A GROUP of young musicians are working hard to break through into the music scene.
Lunathi Drops and Nasiphi Zwane formed a duo called The Remedy last year, which is part of a collective called BlackArt Entertainment.
The Remedy started out performing at schools and at awards ceremonies, and according to Lunathi, they focused on covers and didn’t write their own tracks.
“We just did acoustic tracks playing guitars and with me rapping and then decided to experiment with the producing aspect. We came up with a beat and experimented with rap and as we had about six or seven beats, we thought we might as well start working with other artists,” said Lunathi.
BlackArt Entertainment was born out of this, when the men started working with artists Asante Mkhize and Buyi Patros.
“We thought we would try and see how their vocals would go with our beats, and it worked well. We have only performed at an album launch in KwaNyuswa this year as we have been focused on our music and finding our feet. We are now recording and will start on performing some gigs next year. We are looking at doing open mic sessions at The Winston as a start,” said Nasiphi.
The Remedy has released a song called Down on This, which is on the group’s Facebook page (The Remedy SA). They are also working on an EP called From Scratch.
Lunathi grew up near Mandeni in a township called Emondlo, and said he never saw himself as a musician, although he was a huge fan of music.
He came to Durban in 2014 to study and obtain a national diploma in translation and interpretation practice, and met Nasiphi.
“Nasiphi introduced me to the guitar and music and I took an interest in this and decided to try it out to see how it goes,” he said.
Nasiphi said he started music in 2010 when he was at Hillcrest High.
“My two mates and I had a band and I started playing the drums. We played a few shows in Durban and I decided to try out producing and guitar on the side. When I met Lunathi and we started our duo, I took on playing the guitar, although drums is still my main instrument. My musical influences are slam metal and rock, so the hip hop genre is something I’m now experimenting with,” he said.
Asante is a second year graphic design student at the Creative Arts College and this is her first musical venture.
“I’m more into modelling and pageants, but when Nasiphi told me about The Remedy, I was quick to agree to be one of the female singers in a back-up hook of one of their songs. That was my first track ever,” she said.
The group said they are very excited about the future. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but it’s been a long, tiring journey and I believe we will reap the fruits of this,” said Lunathi.
“We’ve definitely gotten better than we were last year, we look forward to getting out there,” said Nasiphi.
Follow the group on Facebook (The Remedy SA), Twitter @TheRemedySA or follow them on their individual accounts: @Lunathi_Drops, Zwane031 and Asantegraphix.
