The gentle strumming of the guitar strings calls out gently, teasing you
out of your chair and on to your feet. Then comes the dramatic thump
and drumming so characteristic of South African house music … and then a
smooth, crooning voice joins in on the melody.
Pluto, arguably
the biggest song in the country right now, is a unifying dance floor
filler and It song of the radio waves by newcomers Beatenberg in
collaboration with DJ Clock.
Pluto became the second most downloaded song from the local
iTunes store four months after its release and has remained in the top
10 since. And it has received more radio airplay than any other song –
local or international - for the past couple of weeks, according to
Entertainment Monitoring Africa. It is definitely a coup for DJ Clock
and the three members of Cape Town-based Beatenberg: Ross Dorkin, Rob
Brink and Matthew Field. But it almost didn’t happen.
Universal Music label executive Neil Sinclair first suggested the
collaboration. “He’d read an interview we had done before where we
mentioned that we love South African house music,” says Beatenberg
drummer Brink. A couple of names came up, but the band settled on DJ
Clock as they were already fans of his. The Durban-based DJ and record
producer is probably most well-known for his 2008 mega-hit
Umahambayedwa.
“We were super excited just to meet him,” says Dorkin, who plays
bass. But when that happened, the collaboration almost collapsed.
“I think there was a little bit of miscommunication,” says Field,
the band’s guitar-playing vocalist. “We had another song that we had
recorded and when we met him and played the song for him, he said it was
great but there was nothing for him to add on it.”
The band had flown to Johannesburg for what was supposed to be a
recording session, but returned to Cape Town without having recorded
with Clock. It would eventually happen at a later stage after the record
label intervened. This time, everything would be done from scratch – no
pre-recorded songs, just the band and Clock in the studio, where they
would create the foot tap-inducing magic of
Pluto in the space of 24 hours.
The relatively unknown Beatenberg acknowledge that the collaboration
with DJ Clock has been a mutually beneficial career move, especially in
terms of making music in a deeply segmented market where crossover hits
– let alone artists – are quite rare.
“With
Pluto, we got to have a number one song on Metro FM and Clock got to have a number one song on 5FM.”
Similarly, Durban pop band The Arrows were really only known to pop
music fans before being thrust into a broader mainstream consciousness
through their collaboration with producer DJ Kent on
Spin my World Around. Although the band makes it clear that
Pluto had long been recorded when
Spin My World Around was released, there is no denying that it replicates the magic collaborative formula of the 2013 hit.
Not all are destined for number one spots, but at the very least
these types of collaborations expose artists to new audiences. In a
recent interview, the seasoned DJ Clock admitted to being forced to “go
corporate” to find a new audience.
“It was interesting for me because we kind of feel that we are the
ones who have gone ‘corporate’,” says Brink, though Dorkin says it has
worked for the group and the producer.
DJ Clock and Beatenberg are launching The 4th Tick album in styleon the 31st May in Soweto Zone 6 ft some of South Africa 's best , including the likes of Bantu Soul . Alaska , Tzozo , Cassper Nyovest and more.
For Booking DJ Clock , DJ Clock 's Bookings , Booking Beatenberg , Beatenberg 's Bookings , Contact 0715199905 or email djsproduction.events@gmail.com
