fiction writers across the colour line are coming to the fore in South Africa too. It spells for a massive resurgence of African literature,” she says. As with many publishers in South Africa, she finds that the price of paper is extremely high, and constantly has to concede to printing her titles abroad, where prices are cheaper. She also laments the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain competitive in an environment where retail and shelf space costs are constantly rising.

Despite the hindrances, the company has garnered deserved recognition in the publishing industry and business at large. In 2000, the company was listed as one of the Top 300 empowerment companies by the South African government’s Department of Trade and Industry. In 2010 Francis received a World Media Award for Best Publication from the United Nations for Nostalgic Waves from Soweto: Poetic Memories of June 16, a poetry anthology by veteran actor Sol Rachilo.

Francis believes that radio is a powerful tool that can be used to spread African literature to illiterate people.”Radio as a platform presents a unique opportunity for African publishers to reach people where they cannot be reached by other forms of media,” she says. She should know, she has travelled the continent extensively delivering papers and attending literary conferences and festivals. It was the exiled South African writer Lewis Nkosi who proclaimed that-unlike his peers, his work would not be confined to politics and the township. Similarly, she points out that “African writers today are too immersed with political prose. We need to recognise that Africa’s jewels and treasures are hidden in the most ordinary things.”

African Perspectives holds monthly readings on the first and last Thursday of every month at Darkie Cafe. Darkie Cafe is on the corner of Anderson and Ferreira streets, in the Central Business District in Johannesburg. Entrance is free. See African Perspective Publishing on Facebook for a listing of upcoming readings.

Born Again: Natalie “The Floacist” Stewart Talks Life After Floetry, the Place of Neo-Soul Today & Working with Thandiswa Mazwai

                                                                       AfriPOP! Magazine

A. You've just released your second solo album after your split from Floetry with Marsha Ambrosius . How has your journey been since the separation?

I didn’t split from Floetry. Floetry is what I do. I, The Floacist, am a poet, who creates poetic delivery with musical intent, a genre of music called Floetry. Marsha left the group in 2006 to pursue a solo career, unfortunately she told a lie stating that I had left the group, so the media ran with that. That is one of a few mistruths that I have had to deal with over the years, along with boycotts from media outlets that previously aired my group but to date have refused to air any of my video content, whilst supporting Marsha healthily. It hasn’t been easy, but many paths worthy of being walked have obstacles along the way. Since Marsha left there has been a lot to do behind the scenes, legalities, unwrapping the red tape that had built up over the years of major label and bloated ego management involvement. I had to rescue the brand from misuse and I had to rescue myself from being sacrificed. So the journey has been one of ownership and independence. My creative partner of 14 years, Nolan Weekes is the head of FREE SUM Music Company, our production house where we have produced my solo albums and solo music videos. Creative control is priceless, so the journey has been very productive. In many ways it has brought me to a new beginning, and it is a blessing to be at a beginning with 10 years behind me.

B. Did you feel the pressure to come out with an even bigger and better follow up as a solo artist after Floetry`s phenomenal success?

I haven’t felt pressure since I accepted the shift that came with Marsha leaving the group. I don’t feel any pressure anymore, I feel creative freedom. I’m not walking a separate journey to my past as it is all connected. I am not launching a solo career, I am continuing what I started. I remember with a full heart my 20’s and the many coming of age experiences that I had during that time. Those times inspire me and give me the foundation to continue to build upon. I am enjoying continuing the exploration of the genre of Floetry, I have been dedicated to this genre’s growth for more than 13 years! Give Thanks!

C.I know you've been asked this question a million times already. Are you still friends with Marsha?

I have known Marsha since I was 11 years old. This isn’t a lightly answered question. Marsha and I haven’t spoken since 2007. At this point, we represent two completely different paths in creativity, one, a mainstream pursuit, one an independent journey. One venturing further away from the floetic ethos and responsibilities of an artist that represents it’s community. I couldn’t do many of the things that Marsha is prepared to do for the sake of fame and ‘success’. I took a stance six years ago when both management and label were attempting to corrupt Floetry to make it more mainstream. I was asked to ‘dumb my lyrics down’ and that’s a direct quote. They wanted to use Floetry to become another vessel to heighten anger and miscommunication amongst our listeners, young, black women mainly. I take these things very seriously, and I have had to walk the path that my stance has led me down. It has been character building and spirit refining, and I don’t regret a moment of it, especially as I understand and accept myself more.

D. Four years is a pretty long time to be hibernating away from your career. Why did you take such a long time after the split to reclaim the spotlight with your solo debut, Floetic Soul in 2010?

 I needed time. To be honest, it didn’t feel too long to me, the first two years past by in a blur. I was very hurt by the way that events unfolded. Spiritually, emotionally, psychologically I was tired and drained. It took a while for me to even register what I was feeling. By the end of 2006 I was quite unwell, ultimately from stress. I tried to work straight away, but I wasn’t ready. I needed time, at home. I needed my family. I needed familiarity. I had been living in the US for six years when everything suddenly turned upside down. Nolan saved me by bringing me home, and letting me stop. I needed to accept the reality, so I needed to be where things were real. I continued to go back and forth to the US between ’07 and ’08. I had recorded a whole album in 2007 that I ‘almost’ released with Hidden Beach in 2008 but that deal fell through as Hidden Beach were going through financial difficulties. I started to find my peace again in 2009. Floetic Soul was ready to be recorded by the time I was approached by Shanachie in 2010, in fact, I recorded the whole project in 16 days! It was quite a release! For me, every day from the last show with Marsha in Birmingham, UK in December 2006 to the release date of Floetic Soul November 9^th 2010 is well accounted for!

E. Your music since the beginning has been described “neo soul,” ,and some people consider you a femcee-a female mc- but is it that simple? How do you describe your sound?

 As the femcee definition articulates some could possibly mistake me for a femcee., but if you are asking me to articulate my identity for myself; I am a Poet. I am a Floacist. I am The Floacist. I named myself this as my flow assists; understanding, innerstanding, overstanding.

F. With regards to you embracing the “neo soul” movement, there’s a lot of people who say that that period in music is over, so where does your style fit in music today?

The genre of Neo-Soul has unfortunately been sacrificed, for no reason other than it represented positive energy and vibrations. It was a genre that represented strength, natural beauty, cultural awareness, union and identity. Marsha released a mixtape called ‘Neo Soul is Dead’ in 2007, a clear signal of her desire to sacrifice what had given her entry into the music industry for the promise of greater fame and recognition. Obviously she wasn’t the only person tempted to turn their backs on the genre. I am quite honored to be associated with the Neo Soul movement. I remember not being comfortable with it in the very beginning, as I was representing Floetry as a genre, but I soon matured to appreciate that this association linked us to a movement of music that stood for and represented more than fame and bright lights. The ‘period’ of Soul will never be over, no matter what games industries and recording artists play. That’s like trying to say that Jazz is over. Real music is never denied, real artists just have to adjust their idea of the prize. There is enough room for everybody. Floetic, Floacism, Flo’Ology and Floetic Soul are most often found in the Soul, Neo Soul and even R&B sections. Floetry Re:Birth is being referred to as having a ‘jazzy’ feel, in review even drawing comparisons to Esperanza Spalding’s ‘Chamber Music Society’ and Robert Glasper’s ‘Black Radio’, (company, which may I add, I am honored to be suggested to keep!) My music, ‘Floetry’; poetic delivery with musical intent, fits quite comfortably in its very own place and I am very content with that.

G. The issues that you address on the new album seem to be intense and personal. Is this something that you set out to do consciously when you write your lyrics?

All of the songs that I have released over my 10 years of releasing music have been ‘intense and personal’ in their own rights! It’s just the difference between the journal pages of a 22 year old girl ‘Floetic’, a 23 year old girl ‘Floacism’, a 25 year old young woman ‘Flo’Ology’, a 31 year old woman ‘Floetic Soul’ and a 33 year old woman ‘Floetry Re:Birth’. I’m sure if you asked most 33 year old women to share their journal pages they would bare some intense and personal thoughts and introspections!

H. You seem to be have a solid connection to South Africa. How so?

Well you know I am one of many displaced children of the Motherland. We all know the journey well. Through the inhumane business of the slave trade my people ended up in Jamaica. I have always had a calling to South Africa, a gentle song in my heart. Growing up I asked many a question onto my soul whilst witnessing reports of the effects of the apartheid regime. Having Jamaican parents, we were drawn to the plight of our beloved and deeply missed Motherland. South Africa, Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela made a very deep impression on me, from a young age. In 2004 I was blessed to meet someone who has become a dear sister to me, Demi Mseleku, grand daughter of Pinki Meselku and Grand Niece of Bheki Mseleku. Demi, a proud Zulu daughter has shared a wealth of the musical genius of South Africa with me! Much of which has assisted and guided me through some of my deeper journeys and meditations of the past 4 or 5 years, especially Miriam Makeba, Bheki Mseleku and Thandiswa Mazwai. Demi features on Floetry Re:Birth on Children of the Sun.

I. You share a special frienship with South African songstress Thandiswa Mazwai. Tell us how it came about?

I came to South Africa to do a show in 2006 I met Thandiswa briefly backstage after my set. At the time, I was in a very vulnerable stage of my journey. I was quite distracted. In many ways, I feel as though I am very lucky to have not missed out on connecting with, the most outstanding vocalist I have ever had the pleasure to create with. I didn’t see Thandiswa again until 2011 when Demi and I attended a show in honor of ‘Mama Afrika’ - Miriam Makeba at the Hackney Empire in London, featuring Hugh Masekela, Vusi Mahlasela and Thandiswa. This time I was sure to align our connection! I knew that I wanted to collaborate, I just didn’t know what the concept was at the time, I was in concept overload, it took a while to settle and find the perfect piece/peace! ‘Roots of Love’ was actually recorded both in the UK (my vocals) and South Africa (Thandiswa’s vocals). I look forward to performing Roots of Love live, I think it will be very special! In truth, I would love to make an entire album with Thandiswa. I think it would be a healing to a people, too long separated and far too used to experiencing life as if we are walking completely different paths.

J. Floetry is described as poetic delivery with musical intent. Where do you feel that the genre fits into the whole picture of music today?

I know where Floetry fits in music today. There really is room for everyone, it is not as tight a fit as it is made to seem…especially if you are not doing exactly the same thing as everyone else, and as long as you are not secretly desiring the same thing as everyone else who is doing exactly the same thing as everyone else!

K. In another interview you mentioned that you considered Sade as the godmother of neo soul. How has she influenced your musical path so far?

Growing up in London in the 80’s Sade was everywhere! When the band released Lovers Rock in 2000 I took that title as a message for those who would see it! A shout out to a movement that only a few know, but those who do know it, it is a very special part of our lives. Lovers Rock was a powerful independent Black British Reggae Soul genre that thrived in the 80’s, in a way that hasn’t been repeated by the Black British community since. Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black is the closest I have heard to a Lovers Rock album since. The West Indian culture’s influence on English music and culture has been witnessed through the Ska era, the development of the Punk era and the sounds of artists such as Sting/Police, Eric Clapton and Maddness to name but a few. The impact of Black British bands and artists of the 80’s on the shaping of what was to become the Neo Soul movement is more often than not understated. Yes I see Sade as the God Mother of Neo Soul, absolutely, and there are other Black British founding Icons of the Neo Soul genre in Loose Ends, Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler, Mica Paris and Omar. Floetry ultimately followed in the footsteps of those who came before it in the ongoing yet under developed relationship between US and UK soul.

L.Some have alluded to the fact that your starting of a British female movement of music with Floetry ultimately had its spin-offs in the style of mainstream English acts such as Adele,Amy Winehouse and Jesse J. Do you feel a connection between your sound and theirs when you listen to them?

Interestingly enough, all three of the artists that you have mentioned all attended the BRIT Performing Arts and Technology School, as did I, and even Marsha. In that way I feel connected! I do keep a close ear on the creations of my fellow BRIT alumni! The major difference in our journeys is that there really wasn’t any avenue for Floetry to be signed to a major label, and have major distribution through a UK record label. As Black British artists the viability for an opportunity to make an eclectic, neo soul, alternative, spoken word, Floetry project, namely ‘Floetic’, in the UK was none. I didn’t even waste my time attempting to pursue any form of industry connections or recording contract dreams. It didn’t even occur to me, I just headed straight to the US. I didn’t even bother to trouble my spirit with the rejection! The Black British equivalents to Jessie J, Amy and Adele don’t get any form of ‘bring in’ or interest in the UK music industry. As far as I know, nobody is looking for Black British female, beautiful, sultry, witty, sassy and soulful singer songwriter. Your best bet is to go on X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent and hope for the best!

That being said, I do love to give credit where credit is due; Jessie J is quite a chameleon of a vocalist! Her Musical Theater background means she has studied performance as well as vocal techniques and this shows in her performance energy. Amy Winehouse, peace to her soul, had the most incredible pen! Her writing and studio performance were absolutely outstanding! Adele has proceeded Amy with class, easing the fans pain to loose such a gifted siren as Ms Winehouse by producing outstanding moments with her signature honest delivery. It would make sense for there to be a connection as we may very well have shared influences by growing up in similar environments, in close enough eras! We are separated by nearly 10 years in age, so it is possible that Floetry albums may be in their CD collections! I have all of their albums. Both Adele and Jessie J have very long careers ahead of them, the ‘best’ of the both of them is very possibly still to come, which says a lot! BRIT is a very special school!

M.Its not the first time you've featured Raheem Devaughn in your solo albums. He is featured in the lead single off 2010`s Floetic Soul. Now he is on the new single off Re:Birth - “Start Again.”.Why did you choose to work with him so much?

‘Keep it Going’ was the third single on Floetic Soul. I enjoy working with Raheem because of his work ethic and his recording technique. Whenever we go into the studio we seem to time warp to somewhere in the 1960’s or 70’s, and I enjoy that. He gives me something pure that I miss when listening to most African American R&B or Soul male vocalists. Raheem can evoke what I think most are missing, sincerity and joy. As ‘Start Again’ began to come together musically, I knew that the vibration would meet Raheem well! We recorded Raheem’s parts in NY just before mastering the album. And as always, I was more than happy with what Raheem delivered!

 N. What were you going for with this new album, and how much of the source material did you ultimately let out,and keep in?

This album is all about rebirth. It is a celebration of creative freedom and independence. We have taken a complete step away from Midi production. This album is organic and pure. Real musicianship, real people, real lives coming together to make a piece of art, not just to make some product to push, but to truly make art that we believe in. I only made 10 songs for this album. Every song created has been used. I lived with every melody, every beat, every break. I already have thoughts and ideas for the next album, and how much freer I can be in that creation! Hopefully I’ll be making that next one in South Africa, or at least in part!

O. You've written songs for some of the biggest acts in music to date, including Michael Jackson. Is writing for other artists something you'd like to go on with in future?

Butterflies was actually written by Marsha, it got to Michael Jackson by way of John McCain, who actually signed Floetry to Dreamworks records in 2000. Butterflies was on the Floetry demo that was circulating the labels at the time and John played it to Michael.

I enjoy songwriting, yes. Writing for and featuring alongside Earth Wind & Fire has been one of the highlights in my ‘songwriting’ career, because it was a genuine intimate creative experience. Still that doesn’t come close to the feeling that I have about creating Floetic music! Writing songs like ‘Roots of Love’ with Thandiswa for Floetry Re:Birth, is where I get my most joy; ‘poetic delivery with musical intent’. As a writer, I feel connected from concept conception, all the way through performance and delivery, so writing songs generically, to just get placed isn’t so much my thing! I like more intimate collaborations. So if I write a song for an artist, it must’ve come through an intimate exchange of energy at some point in the process!

P. Who were your biggest musical influences during your childhood?

Reggae music is my gospel music. A good steady spiritual diet of The Wailers, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, John Holt, Alton Ellis, Gregory Issacs, Dennis Brown, Eek-A-Mouse, Yellow Man, The Ladies of Lovers Rock; Louisa Marks, Janet Kay, Carol Thompson, UK Soul; Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler, Sade, and a little touch of Nat King Cole and Luther Vandross! When I moved to London in the mid 80’s, there was a lot of good music playing, everywhere! By the time I get to my late teens Bashment is battling against Hip Hop for the number one place in our musically identifying hearts. Then everything was swallowed up by commercialized Hip Hop and Black music and culture has forever been effected, from that moment on.

Q. What was the first ever single you bought?

I can’t remember the first single I ever bought. I am the youngest of three children. My brother had a sound system so was constantly buying music, my sister was and still is, an avid collector of good music, and I always thought that what was theirs was mine…as any meddling little sister does!

R. Any chance of seeing you perform in South Africa soon?

I have been visualizing myself in South Africa performing Children of the Sun and Roots of Love sharing the stage with my sistrens, Demi Mseleku and the magnificent Thandiswa Mazwai. My first and only time performing in South Africa was six years ago, in fact it was a very pivotal time in my career, as Marsha soon left the group after. However, this time around I do not want to just fly in and perform and fly out. When I return I hope to be spending time in South Africa, and of course I look forward to performing too…but more then anything, I look forward to being there!

S. What is next for The Floacist in her career?

A more balanced expression of my creativity. I am poet, writer, orator and a member of my community first. These past 10 years have been based on laying foundations and navigating through the industry and all that comes with it! Now I want to get back to the true essence of my creativity, sharing not only my musical inflections of poetry, but also the written and theatrical aspects of the spoken word. Most importantly, I must give more in direct connectivity. I am just coming out of the hibernation that independence and ownership request of the spirit in order to align and recharge self. In a way, I have done so little, and I am very aware of that. So I am looking forward to more productivity and more selfless ventures of creative expression.

Nothing Ventured: ‘RISK’ Author Jason Staggie on His Daring New Novel

                                                                   AfriPOP! Magazine

Most people have one obsession in their lives. Jason Staggie has four. They are – socially conscious transgressive fiction, the art movement fluxus, edgy dialogue driven films, and African renaissance. Quirky? Well, find out more about this globe-trotting Cape Town native and his debut novel, RISK, released earlier this month.

Let`s start here, why the book?

Well, I’ve always loved novels by writers like Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh. After writing scripts in Korea and feeling fairly happy with my work I decided to take on a novel, but just for fun. When I started writing it I couldn’t stop. I didn’t really know where it was going, but it allowed me a certain degree of freedom that the script writing just wasn’t giving me. The Risk game itself was inspired by thoughts I had at university – about playing the ultimate dare game. Once I hit a stride with the writing I started thinking about  how I could make it a socially conscious transgressive work and this influenced the idea of the movement and the revolution that the main characters strive for in the book. I see myself as a Pan-Africanist and a very proud African, so naturally I will push those issues wherever I can in my creative works.

Does the book now qualify you as a writer/filmmaker, or you rather be known as a filmmaker?

I think that I can be considered a writer/filmmaker. I feel uncomfortable if I haven’t actually written the material, so the writing is considered part and parcel to who I am as an artist.

What is it about this city, Cape Town that makes it such an attracting well for storytellers from elsewhere in a variety of mediums – TV, film, literature etc.?

I think it’s the multicultural pulse of the city that tends to inspire people. There’s a lot of characters here to work with,  and the counterpoint of having such a stunningly beautiful backdrop for these stories is very, very enticing.

You’ve lived and worked in a vastly diverse set of locations: South Korea, Prague, Ireland to name a few. How did living in these countries influence your work, both in filmmaking and writing?

Travelling, and I mean living in a place, and not just being a tourist, does force one to engage with different thought processes. This is something that I find fascinating, and I’ve found that it’s made me more flexible as a writer and a filmmaker. I’m constantly willing to try different things and be spontaneous, because I am well aware that only looking at things from one confined perspective does not bode well for the bigger picture.

                 

                  

At your Cape Town book launch you referred a lot to the Tarantino style of presentation. Is this something you aimed to emulate when writing RISK?

Well, I’m a huge fan of Tarantino. I saw Pulp Fiction for the first time when I was 12 and since then all I’ve ever really wanted to do was make movies. But for RISK, I wasn’t really thinking along those lines bar for the writing of the dialogue. I know that I have a Tarantino-esque script in me, and I intend working on this in the next year or so. Although one comment stands out for me regarding Tarantino, and it came from my scriptwriting professor in Prague, filmmaker and writer, Diego Fandos. Diego said “Jason, you have to stop trying so hard to write like Tarantino. There’s only one Quentin Tarantino, much like there’s only one Jason Staggie.” Wise words.

You probably get asked a lot of you are related to the infamous Staggie twins. They are your uncles. How has their association with the Cape Flats` gangsterism in recent years enriched your own excursion, through your doc Hard Living, into understanding the culture?

That’s an interesting question. Making this documentary has given me a lot of perspective regarding the Cape Flats and indeed the way forward. It’s been a rewarding journey thus far, because in many respects I have learned about things that I had not thought of in the past. It’s my curiosity and perpetual questioning that drives Hard Livings as a film. I may be family, but I’m fairly sure that most people in Cape Town or indeed South Africa, are asking similar questions regarding gangsterism in the Cape Flats. And this is what is going to make Hard Livings a very powerful film.

Which African film and book has had a major impact on you as an artist?

One book stands out above any film and any other novel. Dambudzo Marechera’sThe House of Hunger. Marechera took me on a journey that no African writer had ever done before. In many ways he is the first transgressive African writer and his influence on me is very, very big.

Who is your best film/doc director?

That’s a difficult question. Tarantino would have to be number one. Then there’s a toss up between Werner Hertzog, Lucas Moodyson, Darren Aronofsky; Woody Allen; Stanley Kubrick; Park -Chanwook and Christopher Nolan.

Where to from here for Jason Staggie?

In addition to the Hard Livings documentary, I’m busy writing my second novel called Epic. Epic is about a breakup artist and his attempts to write an epic poem. One of my short screenplays got shortlisted for the Kevin Spacey Jameson prize, and I’m fairly sure that it didn’t win because it’s a little bit transgressive. This is a short film that deserves to be made so I’ll be working on this, too. Otherwise, I’m moving to Brazil next year to embrace a culture I’ve been fascinated with for a long time. I intend writing my Taratino-esque screenplay there as well as take on a secret project, one that I cannot really speak about at this time.

SAMA 18 is out of tune

                                                         Cape Town International Jazz Festival Magazine

Unlike others in Southern Africa, South Africans love protesting. Whether it be about unenclosed toilets, the latest foul language out of Julius Malema`s mouth or women harassment at taxi ranks. A protest is the standard reply to anything deemed detrimental to society. A little of struggle gymnastics, i.e. toyi-toying goes a long way in highlighting a thorny issue.

Lately, it seems as if we are not alone in this. Other parts of the world are catching up on letting their voice heard. Over the past twelve months protest action saw the toppling of dictators in what has become known as the Arab Spring. The Occupy movement unleashed a wave of mass demonstrations aimed at highlighting inequalities in the world economic system. TIME magazine has  awarded its Man Of The Year award to “The Protester” in 2011.

And it is not only about politics. The world`s best known music awards ceremony, the Grammy Awards, are the latest to be targeted, correctly so I believe. While the world was focused on the awards show and more especially on the tribute paid to slain songbird and icon Whitney Houston, an affair of a lesser “news-worthy” kind was taking place outside the awards venue simultaneously. Shielded away from the glitz and glamour of the red carpet parade, a group of artists, producers and fans staged a demonstration on the outskirts of the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The demonstration followed a decision by the Recording Academy, the Grammy`s overseers, to scrap various ethnic and minority categories from the awards. These include Native American, Native Hawaiian, Gospel, Latin Jazz and Blues from those to be recognized and awarded in the awards. The Recording Academy maintained that it took the decision “in the interest of upholding the prestige of the awards.” Over 8 million people online signed a petition demanding the reversal of this decision.

Similarities can be drawn with the unfolding situation leading up to this year`s South African Music Awards, which take place annually in September. SAMA CEO Randall Abrahams` announcement of the downsizing of the awards from 60 to 30 hit a sour note with the industry and the music-buying public at large. While some approved of the move, a significant number of figures in the music industry expressed sheer discontentment at the news.

Kwaito king Arthur Mafokate, who will now have to contend for an award with hip-hop acts after both categories were combined, said, “This is the end of the SAMAs. Kwaito music represents what township music is all about, why would they just dump the category?”. “I think both hip hop and kwaito are huge categories which should stand alone.” Universal Music Director Tom Holder stated. “The decision will harm the artists financially, and harm the profile of the affected categories”, said a music fan. “They claim they are fighting for artists` rights, but they are killing our indigenous music. How on earth do you merge mbaqanga and maskandi? They are two different genres “cried Tshepo Ndzimande, a traditional music record executive.

While award organizers talk about the maintenance of vague ideals such as “prestige” and “global excellence”, it is the music industry itself which suffers the consequences of misinformed decisions taken by some within it. Why, as demonstrated in both the South African and American scenarios, are indigenous and traditional music forms targeted when downsizing? Aren`t national creative industries supposed to uphold, celebrate and assert their own national identity?

Artists, managers, record labels, the local arts media and the fans cannot stand by idly while indigenous and proudly South African music forms are being frog marched into oblivion. It should be the other way round. We as South Africans, as we always do, and like people elsewhere, should take to the streets and voice our condemnation against this blatant attack on our creative expression and culture.   

Sharp Sharp - South African Street Culture Uncovered

                                                                                                                        AfriPOP! Magazine

UK-born Cape Town photographer Ed Suter worked for a long time in the film industry before going to study photography at the London College of Printing. In the UK he has worked as an on-set photographer for BBC and Channel 4. In South Africa where he now lives, he has photographed in a few different fields (with David Beckham, for example) and now additionally works as a designer using his images on a range of homeware products.
Suter’s new book Sharp Sharp – South Africa Street Style takes readers on a journey into South Africa`s urban hinterland, uncovering the pulse of Jozi, Cape Town and Durban’s street fashion and art.

Is Sharp Sharp your first book?

Yes. It was a project that I worked on as a hobby for a few years, shooting images that interested me and building up a collection. I used some of the graphic images of menus and signs on a range of placemats and got such a great response that I thought I might be on to something. I started shooting street fashion for a magazine at the same time. After about 3 years I thought I had quite a collection and approached the publishers with them. It was a very quick process – from the day I approached them to holding a finished copy of Sharp Sharp was one year.

What was the motivation behind the book, what did you want readers to know or learn?

The motivation only became clear later on in the process – I saw it as a celebration of the individual and individual talents. There are so many books celebrating the beauty of SA landscapes and wild animals etc but nothing that really shared my enthusiasm for the cities, especially the downtown. I am more interested in the downtown streets than shopping malls and manufactured public spaces. I think the book was me just saying, “look around you, there is all this colour, humor, art and design on our doorstep.” I have found that when you photograph something like a typical menu or mural promoting local fizzy drinks and take it out of its context, people stop and admire the beauty of it which they may have missed when they walk passed it every day.

In the book you mention 70s American street photography as having an influence on your work. How so?

Well, I really like that quote I used. I understand that process of seeing things and immediately wanting to photograph them to see them how they look as images. I can be visually greedy – there are some streets I went to where there was so much all around me I just wanted to shoot , shoot, shoot but had to sort of restrain myself and just look first. I wasn’t inspired by the 70s street photographs in the sense that they captured fly on the wall moments of street life – I wanted the people I photographed to co-operate with me and be part of the photo taking process. There are very few pictures of people that were unaware they were being photographed. I wanted people to put their best foot forward and show themselves off a bit rather than capture them unaware. So in that sense I was indeed influenced by the style of 70s street photography in America.



Elsewhere you also mention that you would love seeing graphic design students with a copy of Sharp Sharp in their hands. Do u think graphic design colleges are omitting something in relaying a uniquely South African approach to graphic design, as depicted in your book?

You know I really don’t know about that. I imagine that everything that is taught on graphic design courses is computer-based and what I loved about the graphics I photographed was that it is all done by hand. It’s not always perfect but has great character and humor. Seeing signwriters doing their craft was very inspiring, the one signwriter I work with quite closely says he has never been approached by a young person to teach him or her the trade so it’s a skill that may not be around for ever. What I meant by that quote was I wanted the size of the book to be the right size so that students could take it to college. I didn’t want Sharp Sharp to be a big hard cover coffee table book but a well thumbed book of inspiration.

You work with big brand ad campaigns. Do u use what u discovered in voyage making Sharp Sharp into these campaigns, or do you leave it aside in your work?

I think the reason I get asked to do some of that work is to bring that same Sharp Sharp style of photography to their images. I have some very exciting projects on the go with a major retailer adapting Sharp Sharp style photography to their needs. As a photographer I get asked to shoot so many different things – last week I was shooting skin creams in a studio – but I love that the work I enjoy doing as personal projects is now becoming the work clients ask me for.

The pictorial imagery is intercepted by quotes from the book`s subjects…the clothes dressers,the graffiti and signwriters. Why did you include these?

I wanted to “hear” their voices too – I also think the pictures need a bit of breathing space which the quotes provide, break up the pages of images a bit. Plus some of them are so articulate – Rasty, faith47 and Freddy Sam all have such a great way with words , it only adds to their art. I am always interested in hearing articulate people so I loved that we found so many and they gave the pictures some context.

How do you foresee the future of commercial and art photography in Africa,and particularly for Cape Town?

Everything is changing, the way photographs are requested, the way they are sold. I think you have got to stick to what you do and try not to get too distracted! Everyone is a photographer these days. I think photography is a huge tent and there is always room for more inside that tent if you bring a particular world view or mind set and not just another iPhone photo of a sunset. So I’m optimistic that like the return to an interest in craft, there is a return to a specific photographers and their skills rather than just using stock imagery. I’m not sure but I’m optimistic. Art photography is a tough sell – because everyone takes pictures, getting patrons to spend a lot of money on a photograph (unless you are one of a handful of world names) is difficult. Cape Town ! Well, swing a cat and you hit a photographer here! There will always be a lot of photographers here – what is great is seeing projects of love by CT photographers finding their way to the book shops like Sharp Sharp and the recent Bicycle Portraits books. No matter how publishing changes, nothing beats having a beautiful book of images printed on great paper in your hands.

                        

Go to Ed Suter’s official site for more information.