Deur Louw Mulder

Vat nou byvoorbeeld die klanke van Mumford and Sons, asook die Lumineers wat eerskomende maand hier in Suid-Afrika optree, sit ‘n tikkie varsgeskryfde woordkuns en die mooiheid van Afrikaans daarby, en jy kom na aan ‘n beskrywing van Kaleidoskoop se musiek.

Ek was bevoorreg om die bekendstellingsgeleentheid van Kaleidoskoop se nuwe album Gunsteling Seisoen by die Atterbury Teater by te woon. Die gesellige en intieme stemming van die verhoog het absoluut bygedra om definisie aan die musiek op hierdie nuwe album te gee.

“As ek al my vele liefdeslirieke wat uit my hart uit bloei, ongerep kon laat swerwe tot die dag wat jou liefde oor my vloei… As al my woorde alleenlik net oor jou kon spoel, sou dit wees soos wat dit moes, want my woorde is net vir jou bedoel”; so lui die lirieke van die liedjie Dromer, wat een van die snitte op Kaleidoskoop se nuwe album is. Dit is ook ‘n goeie indikasie van die diep, pragtige taalgebruik wat in die gediglirieke van elke liedjie gevind kan word.

Jouba en Anique Jordaan is die twee harmonieuse stemme agter die melodieë van Kaleidoskoop. Saam met die wonderlirieke, is hierdie oud-Maties van Stellenbosch ook verantwoordelik vir die musiek, vervaardiging en verwerking van die eindproduk. Groot name soos Gideon Botes, Jattie de Beer en Ben Ludik is onder andere deel van die skeppers van hierdie album.

Die musiek van Gunsteling Seisoen is liedjies wat praat. Nie net is die stories agter elke snit ‘n verhaal van diepe en goeddeurdunkte verbeeldingswêrelde nie, die musiek agter die musiek is wat hierdie stories lewe gee. Hulle verwys na hulle eie musiek as akoestiese Afrikaanse Folk Pop. Die beste is maar om hierdie album self aan te skaf, en jou eie beskrywende woorde uit te dink.

By die bekendstelling was die verwerkte musiek van die album met deernis gedupliseer, om elke lid in die gehoor ‘n perfekte idee te gee van wat hulle op die CD kan verwag. Daar was van banjo’s en ‘n Ukulele wat van die unieke klanke voltooi het, saam met saksafone, viole en ‘n trekklavier om die oorspronklikheid ten toon te stel.

By hierdie bekendstelling moet ek Gideon Botes en Jason Ferreira uitsonder, wie se snaartalent duidelik bygedra het tot die Kaleidoskoopervaring. Met hierdie vergeet ek glad nie van die ander tien musikante en kunstenaars op die verhoog nie. Elke klank van die musiek was oorspronklik, sonder enige byvoegings van sintetiseerders. Ek dink dit is wat hierdie klanke ‘n beduidende voordeel bo ander hedendaagse musiek gee.

Gehore by die drie bekendstellingskonserte was nie net geseënd met die nuwe skeppings van Gunsteling Seisoen nie, maar ook deur Kaleidoskoop se eie weergawes van Brandi Carlile se The Story, Michael Jackson se Billie Jean, en Zombie van die Cranberries, wat op hulle Acoustic Covers album gesny is. Persoonlike gunstelinge vir die aand was hulle eie weergawe van Pinocchio, asook die snit Moedersmelk van die album Platsak, waar die verwerking tussen kitare en perkussie vir egte Suid Afrikaanse hoendervleis gesorg het.

In 2012 moes Kaleidoskoop hulle kabinette afstof om plek te maak vir die Tempo Toekenning vir Beste Kontemporêre album van die jaar.  Nog vroeg om die sukses van Gunsteling Seisoen te voorspel, maar net die beste kan verwag word van hierdie album.

Die liedjie Vlugvoetig is my persoonlike gunsteling, en ‘n briljante keuse as die openingsnit op hierdie album. Al Kaleidoskoop se musiek, asook Gunsteling Seisoen, kan aanlyn gekoop word by http://kaleidomusiek.co.za/

Vanaf hulle nuwe album, is die eerste enkelsnit wat vroeër uitgereik is, met die naam Wegbreek. Hierdie liedjie is geskryf in samewerking met Christiaan Kritzinger, en die video, as ‘n Kaleido-lusmaker, is hieronder!

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by Louw Mulder

It’s been 20 years since we, as the matric class of 1996, took our final walk across the stage to the music of Michael Jackson’s They don’t care about us. I also remember the event where I made out to my first varsity crush on the song Can you feel it, also by Michael Jackson as part of the Jacksons. So much more memories were created which are somehow linked to one or the other Michael Jackson song, and sitting in the audience of Forever Jackson during the opening performance in the Joburg theatre, I experienced more than a show… It was a trip down my own memory lane, creating an electric and vibrant nostalgia of what we can surely call the good old days.

But way back then, I became a fan of Michael Jackson when lyrics of his famous song Man in the Mirror really sank in, and became one of my life mottos. Most songs somehow have that single line of truthfulness which just sticks for many years to come. When thinking of the late Michael Jackson, I always think of these lyrics: ”If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change”!

As is the case with most powerful and successful celebrities during the late 20^th century, there were scandals, controversy, and titbits of media sensation, exposing these stars to mass destruction of their reputation and image. However, it was their music that stood the test of time, that proved the real success of their work. With Michael Jackson, there was no exception to this rule! In Forever Jackson, the most impressive imitation and tribute show of Jackson so far in all my years of covering theatre productions, the focus is on the legend and his music, with all the negative tabloid gossip forgotten.

To recreate the onstage persona of icons like Michael Jackson, will never be 100% doable, but the UK’s number one impersonator Robin Parsons, comes as close as it gets. In an attempt to mirror Michael Jackson, you must consider the ultimate threesome of tailored MJ trademarks; the voice, the look, and the moves. Parsons’ impersonation of the King of Pop was spot on, and after seeing a few Michael Jackson doubles, this imitation will be hard to… Beat It. For Michael Jackson’s 45^th birthday celebrations, Parsons had the privilege of performing as MJ, in front the real McCoy. With the nod of approval from the man himself, it was confirmation that Parsons had ticked all three boxes.

When you are a daydreamer like me, and you allow your own imagination to fill in the small gaps, you can experience Forever Jackson, as if it was the Moonwalker himself on stage. It takes Parsons almost three hours to perfect his make-up, resembling Michael Jackson’s face with so much detail – the high cheekbones, and somewhat enlarged nostrils.

The silhouettes and postures, familiar and own to Michael Jackson, were as if Parsons had been taught by Michael Jackson himself. The hard work really paid off considering that Parsons spent 17 years studying Michael Jackson in meticulous detail to produce the closest complete likeness currently performing today. The singing was imitated astoundingly, with even the distinctive high register vibrato sounds adding to the disbelief that Michael Jackson has actually passed. The perfected moonwalk completed this threesome.

Parsons is accompanied on stage by four dancers from the UK’s Hip Hop Pop group, assuring that the stage experience is being kept exciting. Even though the production is audibly enhanced by epic-sounding tracks, there is a live guitarist, bassist and drummer on stage. I want to compliment respectively, Shane Lee, Alex Preston and Don Bannister for their individual roles in this production. It is one thing to play your instruments in order to create the perfect sounds, but along with this, comes the energy necessary to compliment the main act, and in this show it was in abundance.

The production features famous, and some not so famous hits throughout the life of Michael Jackson, to the likes of Dirty Diana, I want you back, Beat It, Don’t stop till you get enough, to name but a few. The tracks that stood out for me were Man in the Mirror, Billie Jean, Black or White, Thriller, and the best of the night, Earth Song.

It was in the end a well-produced production, with the wildest expectations met. Well done to Richard Wood, the production manager and choreographer Jenny Bater-Sinclair, who rolled this concert out from the creative seats. I have to mention the superb infrastructure and setup of the Joburg Theatre, whose lighting and sound capabilities contributed to the wowness of creating a full pop concert vibe on their stage.

If I am asked whether Forever Jackson is worth seeing, it’s a definite yes. It has all the elements of reliving the late Michael Jackson’s career, in one electrifying, intimate environment.

The message though, is as if it was intentionally appropriate and applicable for today in South Africa: “Heal the world. Make it a better place. It don’t matter if you’re black or white, if you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change.”

Forever Jackson is on the Mandela stage at Joburg Theatre, and will run until 19 June.

Photos by Mariola Biela

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