ZUKS & SALFA

THIS IS AN UPCOMING BAND FROM NIGERIA WHICH I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE FIRST TIME THAT ZUKS SENT ME THEIR DEBUT SINGLE "NAIJA ROCK" SOME 1YR AGO..I THOUGHT IT WAS AMAZING AND COULD ONLY WISH THAT THEY WOULD. FORTUNATELY THEY DID AND WEREN'T ONLY JUST PLAYING AROUND. BIGUP :))))!

THE TWO MAN BAND IS SIMPLY KNOWN AS ZUKS AND SALFA AND IS MADE UP OF:
ZUKHUMNAN EMMANUEL (ZUKS)==> VOCALS/GUITAR/PRODUCING
SALFA RIMDAP==============> VOCALS/GUITAR

THE BAND IS FROM JOS, NIGERIA AND THE BAND MATES MET IN ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA UNIVERSITY (ATBU) WHERE THEY REALISED THAT THEY SHARED A PASSION FOR CREATING, WRITING AND MAKING ALTERNATIVE MUSIC.

THEY USE THEIR DIFFERENCES TO CREATE A UNIQUE SOUND WHICH THEY CALL "FRESH AIR MUSIC"

THEIR MUSIC IS QUITE CATCHY AND SOULFUL AT THE SAME TIME. THEY HAVE RELEASED THREE SONGS AT THE MOMENT "NAIJA ROCK", "SUFFERED SILENCE" AND "KATAKO"----AT THE MOMENT AM TORN AND CANT REALLY CHOOSE A FAVOURITE. I LOOOOOVE THEM ALL!!!!

TO CHECK OUT MORE OF THEIR MUSIC YOU CAN VISIT THEIR MYSPACE PAGE:
http://www.myspace.com/zukssalfa
http://apps.facebook.com/reverbnation_fb/artist/zuks

THE PLASTICS

THIS IS ANOTHER GREAT BAND WHICH IS ON THE RISE IN SOUTH AFRICA...
COMING ON THE SCENE IN 2008, THE BAND BASED IN CAPE TOWN THE BAND IS AN AWESOME INDIE DISCO PUNK ROCK BAND. THEY BRING TO THE FOREFRONT ORIGINALITY AND A GREAT NEW SOUND....

THE BAND MEMBERS ARE MADE OF:
PASCAL RIGHINI - VOCALS AND GUITAR
SASHA RIGHINI - DRUMS
KARL ROHLOFF -BASS GUITAR
ARUJNA KHOLSTOCK - GUITAR

THE BAND DID NOT WASTE TIME AND AS SOON AS THEY STARTED IN 2008, THEY PRODUCED A SIX EP TRACK CALLED THE PLASTICS AND GAVE OUT 1000 COPIES FOR FREE!!!! THIS IS WHAT HAS MAINLY LED TO THEIR POPULARITY, AS ALMOST EVERYBODY IN CAPE TOWN GOT A COPY AND THIS CREATED A BUZZ...IT HAD EVERYONE ASKING "WHO IS THE PLASTIC???" THEY WENT ON TO BE NO. ONE ON SOME STATIONS IN CAPE TOWN CHART FOR THEIR SINGLE "MONKEY SIMULATION"..IN JUNE 2008 THEY OFFICIALLY RELEASED THE EP TO A SOLD OUT CONCERT WITH EVERYONE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT THIS BAND WAS ALL ABOUT. THEY ALSO SNEAKED A VIDEO FOR "MONKEY SIMULATION" ON THE WEB TO A VERY GOOD RECEPTION.

2009 HAS BEEN AN AMAZING YEAR FOR THE BAND AND THEY HAVE JUST RECENTLY RELEASED THEIR DEBUT ALBUM "KISS THE PLASTICS" AND THIS HAS ENDEARED THEM MORE TO THEIR FANS...AMONG THE HITS INCLUDE:
MONKEY SIMULATION

TINY ISLANDS

DIRTY DANCING

THEIR MUSIC IS CATCHY AND THE LYRICS NOT TOO DEEP JUST SOMETHING YOU CAN ROCK TO AND HAVE A GOOD TIME..ITS EASY ON THE EARS AND QUITE REFRESHING...IT HAS BEEN CATEGORIZED BY SOME AS PAYING HOMAGE TO RETRO-ROCK AND CLASSIC POP IMAGERY.

FOR MORE INFOR ON THE PLASTICS CHECK OUT
http://www.theplasticsband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/theplasticsband

DIGLA

DIGLA IS AN ACOUSTIC ROCK BAND FROM CAIRO EGYPT WHO FIRST STARTED OUT AS A COVER BAND CALLED DISKONECTED BUT HAVE EVENTUALLY EVOLVED INTO THEIR OWN BOSSES AND HAVE JUST RECENTLY RELEASED THEIR OWN ALBUM.

THE BAND IS MADE UP OF:
TAREK EL BOROLLOSSY (LEAD VOCALIST/RYTHM GUITAR/PERCUSSIONS)
OMAR RAFAAT (DRUMS-he can also play the guitar and keyboards)
MOHAMMED EL HAKIM(BASS GUITAR)
SARY HANY(LEAD GUITAR)

THE BAND STARTED WHEN BORO MET WITH OMAR IN GRADE 8 AND STARTED MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER THEY DID SONGS FROM DAVE MATHEWS BAND,PEARL JAM AND BEN HARPER...THEY FIRST PERFORMED DAVE MATHEWS BAND'S "ALL ALONG THE WATCH TOWER" INFRONT OF THEIR HIGH SCHOOL DURING A TALENT SHOW...

THEY BUILT A FAN BASE AS A COVERBAND AND THEIR BIGGEST PERFORMANCE CAME IN 2003 WHEN THEY PERFORMED AT SAWY CULTURAL CENTER IN CAIRO..THE CONCERT WAS SOLD OUT!!DIGLA DID THE LOCAL ROCK SCENE A FAVOUR AND SOON AFTER THIS PERFORMANCE, LIVE CONCERTS WERE NOTHING NEW.

DIGLA BEGAN MAKING THEIR OWN MUSIC IN 2004..STARTING OFF WITH "WOMAN IN BLACK" (MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE)

AND SOON ENOUGH THEY HAD AN ALBUM "FREE YOUR MIND" WHICH WAS OFFICIALLY RELEASED IN MAY 22 2009, AND INCLUDES OTHER AMAZING SONGS LIKE:
FREE YOUR MIND, SCATTERED RAIN, CIGARETTES,AND SPACE PARADE...AMONG MANY

DIGLA IS FULL OF BOTH VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL PROWESS MIXED WITH THEIR HERITAGE AND CULTURE AND THUS THEIR MUSIC MAKES FOR WONDERFULL LISTENING...THEY'VE ONLY JUST BEGAN BUT I KNOW THEY WILL GO FURTHER WITH THEIR MUSIC.

FOR MORE INFO ON DIGLA, CHECK OUT THIS SITES
http://www.myspace.com/diglamusic
http://www.diglamusic.com/

MURFY'S FLAW

MURFY'S FLAW IS A KENYAN BAND FORMED A FEW YEARS AGO AND ARE WIDELY LOVE BY KENYAN ROCK FANS...THEY DO ALTERNATIVE.

THE 5 (FLY!)WOMAN + 1 (HOT!)MAN BAND WHO MET IN UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI HAVE REMAINED RELEVANT IN THE CRAZY KENYAN MUSIC INDUSTRY WHICH IS YET TO FULLY EMBRACE THE ROCK MUSIC LEAVE ALONE KENYAN ROCK MUSIC AND IN THEIR WAKE MADE QUITE A NUMBER OF FANS....THEY USUALLY PERFORM IN AN ANNUAL GIG CALLED ROCKTOBER FEST, AND MONTHLY GIG CALLED BATTLE OF THE BANDS WHERE KENYAN BANDS MEET TO COMPETE.

THE BAND MEMBERS INCLUDE:
REEMA DOSHI(LEAD SINGER/PLAYS TAMBOURINE)
NUMBER 9 (GUITAR/VOCALS)=>DUDE
PUNKY MONKEY (GUITAR)
JOZZIE BOO (BASS)
JOANNA HOFF (KEYBOARDS)
VICKY KARUGA (DRUMS)

THE BAND MEMBERS COME FROM DIVERSE HERITAGE...ASIAN, KENYAN AND EUROPE AND THUS MAKE THEIR MUSIC QUITE INTERESTING...THEY DO SONGS BOTH IN KISWAHILI AND ENGLISH AND ARE QUITE AMAZING...AMONG THEIR HITS BEING "MAKOSA"(WRONG), AND CONTAGIOUS...

THEY RECENTLY LAUNCHED THEIR ALBUM "MAKOSA" (NOV 2008)WHICH WAS WELL RECEIVED BY THEIR FANS BUT ARE YET TO DO ANY VIDEOS DUE TO FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS. HERE IS ABIT ON THEIR ALBUM LAUNCH IN WHICH THEY WERE SUPPORTED BY M20 (music to overdrive), SEISMIC AND UETA..ALL KENYAN BANDS TOO:

THEY ALSO DO COVERS OF VARIOUS FAMOUS BANDS IN THEIR SHOWS...HERE THEY ARE DOING CRANBERRIES-ZOMBIE:

HERE IS ALSO ANOTHER OF THEIR PERFORMANCE AT BATTLE OF THE BANDS:

PERSONALLY, I LOVE THEM AND THINK THEY HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL...

ZEBRA AND GIRAFFE

MOST PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT AFRIKA FOR VARIOUS THINGS INCLUDING WILDLIFE,LANGUAGE, CULTURE,TRIBE etc..BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT VERY CONVERSANT WITH THE MUSIC AND IF THEY DO ITS TRADITIONAL DRUMS OR THE MORE FAMOUS ARTISTS LIKE FELA, AND MIRIAM MAKEBA.

BUT I BET MOST PEOPLE DONT KNOW THAT AFRIKA HAS AN ADERENT FOLLOWING OF ROCK LOVERS AND VERY MANY COOL BANDS...SOUTH AFRICA HAS THE MOST BANDS FOLLOWED BY EGYPT AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES TOO HAVE BANDS BUT THEY HAVE NOT RECORDED THEIR MUSIC PROFFESIONALY YET.

I INTEND TO PROVIDE YOU SOME INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THIS BANDS THAT I BELIEVE ARE NOT GETTING ENOUGH LIMELIGHT AS THEY SHOULD AS MOST PEOPLE ONLY THINK OF AMERICA OR EUROPE WHEN IT COMES TO ROCK...

TODAY I FOCUS ON A GROUP CALLED "ZEBRA AND GIRAFFE"...THIS BAND JUST RECENTLY (OCTOBER 10th) WON THE AWARD FOR BEST ALTERNATIVE ACT/ROCKBAND IN THE MAMA (mtv africa music awards)HELD IN NAIROBI KENYA - THEY BEAT COLDPLAY AND GREENDAY....

THE BAND IS MADE UP OF GREG CAIN (HE FOUNDED THE BAND IN MAY 2008) AND IS THE SINGER/SONGWRITER/VOCALS AND GUITAR,ALAN SHENTON ON GUITAR, ANDREW MARKELI ON BASS, ROB DAVIDSON ON KEYBOARDS AND DARREN LEADER ON DRUMS.

THE BAND IS PREETY NEW BUT IS KICKING QUITE A STORM IN AFRICA AND UK AT THE MOMENT..THEY ARE INFACT GOING TO BE SUPPORTING "THE KILLERS" ON THEIR FIRST AFRICAN TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA THIS DECEMBER.

THEIR DEBUT ALBUM "COLLECTED MEMORIES" IS PREETY AMAZING AND CONTAINS AMAZING SONGS SUCH AS "IN MY EYES"..MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE, AND OXYMORON, THE KNIFE...

FOR MORE ON THE BAND, VISIT http://www.zebraandgiraffe.co.za/

HERE IS A LINK TO MY FAVOURITE SONG "IN MY EYES"