A Newbian Thursday

Goeie dag! (Afrikaans for Good day)

To get the necessary juices flowing from my noggin, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Riaan Botha, Ri for short, and I hail from the Southern tip of Africa. Herewith be my first posting for the fantabulous WHO NEEDS RADIO? whom I've been an avid reader of for quite sometime and am now a honoured part of the contributing crew.

Being from South Africa, Johannesburg to be exact, I will be posting about artists from all over the world (oh how the world seems so small when connected to the web), but will definitely give a concise lowdown on the little underground scene happening here. Third world country means third world commercial music industry. This in turn means that most local bands that ever see international exposure from South Africa are ten to one a copy act (see what I did there? Cat bent backwards licking itself?) of an international trend 2 years prior to its incarnation. I hope to rectify this situation in any little way I can by posting on the wonderful artists residing in our fair wee country, collectively damning the man...

Alas, the great little band I was first going to post on, homebred and all, ran into a slight snag with getting me their tracks in time, even with the few hours I am ahead timezone wise... Instead, whilst pondering the science of such facts, I have decided to go with a great little nugget of psych pop via Brighton's indie hopefuls, Homescience.


Homescience have been releasing singles, EPs and albums since about 2001 with the bulk of their catalogue split between two labels, Damaged Goods (Holly Golightly etc.) and The Track and Field Organisation (Essex Green, Comet Gain etc.) . This year will see them come into their own, maybe even (and rightfully so), reach a wider audience. I am trying to instill this with as much vigour as possible since their new material is another step up for them. With lots of Phil Spektor era influences and definite nods to the fabulous four, I can't see why this band has not received it's fair share of indie cred. Especially since bands like Starlight Mints and Crystal Skulls have. The hooks are there and they're damn catchy and each song keeps things interesting with some experimental bits for good measure. Take a listen for yourself to the Beatlesque vibes of "Kill yer mind" for example, also the Olivia Tremor Controlled bridge in "Introducing Nancy and the Kreeps". Then I did include a bonus older track for all you dear readers to give an idea of where this talented quartet are coming from. "Don't shirk" has definite Pet Sounds noodling happening in there... I am sure there's plenty of appeal for fans of the above mentioned as well as anyone who got a refresher course in Spoon's fantastic songs with the soundtrack to Stranger than Fiction (which only saw release on cinema's here recently by the way).

The new album Horse is finished, but label or release date is yet to be confirmed.
Introducing Nancy And The Kreeps ( from Horse)
Kill Yer Mind (from Horse)

Bonus:
Don't Shirk (from Songs for Sick Days)
+ Myspace

I sincerely hope this is the start to a wonderful world of sharing.

Yours (and please feel free to recommend stuff and comment too),
Ri