The River

Mac The Knife

Southern Cross is like a kind of purge - so much negativity! But I feel like there’s a lot of negative shit going around and a lot of it is connected. It’s about altered states, privileged states, ‘United States’, addiction, capitalism, colonialism, extractive mentality - all the stuff I (we?) see on a daily basis in South Africa and now, thanks to the internet, the World - I feel like we as humans need to start asking ourselves some very serious questions… Perhaps moments of chaos may even be necessary in order to bring about massive system change?

The name references the constellation that guides nighttime travelers/sailors in the Southern Hemisphere, but also resembles a fallen crucifix, or alternatively, a diamond - many of us grew up on mines around Southern Africa, but diamonds and gold (Johannesburg is built on gold) also refer to the idea of symbolic, hypothetical wealth which, in a way, equates to a kind of magical thinking on the part of humanity. There’s also a lot of referencing of individual and collective addiction throughout the song - as an addictive personality myself I feel both deep frustration with, as well as deep empathy for the addictive state.

Musically the transition from the show-time verses into the clamorous choruses highlights the disconnect between different modes of perception. Are we living in a dream or a nightmare? How quickly can our realities change? How can we manage our realities? Drugs? Religion? Money? Magic? Rebellion?

As far as personnel are concerned, I need to shout out the awesomeness of the muzo’s who contributed to the production: Portia Sibiya’s bass swaggers like a bull, while Nozi Mnunguni lays down thick yet elegant 12/8 grooves. I knew there could be no way of doing this project without these two - mavericks of the Afro/Jazz/Prog scene - they brought an irreplaceable Magic (with a capital M - Portia has also been called to ’Twasa’ or Sangoma duties in another life). They also brought a deep sense of funk, stemming from a powerful love for music on many interconnected levels.

Southern Cross

This song was produced in collaboration with Desmond and the Tutus for Jupiter Drawing Room - it tells the sad tale of Pedro the human pinyata, Mariachi Style...

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