Montclair musician heads to Berlin
Garde took to his social media pages to announce that he needs to raise R40,000 to make his trip a reality.
LOCAL musician, Siphesihle Siswana, also known as Garde (23) is ready to break into the international music scene as he heads off to Berlin, Germany for the Pop Kultur Nachwuchs Music Conference and Festival in August.
On 20 July, the neo drum composer, singer, songwriter and producer from Montclair received the news of his German adventure when he was selected to represent South Africa at the festival which attracts over 250 creatives from across the world.
While it is a fantastic opportunity, the trip comes at a steep price. Garde took to his social media pages to announce that he needs to raise R40,000 to make his trip a reality. In a bid to raise the funds, he will be hosting a string of fundraiser concerts in Durban and Johannesburg during August. He kickstarted the #GetGardeToBerlin campaign by asking his fans, family and friends to buy tickets to the upcoming fundraiser events he has planned in the coming weeks.
As a young boy Garde spent most of his time with his uncles, Duze Mahlobo who is an internationally recognised jazz guitarist and Wake Mahlobo, who is also an internationally recognised drummer. This was young Siphesihle’s start in music and he soon began experimenting with the artform. Garde released his project entitled ‘Woman Epilogue’ in October 2015 on Soundcloud which is when he attracted attention. Garde has since developed and grown more mature in his sound. He has also released two projects after that, namely Healer and Ivory. Both these three-track EPs have recently been repackaged and re-released as a compilation of Garde’s Music, the songs are on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and other digital music platforms.
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In his short career, Garde has proven himself to be a hard worker and trusted songwriter and producer. Garde has produced, written songs for and collaborated with established musicians such as Kyle Deutsche, Aewon Wolf, Kaien Cruz, Zanda Zakuza and upcoming acts such as PalmTree Paradise, Robin ThirdFloor, Rhea Blek, Earl Evans, Chris Snakes, Future Africa and many more. Garde has carved out a niche for himself and his neo-drum sound, as he embraces African musical influences and fuses these with futuristic pop sounds to make a refreshingly new sound, unique to this up-and-coming Montclair musician.
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Excited about his German invitation, Garde said this is a very exciting time. “Everything in my career is coming together very well and the future looks very bright. My team and I have been independently and silently working very hard on building the Garde brand and developing the neo-drum sound. It’s time to share it with the rest of the country and world, and show them what we have been cooking. Participating in the Pop Kultur Nachwuchs event will open unimaginable doors for us, it will expand our network and expose our music (and country) to the world. We will get to share experiences and gain priceless knowledge from industry leaders and music creators from across the globe. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I thank God I was the one chosen to participate at this prestigious event,” said Garde.
To help Garde to reach his goal, email Luvuyo Msimango on blackinkmediasa@gmail.com or call 079-996-6663.
