Cynicism is an easy sell. We’re skeptical of harmony because the news sows division, social media runs on scorn, and tangible reminders of good have become increasingly rare. Yet there are those whispered moments of unity, those artists who effortlessly embody the ideals of fusion –those who allow us to reap the rewards that can only yielded from an embrace of different ideas, cultures, and sounds. This is the genius of Seba Kaapstad.
Seba Kaapstad is a multi-national neo-soul quartet comprised of a South African, a Swazi, and two Germans. They summon the most powerful manifestation of creativity: music that represents an idea. Their Mello Music debut album, Thina, takes its name from the Zulu word for “us.” It is a gorgeous halo of soul, encompassing several continents worth of sound, and obliterating the notion of genre. It is divined by artists whose lineage is riven with trauma and suffering. But like their ancestors, they endured. And only in this futuristic present could they reconcile the perseverance and turmoil of the past, using music to inspire unity and heal.
They conjure beatific grooves that radiate with alluvial soul, celestial jazz, electronic experimentation and the polyrhythmic essence of Africa. It is marrow music, what digs beneath your bones, seeping into your bloodstream and inner visions. You hear flashes of the greats: Badu, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Jill Scott, and the Things Fall Apart-era Roots. You might even hear the ethereal float of Frank Ocean or the glowing bliss of Flying Lotus and Thundercat. But like all stellar quartets, Seba Kaapstad is indivisible and made stronger by the sum of their parts.
If the sonic roots lie in the tessaracts of eternal memory, Seba Kaapstad’s present-day genesis trace to 2013, the year that Sebastian Schuster arrived in Cape Town and immediately fell in the love with its rich cultural tapestry, legendary musical community, and artful chaos. He soon paired with the rest of the band—Zoe Modiga, Philip Scheibel (Pheel), Ndumiso Manana—developing the sort of telepathic chemistry can’t be replicated or really even explained.
2020-02-10 Sala X, Sevilla, Esp 2020-02-09 Ambigu Axerquia, Córdoba, Esp 2020-02-08 Black Sound Fest, Don Benito, Esp 2020-02-07 Tempo Club, Madrid, Esp 2020-02-06 La Nau, Barcelona, Esp 2020-02-05 Bürgerhaus, Ingoldstadt, Germany 2020-02-04 Gretchen, Berlin, Germany 2020-02-01 Jazzdock, Praha, Cz 2020-01-30 Tonne, Dresden, Germany 2020-01-29 Unterfahrt, München, Germany 2020-01-11 BHG Festival, Tilburg, NL 2020-01-10 Bix, Stuttgart, Germany 2019-11-29 ForumJazz, Vienne, France 2019-06-23 Hildener Jazztage , Hilden, Germany 2019-06-22 Red Horn District , Bad Meinberg, Germany 2019-06-14 Jazzclub Bix, Stuttgart, Germany 2018-03-23 Internationale Theaterhaus Jazztage, Stuttgart, Germany 2018-03-20 Jazzfestival Schwäbisch Hall, Schwäbisch Hall, Germany 2018-03-19 Jazzfest Eberbach, Eberbach, Germany 2017-08-26 Jazzfest Brandenburg, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany 2017-08-25 Novilla, Berlin, Germany 2017-07-18 BW Jazz Award, Wilhelma Theater, Stuttgart, Germany 2017-07-13 Good Luck Bar, Johannesburg, South Africa 2017-07-11 The Orbit, Johannesburg, South Africa 2017-07-05 Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa 2017-05-28 MTN Bushfire Festival, Swaziland 2017-03-31 Schlosskeller, Jazztage Nürtingen, Germany 2016-11-04 Soweto Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa 2016-12-03 Winnes, Johannesburg, South Africa 2016-11-30 Orbit "Home Of Jazz", Johannesburg, South Africa 2016-11-27 Masque Theatre, Muizenberg, South Africa 2016-11-25 Jazz In The Native Yard, Cape Town, South Africa 2016-11-24 The Great Wizoo, Cape Town, South Africa 2016-11-23 Jazzclub "The Crypt", Cape Town, South Africa 2016-11-05 Voices Festival, Ratingen, Germany 2016-11-03 Eigenarten Festival, Hamburg, Germany 2016-10-29 Zehntscheuer, Ravensburg, Germany 2016-10-28 IG Jazz Jazztage, Stuttgart Merlin, Germany 2016-10-27 Jazzclub Armer Konrad, Weinstadt, Germany 2016-10-23 Jazz u. Klassiktage, Tübingen Sudhaus, Germany 2016-10-15 Jazzclub Villingen, Germany 2016-10-10 Jazzclub Moods, Zürich, Switzerland 2016-10-09 Musiktage, Weingarten, Germany