09/10/2013

ROCK IN JOHANNESBURG: Focus sur Motèl Mari

NB. Beware - Frenglish to follow...

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Dans le cadre du concert ROCK IN JOHANNESBURG de ce samedi 12 octobre à la Gaité Lyrique, quatre groupes sud-africains seront sur la scène parisienne. J'y serai pour RFI.

Quelques mots de présentation s'imposent.

Commençons par MOTEL MARI :

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Motèl Mari are João Orecchia, Mpumelelo Mcata and Tshepang Ramoba. Shortly after landing in Johannesburg in 2004, Orecchia, a Brooklyn born and schooled wanderer who wound up in Berlin as a ‘teenager” messing with experimental punk before moving years later to South Africa, heard some talk about a psychadelic afro rock outfit called BLK JKS. They became fast friends and have been working together on projects ever since. Mpumi and Tshepang (guitar and drums respectively) would often join João on stage, adding thunderous beats and general bigness to the otherwise textural and floating soundscapes. Slowly they started becoming a band.

João Orecchia is a self taught non-musician who has been making music for many years. His fascination is in squeezing sounds out of anything and layering them on top of other sounds squeezed out of other things. From guitars to manipulated circuits and banjos to field recordings.

Mpumelelo Mcata is a self taught, self-made “engine of ingenuity”. Growing up in Johannesburg he dreamt of the life he now has, having super powers, the ability to create, manipulate and move anti-matter using abstract energy like sound waves, playing rock guitar, firmly planted among the roots of African music.

Tshepang Ramoba is a pure and simple rock star. He was once convinced to wear an article of red clothing over his all black armour. He is also known for notoriously famous amongst his loving band mates for being in three places at once….on the drumkit atleast - Africa time! - He was once voted the best musician at SXSW by Billboard Magazine.

Motèl Mari's first studio album, Eternal Peasant will be out on Other Electricities on vinyl and download July 2012.

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Derrière Motèl Mari, il y a donc Joao Orecchia, un New Yorkais qui, après avoir vécu et créé ses premiers sons à Brooklyn et Berlin, est allé s'installer à Johannesbourg en 2004. Musicien autodidacte et artiste polymorphe, il mène de front plusieurs projet.

Quelques infos en anglais, qu'il m'a envoyées :

João Orecchia is an artist and self taught non-musician who has been making music for many years. His fascination is in squeezing sounds out of anything and layering them on top of other sounds squeezed out of other things. From guitars to manipulated circuits and banjos to field recordings.

He has been exploring ideas of randomness and perceived meaning, composition using found sound and field recordings and creating graphic scores. Through experimentation and improvisation Orecchia investigates the physicality of sound, seeking a balance between computer technology, hand made electronics and real world sounds such as the human voice and traditional musical instruments.

Orecchia performs with his band Motèl Mari which includes Mpumelelo Mcata and Tshepang Ramoba of BLK JKS, as well as improvised music with the likes of Lukas Ligeti, Jill Richards and Joseph Suchy. The album Eternal Peasant by João Orecchia's Motèl Mari will be out on vinyl and download in July 2012 on Other Electricities.

Orecchia also contributes heavily to the building of networks in alternative sound practice in Johannesburg by curating events that engage artists, musicians and public in a collaborative, experimental spatial relationship with the city. Invisible Cities fleetingly inhabits transitional spaces, creating momentary realities and exposing hidden layers of possibility for what life in Johannesburg might be like with a bit of imagination.

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Video de 'Just Like a King' :