Van der Want/Letcher

A duo formed in Johannesburg in 1997. Matthew van der Want and Chris Letcher were both part of the ’90s Shifty Records stable: Van der Want as a solo artist and Letcher as a member of Urban Creep. Van der Want was an occasional support act for the Urban Creep and the latter appeared on van der Want’s debut album.

After Urban Creep broke up Van der Want/Letcher released the EP EP Tombi in 1997, followed by three albums: Low Riding (1998), Bignity (2002) and Casual Killing (2005). Van der Want/Letcher is a side project with both members of the duo also releasing solo work, and mostly coming together for live performances.

Via Afrika

Formed in Johannesburg in 1983 by Rene Veldsman (bass and vocals), Spider Wider (vocals and percussion), Lukas Luislang (keyboards) and Michele Rowe (percussion). Prior to forming Via Afrika Rene Veldsman had already had a successful musical career as a session musician and with studio groups, most prominently Disco Dance Machine (with Trevor Rabin).

Via Afrika burst onto the South African music scene in 1983 with their debut album Via Afrika and the single “Hey Boy”. They followed this with the less successful Scent of Scandal album in 1984.

Also in 1984 the band went over to the United States for a lengthy stay, with the hopes of launching an international career there. They mixed in celebrity music circles (including with Lou Reed) and were invited to perform on Little Steven van Zandt’s “(Ain’t gonna play) Sun City” song. However, when they tried to secure the release of their music in the United States all doors were closed to them because of the cultural boycott.

When they returned to South Africa they broke up. Rene Veldsman then went on to run her own recording studio in Johannesburg.

Vusi Mahlasela

Mamelodi singer-songwriter guitarist who came to the attention of Shifty Records in the early 1990s and who went on to enjoy a national and international career.

He has released several studio albums: When You Come Back (1992), Wisdom Of Forgiveness (1994), Silang Mabele (1997), Miyela Afrika (2000), Jungle of Questions (2002), Guiding Star (2006) and Say Africa (2010).

He has also released live albums including Live At The Bassline (2006) with Louis Mhlanga and collaborations with Swedish backing band Jive Connection.