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The Sick-Leaves release third album Last Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Twice SAMA nominated artist The Sick-Leaves independently release highly anticipated third album Last Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on 8th March 2010. Johannesburg, South Africa. 8th March 2010 -- Renowned Grammy Award winning producer, Darryl Torr produced this album from The Sick-Leaves that was recorded in November 2009 at SABC’s M5 studio. The album follows from the critically acclaimed SAMA nominated first & second albums Tunnel Vision & Stone the Crow (2007 & 2009 respectively), with Stone the Crow also having been released independently. Bruce Dennill, editor of CitiVibe has said of the album: “The Sick-Leaves continue to build one of South Africa's most intriguing musical brands with shorter, sharper, more accessible songs - including the blistering 'Coz You Like It' - on new album 'Last Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy'.

Last Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy consists of eleven original songs as composed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Eksteen Jacobsz, with all instrumentation except for drums, tracked by him. These songs are punchy and catchy featuring epic guitar solos and new themes with a total album length being twenty minutes less than that of Tunnel Vision or Stone the Crow. The album is guitar driven rock, yet its sound differs quite considerably from that of the first two albums due to the influence of producer, Darryl Torr, the experience gained since the release of Stone the Crow in 2008 and a new direction in song writing. The album has already been well received in the media following the media launch held on Wednesday 24th February in association with Jose Cuervo at Narina Trogon, Johannesburg. Photographer Sean Brand designed all the album artwork using infrared photographs taken in Namibia to fit with the concept of the album.

Recent accolades for The Sick-Leaves include a 2010 MK Award nomination for the animated music video ‘All These Foolish Things (I’ve said)’ and a (Live)5 performance on national radio station 5FM’s live performance show at the end of January. The first single ‘Coz you like it’ is currently on rotation on regional & campus radio stations countrywide with previous singles off Tunnel Vision and Stone the Crow having reached the number one position on a number of SA campus charts. ‘Such a Waster’ & ‘All These Foolish Things (I’ve said)’ were play listed on 5FM. The Sick-Leaves performed at Ramfest Jo’burg, held on 6th March at Emmarentia Botanical Gardens and are on the line-up for Splashy Fen in April.

Upcoming and current media coverage of The Sick-Leaves includes a feature interview on ETV Showbiz Report, Vuzu V-Entertainment interview & performance footage from the launch, MK Live interview, MK Studio 1 interview, MK Extra interview from media launch, Speakerbox feature & photo gallery, Zoopy interview, MIO interview, Entertainment Africa event review Super 5 media interview, as well as extensive print, online & radio interviews to promote the album. The artist, Eksteen Jacobsz is excited for the release as saying: “The album signals a new direction for The Sick-Leaves & yet it still contains all The Sick-Leaves elements that were put in place by the first two albums. I can’t wait to play these songs live and take it to new ears all around the country”.

High profile performances of 2009 included: Friday night main stage performance at Oppikoppi: Smoorverlief, Rocking the Daisies, Synergy Live, Pinkie Fest, Vrede Fest III, St Stithians College Arts festival, MK’s Studio 1 as well as many club gigs around the country in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Durban, Bloemfontein, Potchefstroom, Nelspruit and Polokwane. “All These Foolish Things (I’ve said)’ off Tunnel Vision was used as the soundtrack for the 2009 Rocking the Daisies tv & radio ad on 5FM, MK & Vuzu with the music video being on rotation on MTV Europe.

The Sick-Leaves are endorsed by Music Connection and are brand ambassadors for Springleap. Tracks from Last Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy have achieved top chart positions on campus charts with ‘Run Away’ & ‘K2’ having been played on UK radio station Amazing Radio’s Amazing Rock show. The Sick-Leaves is the solo project of Eksteen Jacobsz. Eksteen composed all the music and lyrics for all three of The Sick-Leaves albums.