Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
I mean, yeah, sometimes we all have that dream where we find a gun in a dilapidated house and use it to murder our inner child. The word you’re looking for is ‘relatable.’ If I start off goofing, maybe take it as a sign that, having been forced to feel feelings while watching Afrikaner heavy rockers Die Ek‘s video for “Dapper Huis” (‘brave house’ in English), I’ve no recourse but to bury my head in the thin veil of sarcasm that’s always provided a measure of weak armor from such things. Alas.
“Dapper Huis” follows behind Die Ek‘s “Die Ek” single/video (posted here) from earlier this year, which boasted a similar narrative feel. There’s no dialogue here, but none is really needed, and even with the language barrier in the lyrics — among the multitude of my ignorances: Afrikaans — the emotional underpinning comes through aided by wistful piano in the beginning of the four-minute track and a pair of swells later, not quite chaotic but emblematic of turmoil just the same. The band’s sound and the video-as-movie vibe suit each other well; both carry a sense of professionalism in their making and a feeling of knowing what they want to express.
So, while your own unconscious mind may or may not (but probably does) occasionally direct you toward self-assassination, the clip and the song it contains both make a striking impression and that’s clearly the intent. I don’t know the band’s plan as to putting together an album or an EP or some other collection of the songs they seem to be trickling out one at a time, but the safe bet is that a plan exists considering how much consideration is being put into the material itself. When it’ll come to fruition, we’ll just have to wait and see.
For now, enjoy:
Die Ek, “Dapper Huis” video premiere
To be a child is to be vulnerable… When I was young, I was staring at a dark corner of my room. In the space between waking and sleeping, I had the feeling that there was something in the dark. Something hiding there waiting for me to fall asleep. Sometimes my dreams took me to the most hellish scary places. I woke up soaked in sweat, overwhelmed by fear. Heart beating deafeningly. Body burning. I held my breath and listened. I turned on the light to see that there was nothing. I turned my back on the dark corner and told myself there is nothing there. It was all just in my mind.
The courage to look further into the darkness came later in life, but the anxiety of that total powerlessness still remains in the depths of my psyche. It stares at me from a dark corner and waits until I fall asleep.
Die ek is: Riaan le Roux (Stem, kitaar, klavier) Dylan du Toit (Bas kitaar) Werner Breedt (kitaar, backing vocals, triggers) Duncan Potgieter (Drums)
Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 17th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The words Die Ek, which the band presents with a lower-case second ‘e’ — Die ek — translate from Afrikaans to “The I.” So it makes a kind of roundabout sense that their video for the song that bears their name should have an element of self-confrontation to it. The single and clip premiering here follow another song, “Fokijuk,” that showed up last Fall, and though there’s word that the Pretoria-based trio recorded an album, I’m not sure as to the circumstances of the release, if that’s coming or what. No doubt whatever they initially planned when they were in the studio late in 2019, the plans evaporated due to outside circumstances. By which I mean the fucking plague.
Sonically, Die Ek present an interesting meld of heavy fuzz with flowing rhythms that seem born of an underlying current of pop. “Die Ek,” the song, is nothing if not modern, and the starts and stops of “Fokijuk” speak to a progressive bent that’s bound to come up again elsewhere on the full-length, whenever that should surface. This track is short, but still brings an individualized feel to its fuzzy base, and though one can trace its overarching lead line to the likes of Yawning Man and maybe some of its contemplative depth to latter-day Truckfighters, those desert-ish hues are just part of a broader palette the trio headed by Riaan le Roux on guitar, vocals and keys, with Duncan Potgieter on drums and Dylan du Toit on bass. There’s some Queens of the Stone Age in there too, and since we’re in South Africa, one might mention Ruff Majik as a more local port for that feel, but Die Ek are far less defined by their influences than what they do with them.
If you’re sensitive to flashing lights, watch out for some of the verse in the midsection here, but beyond that, the video presents a decidedly cinematic front, like Fight Club if no one actually got hit. Again, it’s brief, so not looking to take up too much of your day, but it delivers a song that says more than its three-minute runtime might lead one to believe.
I won’t delay further. Dig in and enjoy. Info follows the player below:
Die Ek, “Die Ek” official video premiere
Riaan le Roux on “Die Ek”:
The song was inspired by the observation that there is a never ending play between darkness and light. One cannot exist without the other. This duality that we all live in every day has a balance and takes the form of a dialog. Therefore, one can be more expressed or articulated in any given situation. This creates conflict within us. It implies the foundational elements of the hero’s journey. The known and the unknown. Out of the darkness we came into the light and one day we shall return from whence we came. At its core it is the way we learn and the point of origin for ‘Die ek’, hence the title.
The preproduction for the song was done back in 2014 by Riaan. It was the song that was written for the concept and the name of the band. These elements were developed over long conversations between Riaan and his brother Allan, that also features in the video. It has two guitar lines that work in a contrapuntal way with each other in order to express the unity in the duality. These lines are repeated throughout the song and gives it a cyclical feel. Again pointing to the nature of this duality. Later came the vocal parts that had two distinct voices speaking to each other. Over a groove that puts the snare and Hi-Hat shots in unexpected places, suggesting the conflict in motion.
The song was then recorded at Wolmer studios. With the original lineup. Jorik Pinaar (Not my Dog, among others) Wouter Reyneke (Anton Goosen and many more). After recording the song, Jorik moved to Cape town and and was replaced by Nelis du Plessis. After some months Wouter moved to Cape town and Nelis to Kempton Park. The song went dormant for many years. In 2019 it reemerged with the addition of the new members (Dylan and Duncan) that injected it with a fresh batch of dedication and enthusiasm. ‘Die ek’ was finally recorded mixed and mastered by Riaan at Die ek HQ in Beckett st Pretoria.
Die Ek on “Die Ek” video
Riaan’s initial idea for the video was that It would be a scene out of a dream where you are trying to hit someone. In the dream the characters represent the element in oneself that you want to destroy. However, you can never land a punch. He then developed this concept over many conversations with Allan and Heleen and Susan van Tonder (Tiger & Lilly Productions) In many ways the video is self-explanatory and a visual representation of what happens in the music and lyrics. It personifies darkness and light in two characters. The characters seem to be interchangeable as the protagonist even though the focus is on the light character in the beginning. This becomes clearer as the video progresses. The locations, like in all Die ek’s videos, have a special meaning and are close to their HQ. An interesting side note on the verse part (flashing lights): it was found by accident. That kind of lighting can only be found never organized or paid for. It supported the concept of darkness and light so beautifully. These chance elements are inadmissible and mirror life in the most profound way. The direction of the video was a collaboration between Riaan, Allan, Heleen and Susan. It was edited by Riaan and shot by Heleen and in some cases Susan.
Die ek is a progressive Afrikaans rock band founded in Pretoria by Riaan le Roux in 2014. Since then there have been many obstacles. These obstacles, while preventing the project from seeing the light of day, where instrumental in the growth and ultimately invaluable in its creational processes. Towards the end of 2019 the first album was recorded at Die ek HQ. During the same year Die ek launched their first single ‘Verkeerde Voet’ alongside a video and a show played in Pretoria.
In 2020 the band was set to launch their second single ‘Fokijuk’ with a video that was to be shot in March of that year. The song features a distinct apocalyptic sound and in its essence communicates the destruction of structures in the mind. The end of a belief system or broadly speaking – a way of life that is unsustainable. A song that was composed in 2016. Needless to say in March of 2020 the world came to a standstill everything that was would inevitably change. In September the band finally got the chance to record the video. A beautiful collaboration was born out of the ashes of the year. Tiger and Lilly productions produced a video that completely aligned with the intention and tone of the song. The video was launched in October.
Die Ek is: Duncan Potgieter (Drums) Dylan du Toit (Bass) Riaan le Roux (Vocals, Guitars, Synth, Piano)
