On The Couch

By Yashika Ramautar Suave Rick Astley gets ready for the camera YR: What  about this project made you get involved in it? RA: I've done a few Rewind Festivals throughout Europe and different parts of the world, where its not just you, but a host of other artists, and this appealed to me most. In that way its quite nice as it takes the pressure off because its not just one artist, but a few artists. What happens then is that it creates a whole different mood for the concert. When there is a bunch of you, there is a whole different atmosphere, and is like a festival which is a much easier gig, to be honest. YR: Do you still tour and what have you been doing in the recent years? My childhood dream materialises RA: I've been doing a few gigs here and there, like I opened the Singapore Grand Prix last year, but I'm a bit too old to be travelling around in the back of a tour bus now. Not that I won't ever do it again, because there is a certain element of fu...

By Yashika Ramautar South Africa's favourite Muslim comedian, Riaad has just wrapped up his latest performance in the form of a movie, entitled "Material" which is releasing all over the country this week. Tabloid Newspaper's Yashika Ramautar caught up with the comedian to find out his experience in this new genre. YR: You play the role of Kassim in the movie Material. How much of your personal life inspired the movie? RM: Well the actual narrative has nothing to do with my life, but some of the conflict situations that were dramatised in the movie come from personal experience. Some of the community issues are things that I grappled with and we've brought that in the movie. YR: Do you think the South African Muslim/Indian community is as conservative and orthodox as portrayed in the movie? RM: Some elements of it certainly are. We definitely went for authenticity in the movie. But from a personal perspective, some conflict situations are the same over....

The suave British singer-songwriter, Jay Sean (born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti) wowed audiences at sold-out concerts over the weekend. Born to Punjabi parents, this platinum selling artist melted the hearts of thousands of fans (mainly Indian) who were smitten by his silky voice and spectacular dance moves. Tabloid Media's, Yashika Ramautar caught up with the dashing singer hours before his Wave House, Gateway performance last Friday, and this is what he had to say..... Yashika: You arrived yesterday on our shores, what do you think of Durban and it's people? Jay: I've been overwhelmed, actually. South Africa is one of the few countries, I had not visited, and I'm really impressed. In fact I don't think I've seen so many Indians out of India, I feel like I'm in Mumbai (laughs). Plus the people are really friendly and accommodating, so thats cool... Yashika: Does your Indian heritage influence your song-writing and music? Jay: Oh, absolutely. My parents are Punj...

By Yashika Ramautar and Anusha Govender YR: As a branch of the Idols franchise, how do you think Indian Idol has set you up for an international market? Sreeram: It has made alot of difference, especially since I'm from Hyderabad, and the south is not that well known for commercial shows in the north or outside India. So, it has given me the scope of having an average of 8 to 10 shows, at least, a month which is not an usual scenario if I was not on Indian Idol. People don't know you as much so I would not have been exposed to such a huge market, had it not been for Indian Idols. Sourabhee: Every contestant reached a stage where they can expose their talent to every corner of the world, not just India. So it really gave us a good chance. YR: In terms of a judging panel, which judge's critique do you feel was most useful? Sreeram: I can't name one judge in particular because everyone played their part, from the first round auditions right till the moment I lifted th...

by Yashika Ramautar WG: Firstly and most importantly... Who are you?
DB: My name is Damon Beard, I'm 41 years old and I'm a DJ on East Coast Radio. I present the weekday lunchtime show from 12 - 3pm. WG: Describe yourself in three words? DB: Spontaneous, loyal, approachable WG: What would you describe as the most full-filling aspect of being an ECR DJ?
DB: I have a feature on my show called the Big Favour where I help people in the Province with things they may need. Through this, I've met some incredibly brave and sincere people. Only when you see what other people are going through, do you take a step back and count your blessings. WG: What is the worst thing that ever happened to you on air?
DB: My first night on air, one of the other DJ's decided to pull a prank on me. He swapped the ON and OFF buttons around, so when I was actually live ON AIR, I thought I wasn't, and when I thought I was OFF AIR, I was actually ON AIR...
I decided to sing along ...

By Yashika Ramautar Photos by Zoe Papadakis Freshly after winning three SAMA awards last week, Tabloid Newspaper's Yashika Ramautar caught up with Kahn Morbee of the Parlotones for a quickie five minute interview.  YR: You are famed for your creative and often animated videos, where does that inspiration come from? KM: Most of the concepts are generally dreamt up by the creative people who work with us. We would like to believe that the music inspires their creative juices. We have been very lucky because most of the people who we work with, we've worked with from the very start when we were still unknowns and insignificant. YR: What is the significance of your trademark make-up that you use? KM: It started long ago. It was a dress-up party so we dressed up to suit the theme and we just started experimenting with make-up. Being on stage gives you the license to do whatever you feel like. And then I watched a movie called A Clockwork Orange, its a weird movie, but the acto...

Tea with Pankaj Udhas By Yashika Ramautar During his recent tour of South Africa, Tabloid Newspaper's Yashika Ramautar sat down for a cup of tea with the acclaimed Ghazaal singer, Pankaj Udhas for a one-on-one interview.  YR: You've featured in many films, beginning as early as 1972, which film, to date, are you most proud of contributing to? PU: At some point I was actually asked by the Indian cinema  film makers to feature in their movies. I guess at that time they wanted to experiment with my  genre of music, which is Ghazals, by way of having me in the films. My very first feature was a very successful one, which is "Chiti Ayi Hai" from Naam, which was filmed and based on me. After that it became a very popular concept which was followed by Sajaan with a song called, "Jiye tho Jiye Kaise" which was also picturised on me. So I guess my appearances in movies helped me and my genre take Ghazals to the next level, because cinema is a very popular...

On the Couch with Robert Bell of    Kool and the Gang By Yashika Ramautar and Se-Anne Koopman To start at the beginning, how did you come up with the Kool...in your name?Kool: Well "Kool" was a nickname of mine, and with everything happening in my neighbourhood at the time, I came up with "Kool and the Gang" How did your passion for music come about? Kool: Music was always around the house. We use to listen to Motown music and was inspired by them among many other artists. Was it difficult choosing new artists to join the band once the older ones had passed on? Kool: There were alot of changes through the years. There was so much talent out there and so it just happened that the right people were recruited or came to us, and the rest as they say is history. You guys are known for your for fresh dance moves...can your"ll still rock the dance floor, and how often do  you practice these moves? Kool: Hey, we are not old guys. Do we look old? We can certainly ...

AR Rahman Going behind the music..... By Yashika Ramautar YR: How important is music in your personal life? ARR: Because my father was a musician, it was almost like a family thing. I want to do the same for my children, and teach them music and let them decide in the future, what they want to do. YR: Who are you currently listening to? ARR: I listened to Freshly Ground this morning for their live performance on ECR. They sang 3 songs, beautifully. YR: Being the musical legend that you are, and with your hectic schedule how do you make time for your family? ARR: I work in the house actually, as my studio is just one minute from my house. My kids come there, so too my family, and my mom is on the first floor. Thats the way I built my house. There is no seperation, except when I go abroad. YR: Where is the most romantic spot that you have come across, either through work or personally? ARR: For the World Music Awards, in Brussels, I went with my wife and we drove to Par...

At only 23, Durban North's, Krystle Temmerman (aka Krystle T) is a professional songwriter and experienced theatre performer. Krystle, who comes from a large family and who was raised by her grandparents, started performing at a young age with hopes to make herself known in the music industry. With theatre productions like Cinderella, Oliver, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Unforgettable and The Sound of Music under her belt, she is certainly well on her way. The Durban North News caught up with the talented performer to ask her a few questions about her career. DNN: When did you first realise you wanted to become a performer? KT: I was nine when I started performing but I started performing professionally when I was in Oliver in 2004. Unilever Young Performers project at the time was a platform for me to realize my dreams DNN: What do you love about theatre? KT: I love the escape, I love the different identities, I love the passion that oozes from professionals, I love t...