Let’s Go DEEP

I am a traveller so when I do my travelling I need something to keep me going. House music has always been there and reliable like a good tonic. I want to share a bit about the inception of house music in South Africa and other parts of the world.
There is no single definition of what house music really is but once you hear the rhythm then you will know it. On a more serious note now; contrary to popular believe, the genre started in the US, Canada and the UK. I recall that Chicago is one of the States that made it more prominent.

Like Muslim religion, house has its own Mecca, places that are deemed to be the night-clubs of the world, playing deep house non-stop. Ibiza in Spain is one of the places; recently New York has been the greatest host of house music giants such as the likes of Louie Vega, Quentin Harris, and Roger Sanchez. These are some of the internationally acclaimed DJs from way back.

Bringing the beat back to our continent, South Africa has always been a leader of house music production. Pioneers of house music here are the likes of DJ Christos, Glen Lewis, Vinny Da Vinci, DJ Oskido, DJ Khabzela and Dj Ganyani to mention a few. During these times, DJs played from records also known as vinyls and nowadays things have turned digital and that makes it is easier to purchase tracks through online stores.
Because house was easily accessible, it suddenly became super easy to be a DJ, you don’t really have to love music to become one, you can be an academic working 9-5 then be a DJ on weekends, just because you can. Its dominance became more and most people started appreciating it.

 We classify house music differently in South Africa while it falls within the following categories; deep house, tribal house, deep tech, commercial house, electro etc. The main focus for the purposes of this article would be on deep house. Deep house is to some extend associated with corporate functions where people in that market use it a lot for entertainment. It is played in posh venues in metropolitan cities as lounge music. Those are venues such as St Yves in Camps Bay, Alba Lounge in V&A Waterfront Cape Town, Rhapsody’s in Sunnyside Pretoria etc. Deep house gained some kind of status compared to the other types of house music.

I continue to see deep house in that light too, associated with class. Often it carries with it some jazzy notes, beautiful vocals, a message of love and some poetry at times. It speaks a universal language. I personally support most international DJs however, I prefer empowering our local talent. DJs that stand out for me internationally are the likes of Louie Vega, Atjazz and Lovebirds. Local DJs would be Julian Gomes, DJ Black Coffee, Glen Lewis, DJ Christos including young up and coming DJ Thibo Tazz.
I still then continue to hit the beat along the Karoo and the Drakensberg in the heat of the night driving knowing that I have my house beats keeping me company.

By: Thabang Motapanyane

Know Your Alma Mater

Briefly, “alma mater” refers to a school, college, or university at which one has studied and, usually, from which one has graduated. As a result we then make reference of you as a UCT “alum”. It is important that we have a sense of pride about our former schools, well, in reality that is not always the case because of certain experiences that people go through. I am here however, to tell you about the importance of acknowledging and contributing towards your alma mater.

I have visited many universities across South Africa and one thing stood out for me and that was the sense of pride that people have concerning their respective institutions. I have recently been to the University of the Free State and it was intriguing to hear its students refer to themselves as “Kovies”, an identity limited to UFS only. I took a turn at the University of Stellenbosch and only to hear them talk about been “Maties”. Rhodes University students spoke highly of been “Rhondents”, Wits University shouts “Witsie”, Unveristy of the Western Cape roars “Udubs”, North-West University (Vaal Campus) speaks of “Pukke”, while University of Cape Town  proudly  refers to “Ikeys”. All of these are a typical example of a proud alum.

This is the same type of culture that UCT is trying to cultivate on its campus. I can guarantee you that UCT values its bonds with its alumni, and works hard to create links between alumni throughout the world. There are over 100 000 of alum from UCT to date, and as diverse as this community is, this network continues to grow, and it now has a wide footprint not only in South Africa, but spans across our continent and reaches all corners of the globe. One of the Development & Alumni Department’s main objectives is to broaden and strengthen our alumni database, so that it can keep its alum up to date with exciting developments at UCT.

UCT AIR (Alumni in Residence) is not only for students in residence, it is an all encompassing term using residences as their home before they leave and go to the professional world. The campaign aims to involve students and educating them whilst on campus about how great it is to be UCT alum. The campaign also aimed at instilling pride in them as to what it means to be UCT alum and also participate in alumni programmes. So be sure to be part of UCT AIR as it offers great networking opportunities and mentoring programmes around UCT campuses.
So, as you climb the corporate ladder and become tomorrow’s ZillionAiRES, never forget your roots. You are UCT AIRmbassadors. Do us proud and be the role models for generations to come. Make a difference. It starts with you today.

By: Thabang Motapanyane

For The Love Of Wine

My love for wine has always been there but erupted more in 2008 when I started joining UCT Wine & Cultural Society. We meet almost every Friday during term for our regular tastings. I have had the privilege of tasting wines from the best vineyards in the country in the past years. Some of the greatest moments include tastings from Groot Constantia which is Cape Town’s oldest and most historic wine farms in South Africa. We have over the years tasted the most finest and prestigious bottles South Africa has to offer. Some of the Estates are the famous Backberg Estate Cellars, De Grendel, Durbanville Hills, Steenberg, Zevenwacht, Simonsig, Roodeberg and my personal favourite Harmanuspietersfontein.

What stood out the most for me is an annual event that we attend called Cape WineX (wine expo) which takes place in September at the Cape Town Conventional Centre (CTICC). Here members get to engage with almost anyone and everyone famous in the wine industry with the possibility of over 2000 bottles of wine available for tasting over 3 three days. Generally, the process of rating wine is a fairly simple and yet an interesting one. Below is some of the guidelines that are helpful in wine tasting.

How to rate wine

1.

Firstly, Examine the color. Wines can range from white to red and anywhere in between. Raise the glass to the light, and see if the color is vibrant or if it looks pale. You need to have some knowledge of different wine colors to know how the wine you are rating compares.

2.

Hold the wine glass to your nose for the aroma. Wine aroma is also called its nose or bouquet. Swirl the wine in the glass to release the aroma. When smelling the wine, think of flavours that come to mind. Ask yourself if the notes complement each other and if the wine smells pleasant.

3.

Third aspect is the taste. The wine aroma you examined earlier should give you a clue on how the wine should taste. Assess whether the flavour meets your expectations. Consider the acidity and bitterness of the wine. Determine if it will pair well with food and if so which one.

4.

Observe the finish. Finish pertains to the aftertaste that you get after sipping the wine. Notice if the wine flavour stays on your palate or if it disappears as soon as you swallow the wine. If it stays, with a flavourful aftertaste, this means that the wine has a long palate and is of high quality.

5.

Take a couple more sips for overall impression. Examine the overall package. You may ask yourself if the components of the wine complement each other or if there are some notes that fall flat. Take a moment to judge whether the wine you are rating is memorable enough that you will buy another bottle.

  My highlights

I have further had the privilege of doing what we do once a year which is to compare Method Cap Classique (MCC) been a South African term for equivalant to French Champagne. We are only allowed to call it bubbly or sparkling wine because “champagne” is a trademark protected in France. So if it’s not from France – then it’s not “champagne”.  We managed to have Graham Beck wine farm head on head with JC Le Roux giving us the best in MCC experience, something that doesn’t happen ordinarily.

When I thought the MCC experience blew my mind off, I further had a chance to do wine and chocolate pairing at Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. They mesmerised me with their range of Creative Block wine selection paired with their specially packaged chocolate.

Having had a tour at South African’s finest MCC wine farms, JC Le Roux was an experience not to be forgotten too. The farm has a stunning ambience with a world-class restaurant and the most beautiful view ever. I would still take home their multi-award winning sparkling wine “Scintilla” which has an outstanding quality and status as South Africa’s MCC champion. They only make Scintilla in exceptional vintages, and the end result is a Cap Classique that is luxuriously smooth and well-balanced with an elegant, dry palate and an explosion of scintillating bubbles that will uplift any occasion.

The next highlight that I am looking forward to is the wine and cheese paring that I am going to be part of on the 15^th of October this year. I am most certain that it’s going to be mind blowing too.

To wrap it up, apart from tons and tons of wine regions that I visited to date, I still continue to look forward to the next Friday for yet another greatest and educational experience. That’s my love for the wine!!!

By: Thabang Motapanyane