User:ThefridgeSA/sandbox

_____________________________________________________________________ Description

At a time when most bands and producers want to get harder, faster, louder and more electronic, others are happy to swim upstream. And while many may try to drown out their mediocrity by adding an extra guitar or keyboard, one mark of a band’s musicianship remains how few instruments they need to tell their story – music being the silence between notes, as Debussy said. A neo-jazz band that forms its sound from the urban space it was conceived in. “Sophisticatedly Easy” in its look and sound, “The Fridge” have very few counterparts and many imitators. Their unconventional approach to the iconic genre of jazz is both risky and refreshing. Pushing the envelope and fusing together jazz, African folk and soul sounds.

If any criticism can be leveled at the group it’s that the five songs on the album all stick to a similar formula, with little digression or experimentation with others sounds. A full-length album would no doubt offer more scope for this. Those who prescribe adjectives like soft or depressing are simply missing the point. A few weeks back The Fridge were the first band to perform at a new live music venue in the Maboneng Precinct, Pata Pata, opened recently by the same people responsible for inner-city hangouts Kospotong and Sophiatown. Despite being without a guitar and only able to do Thusi’s bass songs, the band had numerous people in the relatively small crowd singing along. Further evidence of their class was provided in the fact that songs from the album were not replicated but adapted and expanded upon, often obviously ad lib. And they came back later to perform a second set for those who showed up late, something I haven’t seen since the days of Urban Creep. 2012 threatens to be the year of the Fridge – flagbearers for a new generation of skilled, intelligent songwriters, the natural successors of old skool acts like the Malopoets, Sankomota and Sakhile. Get in, or get out.

Genre

Neo – Jazz with influences from soul and African folk.

The Musicians

 Samkelo Ndolomba: The Unmistakably Silky Voice that was “Born to Sing” Samthing Soweto (Samkelo) is the lead vocalist of the Fridge and hails from Soweto. “When I wake up, I sing and I think about the things I want to sing about.” he says. The name Samthing Soweto is inherently derived from his name Samkelo and “thing” happens to be the “thing” he does well, which is music. “Just as the birds chirp, I sing. Its second nature to me”

 Adebayo Amatade: Drums and Percussion Adebayo “Ade” Omatade, the drummer of the Fridge, started playing the drums fourteen years ago and has never looked back ever since. Born in Nigeria, Ade’s interests lie further than just composing music and playing the drums. He also designs clothes and is a respected photography.

 Mothusi Thusi: Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar and Flute “I learn fast and hear things that other people do not hear” says Mothusi Thusi, the bass guitarist of the Fridge who describes his sound as “gargantuan, epic and colossal”. Mothusi gets his musical roots from both his parents who are musicians. Thusi says that musical genes are not the only thing that requires one to become an excellent musician, “you gotta be good at it and also love it’ he articulates. Growing up, he listened to a lot of heavy metal now his favourite bands include the likes of Bjork, Radio Head and 340ml.