Waiting for Harmony is
the debut release from Cape Town based trio called K, Ray and The
Bird. The music is quirky, intelligent and full of lovely melodies
and harmonies. One of the things that set this band apart is the diverse
range of instruments that are used within the band. These instruments
include acoustic guitars, bass, saxophone, clarinet, piano, keyboard,
violins etc...
This music is hard to label. Some would
call it "folk rock", some "Americana," some "Acoustic."
The band calls it Eclectic Folk Rock.
This music will definitely attract
two kinds of people. Adults who yearn for the music of the 60s and 70s
who like bands like The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel
AND a discerning younger audience who appreciate strong melodies and
harmonies.
Track desciptions:
- Settle down - (An upbeat Americana
track with a catchy guitar hook.)
- Superhero - (A luscious waltz
epic, characterised by layers of violins, piano, glockenspiel and harmonies.)
- Listen to the criticism (A
slow, groovy song with a sing-a-long chorus and a touch of jazz in the
saxophone solos.)
- A role to play - (a quirky,
fun Beatlesque number that is dominated by an infectious clarinet hook.
It almost sounds like it could be the new theme tune for the WOMBLES
OF WIMBLEDON.)
- I could be wrong (but I think
I'm right) - (A schizophrenic song consisting of: a 3 part
a capella vocal introduction guided by an organ,
then a slightly funky verse and chorus, and culminating in a violin
led slow-down in tempo. The highlight is the interacting choir-like vocal
arrangement at the end of the song.)
- Maybe deep down I'm shallow
- (A minimalistic ballad with a picking guitar, beautiful string arrangement,
and a lovely vocal.)
K, Ray and The Bird
In the beginning…
In September 2006,
two friends and fellow musicians from Goodwood, Raé Swart and
Gareth Asch, created a duo called ‘Rayash’. They later changed their
name to ‘Ray of Ash’ and performed a number of gigs in and around
Cape Town. The duo became a trio when Karyn Stuart, also from Goodwood,
joined in December 2007 and the band K, Ray & The Bird was born.
Musical influences…
K, Ray & The
Bird’s distinctive folk/rock sound is influenced by bands such as
The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas and Crowded
House. With a strong emphasis on melody and harmony, K, Ray & The
Bird’s fresh sound is easy-listening, interesting and has a slight
quirky edge. The band’s dry sense of humour definitely permeates their
music and live shows, and is reflected in their dress sense and hairstyles
too.
K, Ray & The Bird is…
Karyn Stuart (Bass, violin,
vocals)
Music Therapist – The Music
Therapy Community Clinic
Raé
Swart (keyboard, saxophone, clarinet, vocals)
Music teacher – Elkanah House
Gareth Asch (guitar, vocals)
Business Studies, Accounting and
Economics teacher – Elkanah house
Waiting for Harmony…
K, Ray & The
Bird’s debut CD was completed in January 2009. The tracking was done
at Dockyard Studios with Matt Allison. Barry van Zyl (Johnny Clegg’s
drummer) handled all the drums/percussion and Dave Langemann (Freshly
Ground’s SAMA award winning engineer) did the mixing.
K, Ray & The
Bird says…
We are extremely
proud of our first CD. We’re looking forward to taking our music outside
of Goodwood and to the rest of the world.
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84,804 MP3 tracks available @ R7 per track ($0.99) and growing daily!
(114 new tracks added this week)
. Click on 
play buttons to hear samples.
