Sam Jam’s passion for music is evident when you see him on stage, whether it be seated with his acoustic guitar, jumping around while playing some killer solos on his electric guitar or beating his drums. The audience cannot help but get involved when Sam takes to the stage. This Kenyan-born man’s lifelong relationship with music started from a very early age.  It all began when Sam had to choose which subjects he wanted to study in primary school and he chose music ‘just to see what happens’.  It did not take long for him to realize that music has crept into his life, never to be evicted from it again. Sam’s passion for music was clear as he could often be found getting creative and messing around on the piano. Just finishing his homework assignments was not enough for him!  He had to explore what else the instrument had to offer him.

 His move to Port Elizabeth in 1997 served to further strengthen his love for music.  Here he was fortunate to be taught by well-known guitar teacher Dr Howard Nock, helping him hone his skills on the guitar. On top of that Sam started playing regular gigs at 4 Winds Folk Club, which enabled him to build a fan base and develop his style as a solo performer.  He also started playing with a rock band The Righteous (www.therighteous.co.za) who he still collaborates with today.

Sam is a true multi-instrumentalist who loves all of his instruments for their unique qualities.  He continues to play all of them and is looking into becoming a session drummer sometime in the future.  The guitar holds a special place in his heart though and he describes his desire to make it ‘sing’ like the greats: Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Mike Einziger from Incubus and The Edge from U2. When asked who he aspires to be like a few names he admires for different reasons are mentioned.  People like Dave Matthews, who Sam and his friends have nicknamed ‘spider fingers’, John Mayer, Jimmy Hendrix and Howie Day are artists he particularly respects, not just for their technical mastery but also for their storytelling abilities.

‘But mostly I aspire to sound like me. Yes you can hear a bit of everyone but there is nothing like singing your own song to yourself and enjoying it,’ he says.

Sam Jam has now moved to the mother city because he ‘wants to know more about the music business’.  He was looking for a place where he could be part of a creative culture so he picked Cape Town as it is a city where he can definitely find a creative music scene to be part of, he finds himself particularly inspired when jamming with his friends on his acoustic guitar. This keeps him on his toes creatively.  He is looking forward to many gigs in the city as well as recording an album with The Righteous. 

Written by: Simoné Scott

South Africana living in Hong Kong. 
On Soundcloud 9. 

Young Josh - Producer/Composer/Instrumentalist


Film maker and music creator from my home in Cape Town, 
South Africa. Husband to a feisty world-changer. Follower of Jesus. Owner of a crazy fish tank.

« The Hunt »

Bien qu’ayant vu le jour à l’avènement de l’ère numérique qui nous amena des innovations telles que le micro processeur, le Fairlight ou encore la norme midi, Jeffrey Combs et Herbert West n’ont de cesse, lors de leurs collaborations, de traquer les sonorités analogiques qui ont fait les heures de gloire de la musique électronique.

Collectionneur passionné de synthétiseurs et de boites à rythmes, autant que de musique retro-futuriste, le duo va chercher son inspiration dans les bandes originales des films qui ont marqué son enfance tel que NY-97, Halloween ou They Live, ce qui ne l’empêche pas de puiser également dans des créations plus contemporaines afin d’être en phase avec son époque.

Éternellement désabusés de ne pas voir se concrétiser un futur tel qu’il est décrit dans l’imaginaire des années 80, les membres du projet « The Hunt » tentent, grâce à leur univers sonore, de retranscrire un présent tel qu’ils l’auraient aimé.
C'est-à-dire obscur, pollué, où seul le battement froid et numérique des maitresses-machines affronte cyberpunks et renégats anarchistes pris au piège dans un monde post-apocalyptique consumé par l’ultra violence et le vice.
Mais comme chacun le sait, une société déliquescente qui accouple corruption, immoralité et amour concupiscents, ne peut exister sans sa contradiction, sans une entité pure et impartiale en quête de justice, et c’est justement là où nos deux protagonistes veulent en venir. 
Par leurs compositions formulées et articulées à la manière d’une bande originale, «The Hunt » nous raconte ce perpétuel combat pour la survie. Celui du bien contre le mal qui ne se solde pas toujours comme on le pense.
Pour cela, « The Hunt » utilise tous les artifices musicaux filmographiques du genre. 
Nappes sombres et profondes, basses tranchantes et arpèges démoniaques. Un tout auquel viennent se rallier des rythmiques électroniques lourdes et compressées. 

En live, « The Hunt » laisse la part belle au hardware en préférant donner la parole aux synthétiseurs, samplers et à l’improvisation plutôt qu’aux mix formatés cousus de fil blanc.

Followers of nnke