Braamfontein street rocks to the sound of music

Duo captivates passers-by with energetic performance, bringing excitement and joy to the community.

A small crowd did not deter two musicians from giving a stellar performance on Bertha Street, Braamfontein on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.

Their soulful performance left the small audience in awe, and passers-by were so captivated they would stop for a moment to listen to singer and guitarist, Zimbabwe-born Vusumuzi Mkandla, and guitarist Nkanyezi Mazibuko who hails from KwaZulu-Natal.

The duo performed songs by well-known South African musicians including the likes of Zahara, Nathi Mankayi and the late Robbie Malinga. Mkandla’s countryman, the late Oliver Mtukudzi, also featured in their list of songs, as did Tracy Chapman, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

Vusumuzi Mkandla performs the track Bekezela by the artist Bekezela: Photo: Ayanda Mgwenya

They told Wits Vuvuzela that this was their first time busking in Braamfontein and they appreciated the warm reception and monetary contributions as a token of appreciation, encouragement and support.

“I am still quite new in the industry,” said Mkandla. “I started playing the guitar in 2019/20 and started singing in 2022.”

The two met on social media platform TikTok in January and decided to collaborate. In March they established their music production company, Mbuso Production, with the hope that one day they would build a musical empire that would connect people, especially in Africa, through music.

“We usually perform at the streets in Maboneng, and we’ve just begun doing gigs at a local restaurant in Maboneng called Bertrand Café,” Mazibuko said.

A woman who was in the small crowd said that this was a welcome experience for her because school had drained her. “I enjoyed the performance,” she said.

Mazibuko and Mkandla ended with a performance of their very first original song titled Inyok’encane. They plan to release their first joint extended play (EP) in July followed by Mkandla’s second album in September.

FEATURED IMAGE: Vusumuzi Mkandla and Nkanyezi Mazibuko perform in front of a small crowd in Braamfontein. Photo: Ayanda Mgwenya

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“Cyber Guitarist” and crew to rock Great Hall

Three cities concert with “cyber-guitarist” and Wits music lecturer to rock the Great Hall on 28 April.

HACKED EQUIPMENT: The “cyber-guitarist” Jonathan Crossley stands with his heavily modified Ibanez guitar that he will play at the 3 cities concert in the Great Hall on 28 April. Photo: Reuven Blignault.

HACKED EQUIPMENT: The “cyber-guitarist” Jonathan Crossley stands with his heavily modified Ibanez guitar that he will play at the 3 cities concert in the Great Hall on 28 April. Photo: Reuven Blignault.

Three cities, three musicians, one Great Hall.

Wits music lecturer and “cyber guitarist” Jonathan Crossley will unite with New York based drummer, Lukas Ligeti and Capetonian drummer, Jonno Sweetman for a performance of epic proportions in the Great Hall on Tuesday, 28 April.

In the hopes of duplicating the success of last year’s show, the trio will come together again in the hopes of making an even more successful performance.

Crossley will be performing on his unique cyber guitar system, a hardware “hacked” Suzuki Omnichord, as well as playing an array of other unique instruments.

Jonno Sweetman, a musician and avid surfer, will be packing his surfboard away and bringing his drumsticks on his way from Cape Town.

With 32 years of study, Crossley is a classically trained guitarist, but on stage he appears to be something of a combination of man, robot, and guitar.

Crossley put on a world-first musical performance a few months ago, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for his doctorate in music.

It took Crossley three years to create what he calls his “hardware hacked electric jazz guitar”. Crossley describes himself as a guitarist, technologist, cyber-protagonist and composer.

When asked about his “unique” instrument, Crossley describes “the instrument system itself is completely software free… no PCs or laptops are engaged actively whatsoever in the performance and further no music is pre-prepared in a recorded audio format. All music is improvised wholly live”.

“The performance will be completely unlike traditional music, which is either pre-prepared or improvised over a predesigned set of constraints”, Crossley said illustrating further on the upcoming performance.

Lukas Ligeti will be jetting in from New York where John Zorn’s Stone Club where they have recently presented a week-long retrospective of his work. Ligeti lives in Joburg and New York and is currently completing his PhD at Wits.

Ligeti often leads or co-leads several bands such as Burkina Electric (the first electronic band from Burkina Faso), Sonic Youth and the Grateful Dead. Ligeti has collaborated with musicians across Africa, and in 2010 he received the Alpert Award in Music.

Jonno Sweetman is much in demand as a drummer and has played with the Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner, Kyle Shepherd, and has travelled beyond his borders to perform in Europe and Asia.

The trio will be performing improvisations between each other, playing original works and rock classics from bands such as Nirvana.

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