Zakes Bantwini Interview
Durban-based Zakes Bantwini is renowed for his percussion-based sound but perhaps is better known as the man who discovered Kwaito sensation L'vovo Derrango and for his collaborations with DJ Black Coffee. Zakes is also owner of the independent record label Mayonie Productions, which he established in 2004 and has himself featured on labels including Sonar Kollektiv, Tribe Records, Giant Steps and Paradise Sound System.
I started my music career back in 2000 when I went to study music in SA at Technikon Natal which later changed to Durban University of Technology in KZN. I was a music student and later opened my company back in '04. My first artist did 3 platinum albums, next one gold and the rest is history. So my career started as a student, then exec and later as a frontline artist.
Back then the record company I used to love was not a DJ label but an artist label and was not signing dance artists, but neo-soul artists called Hit It Bitch from Philadelphia. I loved the style of artists they used to sign and how the company prioritised the music. At the time people were doing things in my city Durban and the guy was DJ Sox. He was the guy we all looked up to and was within our age group, we wanted to be like him. He had a abeautiful car, nice house, big business - he used to hire sound gear out for events. Everyone wanted to be in his corner and books because he was throwing amazing parties. I think without him the city of Durban wouldn't be where it is today when it comes to music.
In SA there's so many creatives in music and the world has been missing the African scene for so long. Now the internet and all its platforms are now available for the world to consume music in different regions through these platforms such as spotify, beatport, apple music etc. We now see more and more people pay attention to what is happening in Africa. We are yet to see much more as we also set out to unearth a lot of talent through my record label All Electronic Music (AEM).
Lockdown caught us by surprise. In SA most artists last worked in December. Jan, Feb people going back to school and work, gigs were really to begin again around March and this was the month Lockdown started. No artist was prepared but we try to make it work via our social media platforms and virtual shows to connect with our audiences. Together with my team, DJ Sox, and Kgoulo we are setting up a drive-in concert. We are still not allowed to do events in SA, but we are prepared to stage the first drive-in concert in SA. We've confirmed the venue, media partnership, line-up, we 're ready to go. That's one thing we have been working on that will contribute to the scene. Every Sunday I have been doing Love, Light & Music every Sunday from 3-4 for my fans to hear new sounds out there and connect with them.
Not Really, no routine per say. I just work on the idea as it comes. Lately I've been in the studio 24/7, lockdown has brought a lot of inspiration, really spending a lot of time in the studio, last time I spent this much time was back in '06 when I was working on my first album. Even if Im not working on a song, but just being there listening to music and building on ideas.
The environment I find myself in, I think that's what inspires me musically. A person that inspires me a lot is Fela Kuti, everytime I listen to his music I always get flooded with ideas, so put me in an environment that is inspirational I'll be inspired, play me Fela, I'll be inspired. Beautiful cities with beautiful people, dressed well - such as Paris, Italy.
I've worked with a lot of people, I think people are always inspired by my story and black coffee, we worked a lot together in our careers. His second album, the song JuJu is the song that made people really pay attention. We then went on to collaborate on an album, which was my album Love, Light & Music, 2011 did Take it all off on his album and again in 2012 for his Africa Rising dvd. A lot of people really enjoyed that. So I think that's one of the most noticeable and the other one would be my artist L'vovo or former artist, everything we did together was successful. Another one is one of my most recent remixes of a guy called Lauv, one of the world's leading Independent artists. Now again, with my brother Leroy Styles on our new single Yekokwam which is a follow up to a collaboration we did together Nyoni Yezulu.
Leroy has the same Ideas that I have, we connect when it comes to music and the direction of what we want to achieve. I think that's what makes it so seamless to work together. There's nothing he does that I don't like and there's nothing I do that he dont like. It's a miracle man, and I'd love for it to stay this way so we make so much more music, I'd never say no to another collaboration with him.
Paradise Sound System (PSS) is record company that i knew through my manager Sarah Jane Nicholson whom is a part owner, so I understood the vision and knew the owner and understand where they want to go which is where I also want to go. We needed to find a release partner for the collaboration and it was a no-brainer that PSS would be the perfect partner. I'm going to release much more with them. When the song was ready and all parties was happy to release via PSS everything went ahead smoothly, and PSS has been amazing in rolling out the song.
Yes definitely, I have an album coming out this year called All Electronic Music named after my new record label. I'm working on it and about 70% complete now.
In SA right now data for the internet is the most expensive thing, we probably number 1 in the world, that's why the streaming platfroms are still struggling, because people aren't able to buy data for internet. We still have a huge CD's market. I was caught by surprise by the anticipation especially on Shazam, I was extremely happy, people are still excited after so many years.
It consists of the CDJ'S, mixer, keys, laptop, soundcard for different sounds coming from Logic and a microphone.
Yo man, I think Amanga, my last single before Yekokwam. I collaborated with MoBlack and Nana Atta. It really travelled and made a lot of people happy.It kind of introduced Zakes Bnatwini to new people and spaces.
I think it's the A&R team and the partnerships the label has.
Daft Punk, Kanye West and Quincy Jones.
I'm looking for my own label AEM, haha. I think we are very good at Identifying songs, my A&R team source out mad crazy songs. We don't have a lot of dance labels in SA, there's Soul Candi and House Africa which I can think of that I grew up with. There's also a young label coming, Stay True Sounds by Kid Fonque.
It’s the Home of African Electronic. We have a lot of labels in SA but not for pure dance music, so we wanted to concentrate on electronic dance music. There's a lot of great producers in SA that don't have means or access to release their music on a global stage and we've got the right partners in PSS to make this happen. Most African producers find themselves having to connect with EU labels because they don't know anyone within the continent, but with us they will know us and have direct access and be able to reach us physically and see us, walk in our offices, provide that kind of accessibility. We pride ourselves in understanding their languages to better help understand the guys we will be working with and their cultures not just their music.
These days I try to at least finish two songs a week as I'm gearing up to my album. I'm married, I have 2 kids within marriage and others out of marriage so there's also that. I try to make everything work and find balance. My son and daughter wake up at 06:30, I was my son and wife washes daughter. Play with my son till about 12, then he naps then my wife takes over and I can be in the studio.
The rest of the year I'm releasing my album and will be doing my Live Electronic Set with a 30 piece choir for choral sessions we have been conceptualised. Hearing great classics with all that voices and remixed such as Touch The Sky and my classic Clap Your Hands. Also the Drive-In concert, those are the major things then the year will be over.
Where can people follow you?
Zakes Bantwini Interview
Durban-based Zakes Bantwini is renowed for his percussion-based sound but perhaps is better known as the man who discovered Kwaito sensation L'vovo Derrango and for his collaborations with DJ Black Coffee. Zakes is also owner of the independent record label Mayonie Productions, which he established in 2004 and has himself featured on labels including Sonar Kollektiv, Tribe Records, Giant Steps and Paradise Sound System.
I started my music career back in 2000 when I went to study music in SA at Technikon Natal which later changed to Durban University of Technology in KZN. I was a music student and later opened my company back in '04. My first artist did 3 platinum albums, next one gold and the rest is history. So my career started as a student, then exec and later as a frontline artist.
Back then the record company I used to love was not a DJ label but an artist label and was not signing dance artists, but neo-soul artists called Hit It Bitch from Philadelphia. I loved the style of artists they used to sign and how the company prioritised the music. At the time people were doing things in my city Durban and the guy was DJ Sox. He was the guy we all looked up to and was within our age group, we wanted to be like him. He had a abeautiful car, nice house, big business - he used to hire sound gear out for events. Everyone wanted to be in his corner and books because he was throwing amazing parties. I think without him the city of Durban wouldn't be where it is today when it comes to music.
In SA there's so many creatives in music and the world has been missing the African scene for so long. Now the internet and all its platforms are now available for the world to consume music in different regions through these platforms such as spotify, beatport, apple music etc. We now see more and more people pay attention to what is happening in Africa. We are yet to see much more as we also set out to unearth a lot of talent through my record label All Electronic Music (AEM).
Lockdown caught us by surprise. In SA most artists last worked in December. Jan, Feb people going back to school and work, gigs were really to begin again around March and this was the month Lockdown started. No artist was prepared but we try to make it work via our social media platforms and virtual shows to connect with our audiences. Together with my team, DJ Sox, and Kgoulo we are setting up a drive-in concert. We are still not allowed to do events in SA, but we are prepared to stage the first drive-in concert in SA. We've confirmed the venue, media partnership, line-up, we 're ready to go. That's one thing we have been working on that will contribute to the scene. Every Sunday I have been doing Love, Light & Music every Sunday from 3-4 for my fans to hear new sounds out there and connect with them.
Not Really, no routine per say. I just work on the idea as it comes. Lately I've been in the studio 24/7, lockdown has brought a lot of inspiration, really spending a lot of time in the studio, last time I spent this much time was back in '06 when I was working on my first album. Even if Im not working on a song, but just being there listening to music and building on ideas.
The environment I find myself in, I think that's what inspires me musically. A person that inspires me a lot is Fela Kuti, everytime I listen to his music I always get flooded with ideas, so put me in an environment that is inspirational I'll be inspired, play me Fela, I'll be inspired. Beautiful cities with beautiful people, dressed well - such as Paris, Italy.
I've worked with a lot of people, I think people are always inspired by my story and black coffee, we worked a lot together in our careers. His second album, the song JuJu is the song that made people really pay attention. We then went on to collaborate on an album, which was my album Love, Light & Music, 2011 did Take it all off on his album and again in 2012 for his Africa Rising dvd. A lot of people really enjoyed that. So I think that's one of the most noticeable and the other one would be my artist L'vovo or former artist, everything we did together was successful. Another one is one of my most recent remixes of a guy called Lauv, one of the world's leading Independent artists. Now again, with my brother Leroy Styles on our new single Yekokwam which is a follow up to a collaboration we did together Nyoni Yezulu.
Leroy has the same Ideas that I have, we connect when it comes to music and the direction of what we want to achieve. I think that's what makes it so seamless to work together. There's nothing he does that I don't like and there's nothing I do that he dont like. It's a miracle man, and I'd love for it to stay this way so we make so much more music, I'd never say no to another collaboration with him.
Paradise Sound System (PSS) is record company that i knew through my manager Sarah Jane Nicholson whom is a part owner, so I understood the vision and knew the owner and understand where they want to go which is where I also want to go. We needed to find a release partner for the collaboration and it was a no-brainer that PSS would be the perfect partner. I'm going to release much more with them. When the song was ready and all parties was happy to release via PSS everything went ahead smoothly, and PSS has been amazing in rolling out the song.
Yes definitely, I have an album coming out this year called All Electronic Music named after my new record label. I'm working on it and about 70% complete now.
In SA right now data for the internet is the most expensive thing, we probably number 1 in the world, that's why the streaming platfroms are still struggling, because people aren't able to buy data for internet. We still have a huge CD's market. I was caught by surprise by the anticipation especially on Shazam, I was extremely happy, people are still excited after so many years.
It consists of the CDJ'S, mixer, keys, laptop, soundcard for different sounds coming from Logic and a microphone.
Yo man, I think Amanga, my last single before Yekokwam. I collaborated with MoBlack and Nana Atta. It really travelled and made a lot of people happy.It kind of introduced Zakes Bnatwini to new people and spaces.
I think it's the A&R team and the partnerships the label has.
Daft Punk, Kanye West and Quincy Jones.
I'm looking for my own label AEM, haha. I think we are very good at Identifying songs, my A&R team source out mad crazy songs. We don't have a lot of dance labels in SA, there's Soul Candi and House Africa which I can think of that I grew up with. There's also a young label coming, Stay True Sounds by Kid Fonque.
It’s the Home of African Electronic. We have a lot of labels in SA but not for pure dance music, so we wanted to concentrate on electronic dance music. There's a lot of great producers in SA that don't have means or access to release their music on a global stage and we've got the right partners in PSS to make this happen. Most African producers find themselves having to connect with EU labels because they don't know anyone within the continent, but with us they will know us and have direct access and be able to reach us physically and see us, walk in our offices, provide that kind of accessibility. We pride ourselves in understanding their languages to better help understand the guys we will be working with and their cultures not just their music.
These days I try to at least finish two songs a week as I'm gearing up to my album. I'm married, I have 2 kids within marriage and others out of marriage so there's also that. I try to make everything work and find balance. My son and daughter wake up at 06:30, I was my son and wife washes daughter. Play with my son till about 12, then he naps then my wife takes over and I can be in the studio.
The rest of the year I'm releasing my album and will be doing my Live Electronic Set with a 30 piece choir for choral sessions we have been conceptualised. Hearing great classics with all that voices and remixed such as Touch The Sky and my classic Clap Your Hands. Also the Drive-In concert, those are the major things then the year will be over.
Where can people follow you?