langeloop lounge

The detail shot is coming next....this "club" is next door to Tshepo's tuck shop.

Stoneys Ginger

Inside the tuck shop

Hanging out at Tshepo's... special treatmennt because I am recording him.. so I got to hang out inside for a minute.

Tshepo's tuck shop!!!

Francisco bringing the chips out from Tshepo's tuck shop. We asked for extra Peri Peri sauce, which is basically peppers in oil with paprika... and SOOOOO amazing. like hot sauce with chunks of the peri peri peppers in it.... and the oil is infused with that mixture. made in a big plastic bucket.... with a little vinegar.... so delicious. Tshepo is the guy that sang one of the most amazing vocals i have ever recorded, and this is his day gig. His shop is tiny, and it is still awesome.

at the site

This is huge and was hard to photograph, but you can get the idea. amazing.

The flags and new life

The wreckage held as a monument to Machel.

As i laid on my back among the 35 tuned wind harp type steel tubes, I realized how beautiful a concept it is to give each name, carved into a stone plaque in the middle of the "forest" of steel tubes, a voice. 

The inevitability of the wind here, and even the weeping rust stains on the cement all conspire to bring about an air of melancholy that is palpable at this site.  

Laying among the sounds

So many feelings

So many feelings in this place. So much that just happens inside of you when you see the conditions, read the words, hear the stories, hear the voices, smell the smells, and see the sights.... 

The people are amazing here, but there are so many facets to the story here. It is a complex set of feelings I have been living with for a minute now...

More about the crash....

Last supper

All of these pictures are inside the museum. it is in a VERY rural and VERY poor part of the region I am in, and it happens to be one of the most, if not THE most beautiful monument I have ever seen. 

Samora Machel quote

A panel and some flowers

flowers and a window

More wreckage Art

Inside the museum

Inside the Samora Machel museum where wreckage from the plane has been turned into artwork that celebrates the man. 

The samora machel monument

The pipes are all tuned to different ptches, and sing in the wind.

each one represents one of the people on the plane that went down here. we drove aabout 40 minutes to get to this monument. its literally 20 feet from the mozambique border. The plane slid over the border and there are a lot of stories about how SA didnt want Machel to live.... again.. google it. it is too much to get into here. 

The most amazing monument

Wreckage from the plane that Samora Machel went down in. Google him. Amazing story. I have a ton more shots from this monument. 

Sugar cane and the open road

Jeppe's reef. The kids were taking some Sugar cane home... probably like 10 km away.... walking.

Matsamo

Checking out a traditional performace at Matsamo. we recorded it... so amazing.

Alien autopsy meat

Um, yeah. um, yeah, um yeah. um, yeah. the colors in this picture are accurate, unfortunately for people that eat food, everywhere.

Inkomazi Maas

Closed also. The music warehouse.

Music warehouse at Matsamo plaza. I really wanted to buy some "CD,S".... or some 'CD'S"...

Sweet O

This is like the ultimate fantasy for the kids here. The sickest sugary water stuff like Kool aid. SO sad. There are amazing fruits here and amazing fruit drinks, but the kids want this stuff because it looks like a cartoon. more pics of some seriously gnarly food coming up.....

Boxer

We stopped in at Matsamo Plaza. 

Sliced bread

The bread slicer is is self serve and there were two REALLY young kids using this right before we got to it. Want sliced bread? slice it yourself! This is at the "BOXER" supermarket.

More shops

More shops along the way...

traditional designs

the "traditional designs" shop was also closed. This is 5 minutes from the Swaziland border, in "jeppe's reef" south africa.

Sonar available

Salt and salt

Salt or salt? my view when we were eating at Caesers chicken.

Surgery

Deep africa. Deep.Off the paved action. There is a woman that lives near here that we stopped at her compound. She takes in children That have no family anymore due to AIDS/HIV. 

Ordering at Caesers Chicken. I got the 1/2 chicken with chips, "hot."

I got the 1/2 chicken with chips, "hot" [Spicy]. It came with a drink: canned pineapple fanta.

Lunch at Caesars Chicken

Lunch was amazing at Caesars Chicken today. I hadnt been there yet. They make their own peri peri hot sauce and it is absolutely incredible. I forgot to take a picture of the way it was served, because I was so hungry I ripped right into the food right away. I can safely say I was the only person on the entire continent of africa wearing a fresh kills shirt today. 

Crocodile and NO fence

Notice the croc in the grass. now notice there is no fence between the picnic tables and the croc. Francisco thinks it must be trained... 

instruments.. marimba...

I want these. 

They live outside. so beautiful.

Nkomazi border

Headed back towards where we are staying from the swaziland border.

Shop is closed

This shop is closed saturday. Yes. This shop. Is closed. Saturday.

At the border

We went to the border of swaziland today. This is what you see when you come back into South africa. "welcome in south africa."

Colani vocal

Colani doing a main vocal with one of the handheld condensers....

Working wuth sunglasses

Working with sunglasses on. Yep.

At one of the schools

Doing some field recording at one of the schools we visited with the troupe... 

"skate" and Marika watching the show.

Crisis center

Peter tosh

Another view of the peter tosh fruit shop.

Peter tosh fruit shop

Obviously. 

Yeah

Zoom and some kids

Recording the kids rocking out in the alley at one of the schools we were at.

most engaging vocals

Another view of recording the most engaging vocal of my career. Bar none. really. With an Mbox, and a cascade LDC mic, in an assembly hall in nkomazi, south africa, with a bullet hole in the chalkboard just above my head. truth can be found in this life, and in this world.

School windows

actually having fun recording!

Totally fun times recording the crew. hearing the playback for the first time of one of the better tracks.

The faces say it all.

Riding to B Block in the back of the truck

Headed to the cane factory place to do a performance with the Triad crew.... "B Block" is way past the other place we went yesterday. deeper into the very poor rural areas that were just renamed during apartheid to block letters/// ;ike "B Block" instead of the real name. I have no idea the name of the place I was today besides "B block." it has a tribal name but i cant spell it.