Thys Nywerheid
Encyclopedia
Thys Nywerheid is an alternative rock
music project from Pretoria
, South Africa
. The band’s name is a wordplay on the Afrikaans name for ‘’Home Industry’’. The music is a mixture of both Afrikaans and English
but it leans predominantly towards the former. Thys Nywerheid is generally regarded by South African music critics as being one of the pioneers in alternative Afrikaans music and is renowned for fusing electronic and rock music and also for their thought provoking and satirical lyrics. They are also one of few rock bands that employs a full-time turntablist.
project in 2004 by multi-instrumentalist
Dawid Kahts and most of the early recordings were sample-based electronic tracks featuring vocal samples of prominent public figures juxtaposed against hard rock
guitar riffs. One of these tracks used samples taken from a political radio advert for the now disbanded New National Party and another features a disgruntled dairy farmer complaining to the Eskom
call centre about a power failure which resulted in his milk produce going sour.
Originally Kahts never intended the project to be commercial in any sense of the word but was persuaded in 2006 by musician Jamie Sharpe to start performing the music live. Sharpe subsequently joined the project as a DJ, turntablist and additional vocalist.
In 2008 Thys Nywerheid released their debut album Husse met lang messe with South African independent label OneF Records. The album was received very favourably, especially by music critics and was nominated for a Huisgenoot Tempo award for the most progressive Afrikaans album of 2008.
In 2009 the band recorded and launched a music video of ‘’’Snorcity ‘’’, a song the band recorded as a tribute to South African music legend James Philips aka Bernoldus Niemand. The video music was directed and produced to reflect the 1970’s and is stylistically similar to the Quentin Tarantino
film Death proof
as well the Beastie Boys
video for the song 'Sabotage'.
The band took a break in the first half of 2010 but is currently in the studio working on their second full length album.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
music project from Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The band’s name is a wordplay on the Afrikaans name for ‘’Home Industry’’. The music is a mixture of both Afrikaans and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
but it leans predominantly towards the former. Thys Nywerheid is generally regarded by South African music critics as being one of the pioneers in alternative Afrikaans music and is renowned for fusing electronic and rock music and also for their thought provoking and satirical lyrics. They are also one of few rock bands that employs a full-time turntablist.
History
The band was started as an experimental musicExperimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
project in 2004 by multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Dawid Kahts and most of the early recordings were sample-based electronic tracks featuring vocal samples of prominent public figures juxtaposed against hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
guitar riffs. One of these tracks used samples taken from a political radio advert for the now disbanded New National Party and another features a disgruntled dairy farmer complaining to the Eskom
Eskom
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
call centre about a power failure which resulted in his milk produce going sour.
Originally Kahts never intended the project to be commercial in any sense of the word but was persuaded in 2006 by musician Jamie Sharpe to start performing the music live. Sharpe subsequently joined the project as a DJ, turntablist and additional vocalist.
In 2008 Thys Nywerheid released their debut album Husse met lang messe with South African independent label OneF Records. The album was received very favourably, especially by music critics and was nominated for a Huisgenoot Tempo award for the most progressive Afrikaans album of 2008.
In 2009 the band recorded and launched a music video of ‘’’Snorcity ‘’’, a song the band recorded as a tribute to South African music legend James Philips aka Bernoldus Niemand. The video music was directed and produced to reflect the 1970’s and is stylistically similar to the Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
film Death proof
Death Proof
Death Proof is a 2007 American action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women before murdering them in staged car accidents using his "death-proof" stunt car...
as well the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
video for the song 'Sabotage'.
The band took a break in the first half of 2010 but is currently in the studio working on their second full length album.
Current members
The current members of the band include Dawid Kahts on guitar, keyboard and lead vocals, DJ Jamie Sharpe on turntables and vocals, Martin Jooste on bass guitar and Werner van den Berg on drums.Discography
Husse met lang messe (2008)- Tsotsi
- Fear and loathing in Menlyn Mall
- Vir Funk en Vaderland
- Skade
- United States Of The World
- Mielie Praatjie
- Psychedelic Ossewa
- Die Kortbroek Vastrap
- Skelms En Dwelms
- Marie Johanna
- Bokkie Sokkie Skoppelmaai