As Beatenberg launch a brand new album, we caught up with the boys in the band to find out more about their favourite tracks, how they kick back and what they’ve got planned next.
Find out when Beatenberg’s album tour will be hitting your city, here!
GLAMOUR: How did Beatenberg begin?
Matthew: I went to high school with Rob and we used to jam. I met Ross at UCT, we both studied music. I play guitar, Rob plays drums and Ross the bass. We formerly came together in 2008 and spent two years playing around – we didn’t really have a game plan. We did a recording of all our songs, we wouldn’t really consider it an “album” because it wasn’t released on a label and we didn’t print that many copies of it. It was like a document of what we were doing at the time. I went to the US to study, and when I came back we started again with a different outlook and a different set of intentions. When we got picked up by Universal, things started to happen and we received more opportunities.
GLAMOUR: How did you come up with the name Beatenberg?
Beatenberg: It’s from a drawing by an artist called Paul Klee, of a mountain with a winding path going around it. For some reason it spoke to me and when we were thinking of a name, I thought Beatenberg. And the fact that it sounds like it could be a place in South Africa.
G: Which local and international artists have inspired or influenced you?
B: There have been a lot, because we studied music we have a wide range of interests.
Matt: I was inspired by Sting and The Police growing up, and when I started studying I became more interested in jazz. Locally, I didn’t listen to a lot of local music until we became involved in the local scene. That’s when I got exposed to it.
Rob and Ross: We DJd a lot when Matt was away, so house music has been a big inspiration. For a period we felt the house music scene was one of the most original and valuable contributions of SA. Purely because it’s so unique.
G: Could you tell us a bit about the album?
B: It’s called The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg, based on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which I always just thought were a crazy thing. I’ve always loved gardens, pathways, mazes, rainforests, a world where you go between paths. There’s something that struck me between the idea of a constructed garden, a grand-scale thing, and the suburbs that I live in. I thought a way of romanticising my life in the suburbs, was by calling it the hanging gardens – trying to find something romantic in something which is not obviously romantic. It came about as I wrote, I didn’t have a grand plan until I had the title. And then I got a sense of where I was going, or where I could’ve been going. I try not to prescribe too much because in the actual lyrics, imagery and production of the album itself, you can draw a lot from there. For me to say, “this is what it’s about” would be untrue and it would shut the doors to other interpretations that you and I didn’t think of. I intended for it to be an active thing that people can engage with.
G: Was having a South African sound and influence important to you?
B: It was important to us to pay tribute to the place we’re from. People say we’re an afro/indie/pop/house vibe, that’s what they know us for on the radio. On the album they will hear a more of an ‘80s version of SA dance music. That’s a nice thread that we have throughout the album. It’s South African right now, but it’s also South African in the sense that it sounds like something that our parents grew up with. We wouldn’t say that it is one specific sound. Deep laid back groovy sound and some more upbeat sounds., 80s version of SA dance music. There is a South African influence which provides a nice thread throughout the album. It’s South African right now, but it’s also South African in a sense that it’s something that our parents would listen to.
G: Favourite track?
Matt: I’m going to be consistent and say the last track ‘The Prince of the Hanging Gardens’.
Ross: I’m not going to be consistent and say ‘Ithaca’.
Rob – ‘Ithaca’ is my favourite song to play live. The live thing is very important, everyone grooves to it.
G: You collaborated with DJ Clock on ‘Pluto’. Any other local musicians you’d like to work with?
B: It’s great when a collaboration comes organically and naturally, that’s what’s special about it. So it’s not something we’re actively pursuing. It would be great to work with Black Coffee, OkMalumKoolKat, and some of the older generation like Ray Phiri and Sipho Mabuse.
G: You’ve been very busy with the album tour. What do you do for fun or to relax?
B: Well, it’s kinda funny because the answer would be music. Our hobby is music and our life is music. We also have other personal interests.
Matt: I always try and play tennis in my spare time, that’s a big thing for me.
Ross: I love to cook.
Rob: My favourite thing to do that’s the most fun outside of the band is to read.
G: Who’s your girl crush?
Rob: Scarlett Johansson.
Ross: A young Helena Bonham-Carter.
Matt: I used to have a crush on Barbara Streisand when I was ten.
G: Who is the…
…responsible one?
B: Ross
…jokester?
B: Matt
…ladies’ man?
B: Rob
G: What are you looking forward to doing this summer?
B: We’re going to Victoria Falls for the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival. We went on a road trip in 2009 and we’ve been meaning to go on another ever since. Mainly, we’re just looking forward to having a bit of down time and going to the beach.
