It was the year of Beatenberg at this year’s South African Music Awards. The band scooped up an incredible seven awards including Duo/Group of the year, Album of the Year and Best Pop Album. With their afro-jazz inspired pop music, it is clear that these guys are here to stay – and they aren’t slowing down anytime soon. The band’s new single ‘Scorpionfish’ is climbing up charts all around the country. El chats to the band on the SAMAs, their album and the new single.
Wow! What a year! Congrats on your SAMA wins. Did you expect to walk away with seven awards?
We did not. It was a total surprise to us. We were confident that we might take Best Pop Album but then we were blessed to have received seven which is really crazy.
Which of the awards means were you shocked the most to receive?
The one we didn’t think we would get was Album of the Year. Looking at the other artists in that category, the competition was tough and we sort of made peace with the idea of us taking that award home. It was also the last award to be given out so that threw us off a little.
What is it about The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg that has attracted the ears of many South Africans?
It must be the diversity and the sincerity of the music. Also, we as a band are not trying to be someone that we are not and the listeners feel that through the music. We just make music that feels right to us. Many people don’t know that a lot of thought was put into this album from the title, to song names, to track listing. We also wrote the songs ourselves, played the instruments and were involved in the production.
How important are awards to you guys?
When we started out we focused only on music, but now the awards have become an important validation for our hard work.
You’ve just released ‘Scorpionfish’ as your new single. How do your songs come about?
Matt, who writes the songs, often takes an important moment from his life and puts it onto paper. This may either be a real moment or something hypothetical. It is, however, something that many people can identify with and that is something that is really important to us.
Which track is your favourite to perform live?
To be honest with you, that changes daily. At the moment we love playing Scorpionfish live because, although it has been in our set for a long time, it’s only just getting radio play and people are starting to identify with it and that is something we love to see. Obviously, we love playing Pluto and Rafael as well. It gets the crowd going.
Can we expect new music from you guys soon?
We can’t wait to get back in to the studio but we just haven’t had the time yet. We have been touring a lot but we’ve blocked off a few weeks in the next few months to get back in studio and start working on the next album. It’s really exciting.
What are you guys getting up to in the next few months?
We will still be touring the country and we’re going international as well. We were just in Zimbabwe for a show and have one in Tanzania soon. We have been getting a lot of radio play in Nigeria and Kenya so we would love to head out there for a show soon.
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