Fletcher’s Gonna School You

Fletcher (co-founder of African Dopeness, Kingpin of Krushed & Sorted, international DJ supremo, hero to the people) wants to bury your face in the custard pie of music making, to dance with you in the ballroom of bass, to swim in tandem with the dolphins of drum machines, and to tear communal flesh with the tigers of tempo.

Known as one of Cape Town’s most forward thinking DJ’s and producers, he’ll be teaching the next Electronic Music Production course at Cape Audio College from 1 March 2010. Click Here for the Registration Page.

If you’re in Cape Town and you’re on our mailing list, then you have a chance of winning a free course. Just for being so damn slick. If not, then automatically up your slickness by signing up.

If you want evidence of the uncanny coolness which resides inside the mind of Fletcher, take a look at this video clip from Krushed & Sorted’s live performance at Rezonance New Year’s Festival this year. Keep your eyes peeled for some more Dope clips from that same festival soon to be posted on our YouTube page.

In other news, we’re moving office again! You’ll still be able to find us in Gardens (Cape Town), we’re just moving to a spot where we’re surrounded by like-minded media folk. Glynville Terrace is where we’ll be settling as soon as next week. We’ve managed to keep our phone number by some miracle divined upon us by the Gods of Telkom, and of course, you’ll still get us on the same email addresses.

Peace to you from the Dope Crew

Kalahari Surfing on UK Shores

It’s a wonderful thing to see artists that Dope has worked with in the past making a success of things all over the world:) Hot on the heels of Waddy’s interweb infiltration with Die Antwoord, Kalahari Surfers are heading off on a European tour along with fellow prolific African musicians Oumou Sangare and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, in the sixth edition of the African Soul Rebels Tour.

One tour, one 2 CD bundle for you in our Dope Store, one satisfied customer.

Irrefutable proof that good things happen in threes.

Yes indeed. To celebrate this tour, we’re making two of the albums he made with us back in the day available to you, the coolest person in the world. You can get yourself two deliciously pioneering, quirky dub/downtempo Kalahari Surfers albums, ‘Muti Music’ and ‘Akasic Record’ in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Just a few clicks on that sweaty rodent that that is being suffocated and oppressed by your idle hand, and you’ll be getting African Dope on your doorstep.. or more likely at your post office.

This offer is limited by both a short window of time and a low amount of stock. The CD’s will only be available until early March, so spread the word to anyone and everyone that has that unmistakable sense of class, stop your waiting, cease your debating and always remember where Dopeness resides.

Our Humblest..

Unfortunately, on request from Die Antwoord’s legal representation, we have removed our story reminding people of our previous involvement with members of Die Antwoord, to which the artist objected. The past does not exist.

We wish to state publicly that we have no involvement with Die Antwoord, and apologize if this may have been misconstrued. If you’re on our mailing list, please ignore our emailer about these previous albums.

Farewell, Fair Cape

African Dope is parting ways. Roach is heading off to MIDEM, which is the annual meeting of anyone who’s anyone in the business of music. An international show and tell of the musically inclined. A bullring of music men in business suits. A celebration of name-dropping. Roach, of course, will not be wearing a suit. Instead he’ll be sporting some of African Dope’s new t-shirts (available in the Dope shop from the end of Feb) while he goes about representing our land South Africa to the whole wide world.

At the same time, Honey B is going to strengthen family ties, while I am going up to Grahamstown to fix houses. So, if you must call, call in Feb:) We’ll be back in action from 1 Feb, and you can get in touch with Honey B via email till then (honeyb@africandope.co.za). When we resurface, we’ll be gathering strength, moving office, and continuing to deliver that unmistakable flavour which is Dopeness.

Be well.

A Rezonant Hindsight

Phatter than your pet elephant, bigger than your baby mammoth, thicker than your bottom lip dangling in your empty wallet and taller than any story you’ll hear about it. The African Dope TechnoDubFest Arena at the Rezonance New Year’s Festival was all that it was touted to be and more.

Starting on the December 31st of that crusty memory that we used to call this year (2009), some of the finest acts in the land, electronic and otherwise, marched on and off of the Dope stage in a tireless and fascinating display of musical hopscotch. A nightmare for a sound guy. A dream for all in attendance. Thanks a ton to Spekta who shed blood to see it all go down smoothly, as well as everyone else who knows how much they contributed.

Day one was the build up to New Year’s which featured plenty of live MC’s, glitch-hop, dubstep, breakbeat and tech of all sorts taking the ladies and the lads into a head-throbbing, arm-flapping 2010.

As the first sunlight of the new decade began to alight the fragile faces of the no-sleep, the barely-slept and the just came through for New Year’s Day alike, the original African Dope legend Roach played a set as unique as it was rare. Changing the tempo up and setting the tone for a day of a quality of music that was nothing short of mind-blowing.

To be fully and 100% subjective, I will mention only two names. Lonesome Dave Ferguson and Krushed & Sorted. World class, full stop.

The final day was piping hot, almost puke-inducingly hot and as the sweat plopped off of the foreheads, the TechnoDubFest Arena head-nodded the crowds back to a fraction of reality with class never-ending. Who would expect anything less from African Dope, and if so, then why so? What a pleasure, and thanks for making it a Dope New Year.