I was privileged to be a teenager during the seventies, a time in history when the best music was written, recorded and performed by the best musicians on the planet. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Queen, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd, to name but a few, were ruling the record stores and airwaves. And, oh boy, there was a lot of them and I ate it all up! I had an insatiable appetite for it all. Apart from being a qualified geologist during my working career, the subject matter I had the most knowledge about have always, and will always be, seventies music. I never learned it, I lived it.

I grew up in South Africa, a very conservative society at the time, and where music, amongst other things, was strictly censored. However, if ever you want to risk waving a red flag in front of a bull, you just have to tell a teenager not to do this or listen to that. Amongst these banned songs were Spanish Train by Chris De Burg and Sugarman by an unknown artist called Jesus (Sixto) Rodrigues - or something; nobody was sure but we were going to listen to it.

My generation was part of what happened to Rodrigues and his music in South Africa during the late seventies and is the stuff legends are made off. The full story was beautifully portrayed in the 2012 documentary film Searching for Sugarman, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul.

The collection of Rodrigues songs I have recorded here will never compete with the originals by Sixto, neither was it the intention. I am retired now and have the time to indulge in doing the things I like to do. This is just my way to, and in my own style, re-kindle a past when music was great, but mostly to pay homage to one of the greatest song writers of our time. 
-	Quartus Snyman
        September 2023

Sounds of Sugarman

I Wonder

"You don't sound like anyone else," said Danny Thompson - renowned bass player for Nick Drake and Joe Strummer - about English musician Conil.

The GRAMMY-winning engineer for Tom Waits and Elvis Costello, Tchad Blake said: "Strange Part of the Country is an awesome album! I still listen to it."

Fleetwood Mac legend Peter Green liked Conil's music so much he stopped by Conil’s house to record with him. They recorded a version of Conil's homage to the jazz greats "Round Midnight". 

Strange Part of the Country never conformed to any current trends and has remained timeless. Now, people are discovering this album and it is becoming an all-time favourite. 

When the album was released in the UK, it received some amazing press. Britain's biggest selling music monthly Q magazine gave it: "Four stars - Q Recommends". Blues Matters magazine wrote: "One of the most original artists out there". In the next issue, Blues Matters put him on the front cover.

Conil left London after Strange Part of the Country was released and has spent the last ten years living in the United States and Europe - including New Orleans, New York City, and Berlin.