Category Archives: RhythmMusicStore
Latest Free South African Music Downloads at Channel 24
SAmp3.com (part of Sugar Music) has been the official supplier of free mp3s to Channel24 since 2004.
Jazz/Blues
To The Hills
Tristan Waterkeyn’s been around – born in Tanzania, moved to Kenya, then to Zimbabwe and then SA where he learned to play the guitar resulting in his debut solo album, Hay Day .
Afrikaans
Hoenderman
Kobus! was the power-rock SA duo formed initially in 2000 by Theo Crous (Nudies guitarist) and Francois Blom (ex-Voice of Destruction vocalist), here with a big track off their self-titled debut album .
Jazz/Blues
The Ballad Of Me And The Doctor
Some hip new Joburg blues from one of its troubadours off his new debut solo album, Too Early In The Journey .
Rock
Gypsy Boy
SA music legend Piet Botha and the Akkedis Band, Arthur and Rudolph Dennis and AJ Graham, have shared stages and jammed across Southern Africa resulting in their first joint album, One Night Only, recorded last winter and just released as The Lyzyrd Kyngs.
Jazz/Blues
Sibanisezwe
A track off Fox Hill Lane, this Kwazulu-Natal guitar wizard’s third album, beautifully textured with a whole array of instrumentation, all of these played by an equally impressive line up of established musicians.
Dance/House/Electro
Straight To The Hips
Warrick Sony unleashes his latest Kalahari Surfers’ album One Party State, featuring heavy dubstep style wobbly-bass-groove tracks and cut up voice samples.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Babhemi Ft. Sandile Ziqubu
A smoking hot track from this emerging artist off the popular album Special Rekwest .
Jazz/Blues
Undenzani
Mr J is Joel Martins who runs a small recording studio from his Cape home where he not only records his own creations, like The First Step , but also young aspiring artists from his local community.
Jazz/Blues
Inyandz Leyo
A great track off the debut album, Could It Be , from this all female jazz band from Durban.
Rock
Moontide
On their latest EP, World Among The Clouds , the band previously known as Nungarin has remolded their already unique and refreshing sound to produce a mixture of rock, tribal, african, and folk music.
Afrikaans
Babilon Blues
Some classic Afrikaans reggae from the SA music legend off his album, Niemandsland & Beyond!
Thandanani
This legendary SA singing trio formed in 1964 and is noted for its clear three-part harmonies, Mbaqanga township music and fast-paced mgqashiyo dancing, off the Afromagic collection.
Lyzyrd Kyngs album is now available
Released: 16th March 2012
Tracks:
- When You Get To Heaven
- The Day The World Lost It’s Mind
- Rosie
- Children Of Africa
- Kalahari Sands 305
- Blues For Robert
- Gypsy Boy
- Skoor Met Die Dood
- Same Damn Blues
- Evangeline
Musicians:
- Piet Botha: vocals, guitar, harmonica
- Arthur Dennis: vocals, guitar
- Rudy Dennis: vocals, drums
- AJ Graham: bass
Download:
Buy CD:
Latest Free South African Music Downloads at Channel 24
SAmp3.com (part of Sugar Music) has been the official supplier of free mp3s to Channel24 since 2004.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Fallin
Mingus is a well respected figure in SA Hip Hop who gathered all his friends from Germany,Sweden, the U.S. and South America to contribute to Beneath The Underdog his highly jazz influenced debut album.
Rock
Valkenberg Shuffle
Prime rat instigator Jonathan Handley wrote the tracks for this album, Spooky Obsession inspired by a real incident. Handley can be heard on bass, drums, vocals, spoken monologue and harmonica.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Trust Me Girl
Some stirring and melodic R&B rap pop on the title track off the new debut album from emerging South Artist artist Sylvester.
Rock
Wish you Were here
The recent musical show Crazy Diamond- A Tribute to Pink Floyd has been released as a double live album with 31 hit Pink Floyd songs, interpreted by guitar guru Mel Botes and his multi-talented band.
Afrikaans
Kom Dans ‘n Bietjie
The title track off Linda’s first ever Afrikaans album Kom Dans ‘n Bietjie is setting the dance scene alive.
Rock
Geheime Trane
The first single from this two-man acoustic punk/rock band from Pretoria formed as a side project by Deon Roos from Die Onbekende, and Raymond Roy Horn from Neontetra.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Heyo
Fabian Josephus (aka GlamaBoy) started free-styling at parties and worked with many underground hip hop artists from the Cape Flats before starting GlamaBoy’s Risk Taking, the group that won the Western Province Talent Promotions.
Rock
Green World
Heather Mac rose to prominence in the 80s SA rock music scene as the lead singer of Ella Mental – here with a track off her new album, WITHIN , a collection of personal songs gathered from the last 25 years of her life.
Jazz/Blues
Jazz Police
Skanky Corp are a well-known Cape Town based indie jazz collective, here with a note to extreme jazz fans off their album, Panic.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Isithandwa
On his debut album Life & Death , hip hop artist Shane Q sings about growing up with a love of music and his musical inspiration, American rapper 2 Pac.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
On the Otha Side
On Veraz’s debut album, From Joburg to Jamaica , this hip new local artist sings songs about ordinary life in Jeppe Street, xenophobia, love, nature and unity to workers.
Afrikaans
Met Hoeveel Lewens Moet Ons Nog Betaal
A track off new album Geskroef, an Afrikaans Blues album set against the backdrop of the social and political issues of this country.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ Wins Two Awards At Sundance Film Festival | PT Music
Press release for PT Music

Searching For Sugarman
In 2006 Swedish film producer Malik Bendjelloul visited Cape Town, South Africa as part of a world-spanning journey searching for inspiration for a new film. What he found was a story that was so unbelievable that if a scriptwriter had written it as a piece of fiction, it would have been rejected as being too far-fetched.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ took three years to complete and was filmed in Cape Town and Detroit, and other South African and US locations. The film had its international premiere on Thursday 19th January 2012, at the Sundance Film Festival held in Park City, Utah, USA as a representative of the World Documentary section.
Synopsis from Sundance Filmguide:
“Rodriguez was the greatest ’70s U.S. rock icon who never was. His albums [Cold Fact and Coming From Reality] were critically well-received, but sales bombed, and he faded away into obscurity among rumors of a gruesome death. However, as fate would have it, a bootleg copy of his record made its way to South Africa, where his music became a phenomenal success. In a country suppressed by apartheid, his anti-establishment message connected with the people.
When his second album finally gets released on CD in South Africa, two fans take it as a sign, deciding to look into the mystery of how Rodriguez died and what happened to all of the profits from his album sales. Since very little information about the singer exists, they meet many obstacles until they uncover a shocking revelation that sets off a wild chain of events that has to be seen to be believed. ‘Searching For Sugar Man’ is a story of hope, inspiration, and the resonating power of music”.
After the initial screening, Chris Lee from the Daily Beast wrote: “Following the rise, seeming demise, and re-emergence of an obscure but influential Mexican-American folk singer named Rodriguez, the movie premiered Thursday to tears, cheers, and a standing ovation from festival attendees”.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ garnered two awards, The ‘World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary’ and ‘World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize for its Celebration of the Artistic Spirit’. To receive both an audience award and a critics award is a very rare occurrence indeed and had only happened once before since Sundance was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford. It was also one the first films sold at the Festival, being snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics.
Rodriguez (who turns 70 this year in July) attended the festival and appeared with Malik Bendjelloul and Sugarman.org’s Stephen “Sugar” Segerman, after every screening. He also performed at the packed-out Sundance ASCAP Music Café. (see video below)
The Sundance Film Festival success of ‘Searching For Sugarman’ is another milestone in the strange and wonderful story of the man known, to his ever increasing fan base around the world, simply as Rodriguez.
Brian Currin
Sugarman.org
Sundance Press Release
http://press.sundance.org/38362?format=pdf&press=1
Sundance Filmguide
http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120073/searching_for_sugar_man
Sundance ASCAP Music Café
Kwela For Mandela – Randy Rambo En Die Rough Riders (aka Die Naaimasjiene)
From 1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Go Deaf
Kwela For Mandela – Randy Rambo En Die Rough Riders (aka Die Naaimasjiene) (Prisoner 46664 probably never heard this on its release)
Randy Rambo sounds like a promiscuous machine gun toting all American hero, but he wasn’t, he was Theuns Engelbrecht, a disaffected Afrikaaner growing up during apartheid’s death throes. He and his Rough Riders recorded an album called ‘Die Saai Lewe’ which achieved the unique feat of being the only Afrikaans album to ever be banned in its entirety by the apartheid government. The album was re-released in 1997 but under the guise of Die Naaimasjiene, the group’s new name.
‘Kwela For Mandela’ was one of the tracks on this album and was performed live at the Houtstok Rokfees and sounds like The Aeroplanes recording in a township in the 80’s. It’s got that township bass that I have always imagined is what actually powers the minibus taxis, and the 80’s synthesizers and slightly off key vocals that give it a home cooked feel. There is also a lovely jazzy trumpet interlude.
Of course the lyrics were controversial at the time. No one with a white skin was allowed to give Mandela the time of day, let alone a whole kwela (despite the song not really being kwela), but Randy was prepared to break with tradition and the result was this little gem which, although it got zero attention from the mainstream, was an important building block in the growth of Afrikaans rock music.
by John Samson
Where to find it:
Houtstok Rockfees – Various Artists (LP, 1990), Gallo, HOUT1
Houtstok Rockfees – Various Artists (CD, 1998) Wildebeest, WILD013
Die Saai Lewe – Die Naaimasjiene (1997)
Latest Free South African Music Downloads at Channel 24
SAmp3.com (part of Sugar Music) has been the official supplier of free mp3s to Channel24 since 2004.
Rock
Open
A track off Guitar Tunes the recent album from this acclaimed musician and composer accompanied by Prof Andrew Tracey of The Andrew Tracey Steelband.
Rock
Drive All Day
The new single from Summer Shade’s latest EP features a mixture of rock, tribal, African, folk and a whole lot more.
Afrikaans
Die Meisie Van De Aar
More Afrikaans Rock ‘N Tjank sounds from this singer-songwriter who is building a strong reputation for his incisive lyrics. This track is off his debut album My Hond Fanie.
Country/Folk
Coffee In The Rain
The new single from this five-piece folky group off their recent album Rhymes In The Attic.
Rock
Fire Still Burns
A track off this Johannesburg based singer-songwriter’s debut pop-rock solo album No Apologies .
Rock
Crossroads
This Storm Rekordz artist is a Malawian by origin, grew up in Zimbabwe and Mozambique and was selected to represented South Africa in Sweden at the Ethno Music Festival. This song is from the album Never Walk Alone .
Rock
Wage Your Wars
A new single off the Painting With Sound album from this Cape rock trio featuring Nelius Nortje, Jade Abbott and her booming bass, with Morné (Mojo) Barnardt on drums.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Hold Me Close
The first single from Ben Caesar, who will soon be launching his debut solo albumLe Tigra, an original and modern mix with insightful lyrics to express the theme of “the dynamic contrast between the grace and fierceness of the tiger”.
Rock
Raging Girl
This newly-released self-titled album by Pretoria-based rock outfit shows why they ruled the country’s rock stages for almost a decade with their progressive nu-metal live performances.
Country/Folk
Billboard Lights
A new single, and the title track off this emerging Cape-based female indie artist’s brilliant lo-fi album, Billboard Lights .
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Blow My Mind
A song off the EP Now That I’ve Got A Girl by this emerging artist and independent singer-songwriter.
Mockingbird
A track off the Stellenbosch band’s latest album, Shed You Skin, inspired by bands like The Dead Weather, The Black Keys and The Kills.
Channel 24: Latest Free South African Music Downloads
SAmp3.com (part of Sugar Music) has been the official supplier of free mp3s to Channel24 since 2004.
Jazz/Blues
Struggle
A song off the self-titled debut album featuring the smooth melodic Bosmont jazz of Isja on the Shifty Records anti-apartheid record label, which always provided a platform for independent SA music with a social message.
Pop
Daar’s n Vrou wat Wag
The debut album, Al’s Van Jou from this vibrant and enthusiastic singer, actor and in-demand MC is a not to be missed pop-tinged album filled with potential hit tracks.
Rock
Time Bomb
Still riding the wave of his Idols’ success, here’s Mark Haze and his rock band with a song from the album, Sober.
Country/Folk
Following a Shooting Star
On his debut album Feelings Out Of Sight, this old-school countryish musician still plays his Yamaha FG180 from the sixties on some of the songs he has written over the years.
Jazz/Blues
Elvis Presley Blues
Some downbeat blues from the enigmatic troubadour from Jozi off his debut solo album, Too Early In The Journey.
Wolwedans
Young, gorgeous and gifted. This describes the talented Lara Frances in a nutshell. Her new album, Little Rendition, is a delicious mixture of nu-folkish pop with the merest hint of rock.
Latest Free Music from Channel 24
Kings Music
A track from the reggae master off Afromagic, a spellbinding feast of magical African music showcasing the best artists on the African continent.
Touchy Touchy
First single off In You Go, the debut album by Card On Spokes – the solo electronica/hip hop/afrikaans/instrumental project of Cape Town based musician and producer Shane Cooper.
One for the boys
Brighter Than The Sun is the debut six-track EP from this talented young Cape artist who began building his skills as a lapslide guitarist which has now become his signature instrument.
Wolwedans
Young, gorgeous and gifted. This describes the talented Lara Frances in a nutshell. Her new album, Little Rendition, is a delicious mixture of nu-folkish pop with the merest hint of rock.
Shed Your Skin
This first single and title track off the Stellenbosch rockers’ new second album, topped 5fm’s local rock chart.
Don Wanna Go to Work
A hip hop artist, songwriter, singer, and record producer from KZN whose newly-released Durban Kings album rocks the house with pumping sounds and great beats.
Love Sweet Dreams
There’s a lot of interest around this new trio and their excellent 100% independent debut album Painting With Sound.
100 000 Keer
Pieter Smit and Ben van Zyl, two young musicians from Pretoria, combine their talents on this impressive English and Afrikaans album When This Whistle Blows.
Not About You
This radio-friendly, catchy and infectious love song is off the new album Breathing Dreams, on which he composed, produced and recorded 16 beautifully crafted, unique, brand-new Rock/Pop songs.
Emoticon Breakdown
Simply Dead is Toast Coetzer, Jane Breetzke and Jon Savage. The band formed in Cape Town in 2011 and have just released their first album, Emoticon Breakdown.
Did You Ever See A Kudu Cry
From the album Wild and Beautiful and Free, an album about the conservation of our wild creatures, from the rhinoceros to the blue whale, together with environments such as our natural forests.
All Apaches To The Snow
Some typically A-grade indie folk-rock from the Johannesburg musician’s recent album, Skinny Girls Are Trouble.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ To Open 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’, a new documentary about Rodriguez by Swedish film director, Malik Bendjelloul, will be one of the three opening films at next week’s 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
The film will have its international premiere next Thursday 19th January, at the Sundance Festival as a representative of the World Documentary section of the Festival.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ was completed over the past three years and was filmed in Cape Town and Detroit, and other South African and US locations.
More Info:
http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120073/searching_for_sugar_man
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118047898
http://collider.com/sundance-2012-film-competition-line-up/129488/#more-129488 – Searching for Sugar Man / Denmark, United Kingdom (Director: Malik Bendjelloul) — Rodriguez was the greatest ‘70s US rock icon who never was. Hailed as the greatest recording artist of his generation he disappeared into oblivion – rising again from the ashes in a completely different context many miles away. World Premiere. Day One Film.
For more info, please contact:
Sugar
Email: sugar@sugarmusic.co.za
Latest Free Music from SAmp3.com and Channel 24
SAmp3.com (part of Sugar Music) has been the official supplier of free mp3s to Channel 24 since 2004.
World Music
Did You Ever See A Kudu Cry
From the album Wild and Beautiful and Free, an album about the conservation of our wild creatures, from the rhinoceros to the blue whale, together with environments such as our natural forests.
Rock
All Apaches To The Snow
Some typically A-grade indie folk-rock from the Johannesburg musician’s recent album, Skinny Girls Are Trouble.
Rock
All These Foolish Things (I’ve Said)
A track from this highly-rated SA rock band off their debut album Tunnel Vision which was nominated for a Best Alternative Album: English SAMA.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
McDonalds
First single off his debut album, Life &Death from this hip hop artist whose inspiration is American rapper 2Pac.
Pop
Alive
The video for this new talented vocalist’s big hit off her debut album, Undiscovered was filmed at Silverstar Casino.
Rock
Anna Paquin
The Brothers Streep are an acoustic comedy band from Cape Town who gained international exposure when they were Skyped on BBC 1′s The Graham Norton Show to perform this track off their album, Suitable For The Whole Family.
Jazz/Blues
Knowers Ark
A track off the debut album As Above So Below from this innovative and acclaimed Cape Town jazz saxophonist.
Rock
Maybe Baby
First single off this new band’s long awaited debut album Nine Lives - these 12 foot-stomping, skirt-lifting, sister-kissing rock ‘n roll / rockabilly songs will have you up on your feet and dancing in no time.
Rock
Out of Rock
Putting the roll back into rock, Blackstoneradio combines back-leaning riffs with addictive vocal melodies by fusing 90s hard-rock with old school, classic rock.
Rock
Wanpersepsie
The Bloemfontein band who were the unanimous winners of a recent Rockspaaider competition with a new track off their debut album My Identiteit.
Dance/House/Electro
Control (Richard the Third Remix)
Produced with a harder, side-chain synth approach, its designed for the peak-hour dancefloor.
Rock
Sideways Lover
Putting the roll back into rock, Blackstoneradio combines back-leaning riffs with addictive vocal melodies by fusing 90s hard-rock with old school, classic rock.
Latest Free Music from SAmp3 and Channel 24
Maybe Baby
First single off this new band’s long awaited debut album Nine Lives - these 12 foot-stomping, skirt-lifting, sister-kissing rock ‘n roll / rockabilly songs will have you up on your feet and dancing in no time.
Out of Rock
Putting the roll back into rock, Blackstoneradio combines back-leaning riffs with addictive vocal melodies by fusing 90s hard-rock with old school, classic rock.
Wanpersepsie
The Bloemfontein band who were the unanimous winners of a recent Rockspaaider competition with a new track off their debut album My Identiteit.
Control (Richard the Third Remix)
Produced with a harder, side-chain synth approach, its designed for the peak-hour dancefloor.
Sideways Lover
Putting the roll back into rock, Blackstoneradio combines back-leaning riffs with addictive vocal melodies by fusing 90s hard-rock with old school, classic rock.
Somer Is Op Ons
Huis Najaar, a 5-piece Afrikaans rock outfit from PE, have been described by Van Coke Kartel as “somewhere between Jax Panik and Die Heuwels Fantasties”.
Met My Hart en Siel
The title track off this ex-Idols finalist’s long awaited Afrikaans album, which boasts twelve original catchy songs and styles which vary from jazz and contemporary, to rock and pop.
Jimmy The Lonesome
A new track off this amazing group’s second studio album, containing a total of 16 songs and featuring an eclectic mix of acoustic, country, rock and roll and blues.
Hamba Kahle Mkhonto
Some stirring sounds from this wonderful choir off their Freedom Songs collection on the African Cream label.
I Long To Know
This emotive Gospel hip-hop music draws from the scriptures for the underlying basis and inspiration to the lyrical styleand content of Worshiphop songs.
The Rescu: New SA band great reviews and upcoming gig dates.
“It was the first time I’ve watched them live and man, it’s not a lie
when Ard Matthews (Just Jinjer) and Marco Gomes (Prime Circle) say
that these guys are the next big thing in South Africa. They are tight
and their passion for making good music really shows up in their warm
and killer stage presence.”
The Rescu uplifts!
The Rescu released their debut album in August and has received great reviews up to date, complimenting the band as a new SA Rock act to look out for. Evan Milton commented in his article in Weekend Argus: “The Rescu have announced their arrival on the South African music scene with a definitive debut and a much more rounded package than many brand new bands.” Claire Martens from MusicReview.co.za commented “For a trio, they certainly know how to fill the speakers” and Jana van Heerden noted in her review on Artslink.co.za “There is no doubt that The Rescu is a solid band with a successful career ahead.”
The band drew their inspiration for the songs from various elements and life experiences. Their genuine and heartfelt love for South Africa and its people inspired many of the tracks. The band name expresses their desire for something relevant, something needed, something out of the ordinary; something that happens to be in the right place at the right time.
“As a band, we like the idea of getting people excited, being positive and focusing on the good stuff that life has to offer. Our performance as a band is an integral part of conveying a message of hope. We put a lot of effort into our live shows, we work hard at keeping the energy up and offering something special to the audience. We are all about bringing the rock and roll to every performance, having fun doing it and just letting the music say what it has to say. At the end of the day, our music is designed to inspire, to lift up. It`s about the triumph of the human spirit and its connection to the spiritual and physical world we live in.”
To date, The Rescu have performed with some of the biggest names on the SA music circuit, sharing the stage with Just Jinjer, Arno Carstens, Prime Circle, Foto na Dans and The Dirty Skirts. These performances, as well as the many smaller shows played by the band have given them the street cred they require to hold their own at any level of live performance.
Catch The Rescu live in November:
23rd November: &Union, Breestreet, Cape Town 8pm, free
26th November: Synergy Live, Main Stage, 3pm www.synergylive.co.za
27th November: V&A Waterfront with Prime Circle, 6pm, free
Website: www.therescu.com
Twitter: @therescuband
Facebook: www.facebook.com/therescuband.
Album available to download from Rhythm Music Store
Latest Free Music from SAmp3 and Channel 24
SAmp3.com (part of Sugar Music) has been the official supplier of free mp3s to Channel24 since 2004
Latest Free Music
Eventually
New single off the acclaimed comeback album, WITHIN, from the former vocalist for the ’80′s SA band Elamental.
Wa Wa Main Switch (Power Failure)
The title track off this album that features Township songs at their finest sung in seSotho andisiZulu with some wonderful messages.
Boer Se Nie Jammer Nie
Koos Kombuis described Malan as “the prophet of our times” and “a one-man cultural revolution” and said the songs on his “Alien Inboorling” were likely to force Afrikaners to “question everything we thought we knew about ourselves.”
Gatskop Blues
A track off “Geskroef!” An Afrikaans Blues album whose theme is the trials and tribulations endured by the nowdisadvantaged people of South Africa and it is set against the backdrop of the social and political issues of this country.
Liefde Soldaat
Adam is a dynamic and original male singing group and this track is about always being prepared to fight for the one you love.
Vir Almal
VCK’s first single was released for free download, even before the 2011 album was properly finished.
Six Winters
Lovely first single and title track off the new album from the acclaimed Johannesburg singer-songwriter Laurie Levine’s third album “Six Winters” has just been released through Rhythm Records.Laurie’s blend of American roots music and the ‘Nu-Folk’ sound has earned her critical acclaim and a growing audience.
Blacks R Fools
Skwatta Kamp’s legendary MC with an unabashedly political rap off his new album ‘Slikour Ventilation Volume 3’
Bach’s Kittens At Play
Sterling “Electric Quartet” has taken the South African entertainment industry by storm with their album, Nova,and their genre-defying musical style and sensational live performance.
Taking my Heart With You
The Cape Town rock band that features Idols contestant Mark Haze with a song off their new 6-track self-titled album.
Mors
The video for this new single off this emerging artist’s debut album, ‘Ongevraagde Hello‘, is the first of his string of video hits to be filmed in HD.
Bout To Blow
Some stirring and melodic R&B rap pop on this, the title track off the new debut album, from this emerging South Artist artist.
Lesley Rae Dowling’s debut album from 1981 now available to download
Tracks:
- The Spaniard
- Grips Of Emotion
- The Raven
- Somethin’ Goin’ On
- You
- Young Lochnivar
- Mama’s Leaving
- Oh, My Love
- Morocco
- Lady
- Sophistication
Release information:
1981, Warner Brothers Records, WBC 9020
2006, Fresh Music, freshcd149 (2LPs on 1 CD, with Unravished Brides)
2011, Next Music, digital re-issue
Review from SA Rock Digest #94, February 2001
The little lady with the big voice seemed to come out of nowhere, bursting on the radio in late 1981 with the powerful ‘Grips of Emotion’. The strength of this debut single meant that the album was one of the most eagerly anticipated on the local scene for a while. The final product simply entitled ‘Lesley Rae Dowling’ did not disappoint.
Masterfully produced by none other than Tully McCully, the album offered up 10 further tracks of the sultry, sexy rock that had made ‘Grips..’ so exciting. Dowling’s strong alto tones entwine themselves around the tight guitar playing of McCully, jostle for attention next to some slick guitar solo’s from the omnipresent Jethro Butow, or weave there way around her own well crafted keyboard playing.
She’s angry and seductive, reflective and mystical. She sings of the exotic (‘The Spaniard’ & ‘Morroco’) of the gothic (‘The Raven’) and the erotic (‘Grips of Emotion’). At times the album so sexually charged the album is almost a substitute for foreplay, yet she was somewhat of a recluse, seeming to shy away from public life. This was at odds with the strength of her voice and the upfrontness of her songs.
This must rank as one of the best debut albums by a South African artist, strong gutsy vocals coiled around a tightly produced backdrop of hard edged rock guitar and piano. The album is summed up in the title of the bluesy final track ‘Sophistication’.
John Samson, February 2001
Available to download from Rhythm Music Store
More info on the SA Rock Encyclopedia
Latest Free Music on Channel 24
SAmp3.com is the official aggregator for free MP3s on Channel 24 and for world-wide sales on Rhythm Music Store. For more information and easy step-by-step instructions, please visit Digital Music Sales.
Rock
Misplaced Credit
Misplaced Credit – First single from the Cape Town Eclectic Folk Rock group off their new, second album, Rhymes In The Attic.
Classical
Bach’s Kittens At Play
Sterling “Electric Quartet” has taken the South African entertainment industry by storm with their album, Nova,and their genre-defying musical style and sensational live performance.
World Music
Ebhayi
A song off the album The Journey: Marabi Moments, on which this specialist a capella group, in the mbube tradition, deliver a tribute to the music of two gifted South African composers.
Rock
Taking my Heart With You
The Cape Town rock band that features Idols contestant Mark Haze with a song off their new 6-track self-titled album.
Country/Folk
Six Winters
Lovely first single and title track off the new album from the acclaimed Johannesburg singer-songwriter Laurie Levine’s third album “Six Winters” has just been released through Rhythm Records.Laurie’s blend of American roots music and the ‘Nu-Folk’ sound has earned her critical acclaim and a growing audience.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
See Yah
Ash (Ashwell Erasmus) – See Yah – Something fresh from this very popular Port Elizabeth-based Gospel-Rap artist off his debut solo album, ‘House Party Vol.1‘.
Rock
Reciprocate
First single off this emerging Cape-based female indie artist’s brilliant lo-fi album, ‘Billboard Lights‘.
Afrikaans
Blikkie se Boom
Some Goema sounds from the Cape Kings of the genre off the ‘Voelvry’ compilation album of the wave of “alternative” Afrikaans music that swept the country in 1988/9. From Mr Mac & The Genuines.
R&B/Soul/Hip Hop
Blacks R Fools
Skwatta Kamp’s legendary MC with an unabashedly political rap off his new album ‘Slikour Ventilation Volume 3’
Rock
Sterre
A new track off the debut album, “2000 en Nag” from this 4-man Afrikaans hard rock band from Gauteng.
Rock
Rollercoaster To Insanity
The Otherwise is a four piece band out of Durban whose music is a blend of creative, dirty-sounding guitars and smooth, punchy bass lines over loud disco/punk/rock beats. Off She Doesn’t Care, She Wants To Dance.
Solo
Bronwyn Reddy’s debut album, Love Constant, is produced by the world renowned, SAMA award winning Mark Fransman. Her sultry soulful sound and poignant lyrics are the perfect ingredients for an adult contemporary album.
















































