Gallo Records new rising star with debut hits "Go Under" and "Fall Again." 

It was during his formative teenage years that London based singer songwriter Josh Wantie [pronounced ‘Von-Tee’], real name (Joshua Wantenaar) tapped into his love of guitar playing and lyric writing, fuelling his passion for making his own music. However it was only later in life, after discovering that he was unfulfilled in his chosen career path of fitness that Josh set his sights on music as a livelihood.

 

Josh’s ever-evolving live set-up is simplistic but profound as he swaps between bass, synth and guitar while blending in electronic elements and vocal loops. Influenced by several types of genre, Sia, Lorde, Ben Howard, James Blake and Flume are all among the artists that he draws inspiration from, lending a mellower, broodier sound to his work than that of stereotypical pop.

 

Signing to Gallo in 2015, Josh finally achieved a professional milestone he’d been chasing for so long with his blend of indie, electro and synth-rooted melodies. With the backing of his label, he was afforded the opportunity to travel to Cape Town to record at Heritage Sound Studio under the trusted ear Brendyn 'Rusti' Rossouw and alongside fellow Durbanites Brad and Josh Klynsmith from Gangs Of Ballet.

 

“I want to be successful enough to feed my family one day but I won’t measure my success as an artist by how much money I make, but rather that I wrote songs I believe in and were true to who I am,” he confesses and it’s this struggle of realization, which lends a deeply personal air to his craft, that makes him universally relatable.

Mugshot are a Rock band from Johannesburg, South Africa. Conceived as a project by singer songwriter and guitarist Grant Sissons in 2004, the addition of bassist Rob O’Brien and drummer Shaun Joynt saw a real band develop quicker than anyone expected and they started playing locally even building a small loyal following.

Concentrating on the writing and recording part of the music ahead of major gigging and tour plans helped the band get an EP out as well as some radio airplay, then a deal with MTN Xploaded (who subsequently imploded – such is the nature of this music business).

Next came an album “Sixes and Sevens” but rather than sell a million (or a thousand)  it ended up becoming a big learning curve for the band as how not to do things and certainly not to rush the processes. So in 2009 the band began to write the opus that would be “Broken Finger” which they released late 2011.

Their singles “Empty House” and “Bare Bones” were picked up by most local radio including Highveld 94.7 and the video to “Bare Bones” took the coveted Number One spot on the MK Charts in June of 2012. Expect big things from Mugshot but also exercise patience as they don’t like to rush things.

What the press are saying:

“South African Listeners have been waiting for something like this” Rolling Stone

“Mugshot prove to be a more complex, very enjoyable entity” The Citizen

“I urge you to listen to this album” MusicReview.co.za

“a band that deserves to be heard” Mio.co.za

Huis Najaar is an energetic group from the Port Elizabeth/Despatch area. Their brand of Afrikaans rock infused with a generous amount of electronic music have filled many floors with sweaty bodies throwing dinosaur and other odd shapes. In a very short time they have gained a lot of notoriety for being one the most entertaining acts around town. They have played with acts such as Van Coke Kartel, Glaskas, Dance you're on fire, Alleen Na Desember, ekhouvanjou,okay!, Ashtray Electric, Zebra &amp; Giraffe, aKING &amp; Zondernaam to name a few.

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