With the “Sexy. Crooked. Teeth.” 2010 OppiKoppi Festival recently behind us, those of you who were present may have noticed a string of fresh (and some not so fresh) faces within the band line-up. Indeed, amongst well-known talents such as Taxi Violence, Die Heuwels Fantasties and Gang of Instrumentals, the spotlight was also on artists such as Dutch electronica-rock outfit, C-Mon & Kypski and UK-based band, Philadelphia Grand Jury. After speaking to them I found, not surprisingly, that these bands are certainly worth the heads-up.

C-Mon & Kypski

C-Mon & Kypski are currently touring South Africa, and although they may already be well known in Europe, their fame looks to be on the rise locally, too. Below is a glimpse of what they had to share with me.

What have been some of your best experiences of South Africa whilst touring the country over the last two years?

The whole tour has been such a good experience. The people, the food, the nature… But I have to say that the thing that inspired me most was a gig we held in a township near Oppikoppi. We played at an elementary school and it was great to see the kids enjoying something they hadn’t seen before.

You’ve recently been exploring new musical avenues. What has been the most enjoyable part hereof?

Although we’ve always been exploring new musical territory, we’ve grown from a sample based cut ‘n paste collage-style band, into an explosive energetic live act that combines electronic music with traditional instruments. We use samples of all kinds of world music, which lately includes flamenco, dub-step and 80’s pop. We’re like a big sponge in that regard.

What can you tell me about your instruments? Are you subject to any brand loyalty?

Well, Kypski is in love with his custom-made Pork Pie Drums. He has a 10 deep snaredrum. Daniel had his guitar custom built: a double-neck sporting a guitar and a bass guitar. Because he plays both instruments and needs to shift from playing the one to the other very quickly, he came up with this design. Jori is all about analogue synths- he owns a Moog Voyager, for example. I use 2 MPC1000s on stage.

What have been some of your greatest achievements as a group?

Touring around the world feels like a great achievement, as that’s what we like doing best. We feel really privileged to see the world whilst making music. But playing the big Dutch festivals like Pinkpop (70.000), Lowlands (60.000) and North Sea Jazz was a great experience, too. Driving around the United States in a camper-van is another one!

Philadelphia Grand Jury

Added to my list of bands to watch out for is UK-based group, Philadelphia Grand Jury, who have included South Africa in their recent world tour. With their somewhat “out-there” soul/punk sound, they are certain to rock SA shores again soon. Here’s what they had to share:

You are an independently produced band. What have been some of your biggest challenges (and some of the best rewards) in producing your own music?

The hardest thing about being an independent band is not having any money to do some of the things that we have really want to do with our music.  But the payoff to that is that, when we do pull something off, the pride is all ours.

What are you plans for the next year? Are you working on an up-coming album?

We’ve managed to find a small space near where we are living in London that we have hired out to do some recording in.  The plan is to release a new single soon and then another album sometime next year.

What musical genre, if any, do you feel most comfortable describing yourself as?

When it boils down to it, we play pop music.  It’s probably not what everyone would call pop music, but that’s what we’re trying to do at least.  Maybe rock ‘n’ roll is more appropriate? Let’s go with soul/punk.

Is there a pressing message you strive to bring across to your audiences in your music, or do you try to keep it light-hearted?

There isn’t a conscious message we’re putting out there, but the majority of our songs are about the relationships that Berkfinger is in (or, more correctly, used to be in).

Where do you see yourselves in ten years time?

My mum just asked me that same question last night and I still haven’t been able to come up with an answer.