Tag Archives: south africa

South Africa | Day 8 | Soweto in the sunshine

30 Jun

 

For the last day, we spent most of the day in Soweto.

Soweto has a lot of history. The name is an abbreviation for ‘South Western Townships’. A township was an area that the Government mass relocated Black Africans during Apartheid.

Soweto grabbed the worlds attention on June 16th 1976- an event took place known as the ‘Soweto Uprising’. Students led a protest against the new instruction of schools to be taught in Afrikaans, which in Desmond Tutu’s words was labelled as ‘the language of the oppressor’. Basically, when the students protested in large numbers, the police shot fire. The first child to be killed was a 13 year boy called Hector Pieterson, whose image shocked the nations. That day over 176 people were killed, including women, men and children.

Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo after being shot by South African police. His sister, Antoinette Sithole runs beside them. Photograph by Sam Nzima

 

 

 

 

 

It’s heart breaking to even imagine what took place those days. Thankfully those days are over, and the kids there seem to be real happy. I am sure there are some tough areas still, but at least those sign posts are gone and the restrictive outright racist laws!

Hanging out in Soweto, I felt a real sense of community.. something we lack in most of the Western world.

We were picked up by some members of the choir, and taken to Mary’s place (also a choir member) She cooked us up some real South African cuisine! :-)

Mary lives right next to a park where loads of kids were playing. They were so happy and loved having they pictures taken! So while Mary cooked up a feast we played with them and took lots of photos :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When food was ready, we all got stuck in. We washed out hands in a bowl full of boiling water and then ate the traditional way, with our fingers. We grabbed the food from the bowl then ate it with our fingers. They told us to try a bit of everything, and afterwards revealed what the contents was..

Well, guess what– I ate cow TONGUE (!), intestines!!! & cow liver.

Admittedly, none of them tasted that bad. It was all stewed and flavored with spices. Just the thought of it! :p

 

COW TONGUE!

 

[I was keen to show off to my fiancé that I tasted cow tongue, of course forgetting for a moment that the Lebanese love to eat sheep tongue!]

After our meal we popped to Sandton and took a look at the Nelson Mandela statue and the mall.

 

Then we went to Newtown to a bar/ restaurant called ‘Sophiatown’ for a few drinks and some food. Good vibes.

 

 

Ahhh, so that’s it! for now ;-)

And what an experience…! A week to remember forever.

Tears and laughter, music, beautiful people, incredible energy, nature… I feel extremely grateful to have had this experience.

Life is about making it happen!

The Soweto Gospel choir blew me away… and I can’t wait for you all to hear the song!

UNITE!

SIMUNYE!

<3

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South Africa | Day 7 | Pilanesburg Game Reserve

29 Jun

 

Pilanesburg Game reverse is about 2 hours drive from Johannesburg and is one of the countries best National Parks, with over 7000 animals including ‘The Big Five”- lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo.

 

 

 

We were really lucky to see great close up views of the Matriarch herd  of elephants with a nursery, 3 pairs of white rhinos with their babies (adorable!), hippos, a giraffe, zebras, warthogs, and many more. We didn’t see lions, leopards or buffalo, but we’d been to the lion park already, so it was okay.

 

 

 

 

I am in love with warthogs, elephants and rhinos after seeing them in the wild. Such beautiful animals! Rhinos are extremely cute- especially the babies!! as are warthogs!! (Pumbaa!!)

 

 

 

 

Elephants- wow. Majestic creatures…

 

 

 

I was impressed learning more about elephants. They live in a Matrichal society, are extremely intelligent, emotional and social, with a strong social norms. When an elephant dies, they bury the dead and mourn them. They basically hold a funeral! Quite extraordinary.

 

 

We were lucky to be driven and guided by a lovely lady called Paula, who has been spotting game since she was a child. She has an amazing talent for spotting seemingly hidden wildlife, and knows exactly how to act around the large mammals, so we were able to get really close to them without disturbing or being disturbed.

 

 

 


 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Next time, Kruger Park!! :)

But if like me you are in Johannesburg with only time for a day trip- I would strongly recommend Pilanesburg for a fantastic experience :)

 

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South Africa | Day 6 | Apartheid museum

26 Jun

One of the must- go places in Johannesburg is the Apartheid museum.

It is crazy to imagine that Apartheid only ended 18 years ago, and quite incredible to see how much South Africa has changed in that time. Of course, you cannot say that the effects of apartheid are no longer visible, or ignore the reality that whites are still the dominantly rich class with the majority of poor people being black.

However, when you see the photographs and the blatant separation then, and go out now to certain areas in Joburg that are mixed (like a night out in Melville, or a trip down to Rosebank mall), it’s really hard to believe how different things were only 20 years ago.

When you get to the museum, to give you a feel of the segregation they give you a randomly selected ticket to state whether you are white or non-white. Then you go through the gate according to your designated race. To give you an idea of what it might’ve felt like.

 

It was interesting to read how they tried to separate people into racial groups, starting with black and white, then adding coloureds, asians.. and it went on!

Find these words quite intense- “Conscienceless and criminal blood- mixers” ! 

Fear of the unknown…

Along comes a hero… Nelson Mandela!

“Deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity.”

Long walk to freedom…

In the end, we can no longer segregate.

We are after all, one human race  :-)

Simunye..

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South Africa | Day 5 | 7th Street

26 Jun

After all these intense days, we needed a day of rest!

So day 5 we took it easy, and headed nearby to 7th street in Melville.

It was a beautiful bright sunny day. Chilly, but bright blue skies and amazing clouds… magical even!

 

7th Street is famous for its bohemian flavour and very good second hand book stores. We had some delicious pizza, wine, bought some books and then had a few ciders in a small bar. Met some interesting people. soaked in the Melville vibe.

I guess we must be giving off  a good energy because everywhere we go we meet such chilled, friendly people.

and people are keen to tell us that the danger is overrated and to please tell people to come here and not be afraid!

So, thought I’d pass that back onto you ;-)

Of course, there is danger, and a lot of crime. But you just have to be street smart, be positive and trust your gut instinct. Dangers are everywhere in the world. You can’t let fear prevent you from living life. :)

mmmm. wine. :)

 

always smiling when there is food around ;)

 

Cosy- ness. <3

 

We came across a real mecca store for second hand books… (the name escapes me :-( ) There I found some great African poetry books and a classic novel called “Cry, The beloved country” by Alan Paton.

I opened up the book to a random page and read this paragraph…

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too glady when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

Hooked already.

 

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South Africa | Day 4 | Church

26 Jun

For me, Gospel music is one of the most moving musical genres in the world. I am also very influenced by Jazz, Soul and R’n'B all of which originate in Gospel music. I didn’t grow up near a Gospel church, but I have always wanted to go to one and sing. I got a taster in London, going to open mic neo-soul nights that were run by in house gospel bands, and 90% of the singers there were gospel singers, I learnt a lot there.

However, the Tabernacle ministry service in South Africa with around 3000 people was on another level!!!

I was there on Sunday with some of the Micheck team- Daimion Peppers, Jus Rolle, and my producer Adam Nicholas.For these guys simply being in Africa is a life changing experience. Peppers  and Jus are ‘African American’ and Adam is half Ghanian; and this is their first time in Africa. To be in an African church too, felt like home  as they’ve grown up with it, and yet, it’s a home they’ve never known. I looked over to see the look on their faces and saw grown men were nearly crying! (I think Jus did even have a secret cry, Daimion was definitely crying inside and Adam had tears in his eyes!) When you see grown men with tears in their eyes, you know you’re not the only one moved by the experience! We really had to hold back from making a crying scene at certain moments!

I also grew up going to church, and I come from a religious/ spiritual background. Catholic mother, and a Quaker father, I went to the local Quaker church every Sunday, where you worship in silence and appreciate the spiritual essence of Christ. I love the silence, but love music also… So I felt like I was at home too :-)

The Soweto Gospel choir performed for us all and it was really beautiful to see how proud the community were of them. The choir have travelled the world and shown people South African music, they have helped to put Soweto on the map! It’s great that despite their hectic schedule, they take time to give back to their community and be a part of it. They all started singing in church of course too  :)

Another impressive local choir and some amazing singers and dancers performed too. So we were really spoilt for music!

and then they invited us to perform UNITE for them! Funnily enough, I didn’t feel nervous when I got on stage, even though there were some incredible singers way way better than me there!! But that didn’t seem to matter, there was so much love in the room for music and for God, that I felt I had nothing to fear, and I didn’t :) After I sang with Adam on guitar and Jus rapping a bridge section, we left the stage with the crowd saying “We love you” and “You belong here”. Humbling <3

Later on a local police woman did an inspiring speech to urge the community to come together and pray for one another, warning of the local problems of drugs, human trafficking and other crimes. She said “the young lady sang a song, and she said Simunye- so we must come together as one to tackle these issues”…. that was another really humbling special moment. :)

 

At the end of the Soweto Gospel choirs performance, they invited all the singers to come and join in on ‘ Oh Happy Day!’  Powerful- with so many beautiful voices around me I felt like an angel in heaven ;)

And after that we topped off the soul music with some real soul food!! We had some home cooked chicken, spinach, pumpkin and something similar to plantain.. mmmm!

We are waiting for the video to come back of our performance, but for now.. here is a little clip I made (to my best ability!) to give you an idea of what we experienced at the church. Hope it can give you some idea and maybe you too can taste the inspiration :)

I am 100% going back there when I come back to South Africa…

SIMUNYE!

PEACE, LOVE AND LIGHT

X

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South Africa | Day 3 | The Lion Park

24 Jun

One thing you have to see in Africa is some wildlife.

Johannesburg itself is an urban city, but there are some amazing nature reserves and parks not too far away.

We took a trip down to the Lion Park, where we heard you could stroke lion cubs..

But when we got there… well…. the cubs were bigger than we expected!!!

However, they reassured us it was safe.. so we all stroked the lion cubs. :)

Another one off the bucket list ;-)


After hanging with the ‘cubs’ we took a night safari tour around the park to see the lions.

We got to see the rare White Lion- and the one pictured below is the lion that features in the film ‘White Lion’! (watched that a few months ago) :)

We even watched the lions have a feast. I watch so much National Geographic it was great to finally see some live action! ;-)

Definitely worth a visit it if you are ever in Johannesburg :-)

http://www.lion-park.com

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South Africa | Day 3 | Nkosi’s Haven

24 Jun

Nkosi’s Haven is an NGO in South Africa who provide care and support for HIV/AIDS infected mothers, her children, and resulting AIDS orphans (infected or not).

We had the opportunity to visit the Nkosi’s Haven village in Alan Manor, Johannesburg. The village covers 2.5 acres of land, and it houses 31 mothers and 98 children, of which roughly half are orphaned.

As soon as we arrived the community made us feel really welcome, and the children just wanted to hug, play, sing and dance…



We sang UNITE with the children singing the chorus and played some music games. Jus Rolle gave the kids a  motivational speech making them smile and encouraging them to nurture their talent and perform with confidence.

Music can have a healing power, it really does change lives.

There is proof of that at Nkosi’s Haven… :)

http://www.nkosishaven.org

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South Africa | Day 2 | Recording

23 Jun

Today we recorded the Soweto Gospel choir and my lead vocal for my single ‘Unite’ at SABC studios in Johannesburg, and I couldn’t be happier with the results!

It’s quite emotional for me to see the song come to life after such a long time working on my original music.. and it’s a great feeling to finally have music that I can feel real proud of and want to share with the world. :)

We really had a lot of fun, and I even got to borrow a few bits from their amazing wardrobe!  ;)




I feel so inspired by the choir, and so grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with them. Their energy is amazing and the freedom and faith with which they sing will be something I will remember always, and learn from.

Inspired by the choir, in prayer before recording :)

So todays video teaser is a small snippet of the amazing bass section in session. Fella’s, just try hitting those low notes- can you do it?! ;)

I can watch that clip over and over again! :)

To top off a great day, after the recording the choir took us to a bar in the heart of Soweto where we danced to Kwaito and some really funky house with African flavour.

So before I pass out, I wanted to share a few lyrics with you..

For the bridge part of the song the choirs very talented musical director Diniloxolo Ndlakuse wrote  a few extra lyrics that the choir sing to echo what I am saying, in Zulu.

They are…

Thuthuzeka- Stay calm

Ungakhali- Dont cry

Simunye- We are united

:)

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South Africa | Day 1 | Rehearsal

21 Jun

I’ve always dreamed of coming to Africa, and for the last few years South Africa has been top of the list.

So I knew I would make it here soon… but did I ever dream that it would be to record with one of the best choirs in the world?

No… that would have felt like wishful thinking… but here I am! :)

Today I had a rehearsal with the Soweto Gospel choir before we go to record at the studio tomorrow. We started out with one of the best vocal warm ups I’ve ever witnessed (!) .. and then got straight into listening to what they have arranged based on the recording we sent over..

Well, when I say I was overwhelmed… it’s an understatement! I knew they would deliver. But honestly, they have completed the song perfectly. They did exactly what we had imagined- and more.

After the rehearsal we were treated to some performances of their other songs. They did an amazing rendition of the classic song by South African superstar Miriam Makeba ‘Pata Pata’, and we joined them to sing and dance… that video will have to be on the DVD- a moment to remember! :)

The choir are out of this world..

You cannot help but absorb the beautiful energy they exude and be inspired by it.

I am sure people will also feel that when they hear them sing on the song, it’s something beyond words. :)

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UNITE!

9 Jun

Incredibly excited to be traveling to Johannesburg, South Africa in less than 2 weeks, to record my first single UNITE with the legendary SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR! :)

We didn’t read the Kick-starter deadline in time, which was a shame, it definitely would have helped the project, but not to worry, we are still pushing ahead and making it happen! :)

So here is a little background on how the song came about…

It all started out as a jam at my producer Adam Nicholas’ home studio in Tufnell Park London on a sunny afternoon last  July. He played some nice chords with an African feel, and I started to write the song…

At first the song was entitled ‘No Difference’, but later decided on the title UNITE as that was the word friends remembered after playing it to a few people.

I think we wrote the song in about an hour, experimenting with chord changes and lyrics, a bridge section at the end… and we played it over and over again. Summery, positive, we had a good feeling about the track.

When my management heard the first draft, we added it to the provisional line up of tracks for the E.P, and later decided that it would be the main single for the E.P.

In December 2011 we went to Miloco studios in Shoreditch, London and recorded the vocals for the track..

 

 

 

But something was missing… we needed a choir!

Hence started the discussion about using a choir in South Africa…. after looking at a few options we reached out to The Soweto Gospel choir…. they heard the song and agreed… and the rest is history! :)

Stay tuned for blog updates while we are on the trip, and of course, the song itself

LOVE & LIGHT!

<3

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