“It’s a space to just be free for a moment,” said Graham Dickson of Crystal Fighters, describing the musical journey listeners will take as the group hits the Johannesburg stage.
Crystal Fighters is set to rock Vodacom’s much-anticipated In The City, seeing Joburgers jamming to bands as diverse as Rudimental, MGMT and The Preset, alongside local favourites P.H. Fat. The bands chatted to media at the Market Theatre on 3 October.
“It’s a big planet and we’re trying to work through each country one by one. We’re stoked to finally be here,” said The Preset’s Julian Hamilton, explaining why the Australian electronic duo has taken so long to reach South Africa.
Hamilton and band-mate Kim Moyes have been in musical partnership for two decades, making waves with their experimental mix of traditional melody, strong bass and techno beats. Although many tracks have a political element, including ‘My People’, which captures the dilemma of immigrants in detention, Hamilton says the duo aims to appeal to listeners on multiple levels.
London-based instrumental group Rudimental, meanwhile, expressed excitement at sharing their music culture with locals. Rudimental is four friends whose “electronic soul” sound is a tribute to the multicultural streets of London, where they grew up together.
“We have a lot of energy on stage… We expect people to get involved in this,” said DJ Locksmith, adding that while the group has experienced fans all over the world, they were excited to face an African crowd for the first time.
In the midst of these newcomers to the South African stage, P.H. Fat, the only local act on the main stage, insisted they feel no pressure.
“I don’t feel like we’re representing South Africa,” said Mike Zietsman.
The hiphop/rap duo, collaborating with rapper JungFreud, say they like to leave their public to decide what genre of music they produce.
“Songs are accidents… As you go, you become better at spotting the accidents,” Zietsman added.
Electro-pop group MGMT was unable to attend the press conference, but will delight fans onstage at the event, which takes place at Mary Fitzgerald Square on 3 October.
