ArtSpoken & Reviews
Auriol Hays has a Montreaux momentPeter Feldman07/30/2010 09:05:52 
Peter Feldman: My first interview with South African singer Auriol Hays took place by telephone while she was on her way to catch a flight. She was off to Switzerland for the Montreaux Jazz Festival and was lugging her luggage through OR Tambo. She was huffing and puffing but still managed to find a reasonably quiet corner to chat with me. This was the first time, she told me, that she was "stepping out" of South Africa and she was very excited. I conducted another interview with her this week after her return to Cape Town and she was raving at their successful appearance and how well they went down. "It was just an overwhelming experience and I was so focused on the actual performance that I didn't do my homework about Switzerland. It was such a culture shock. There were moments when I said to myself I am actually here. Our first evening at this beautiful place and it was like something out of a movie." They did a 90-minute set and it was very fulfilling and a sobering experience, too, she admits, because of the experience and fame of the other performers. "We've come back with a lot to think about. There is so much we still have to do. And the worst part is I didn't have any chocolate," laughed uproariously. Auriol is part of the strong South African contingent taking part at this year's Standard Bank Joy of Jazz which takes places in Newtown from August 26 to 28. Many jazz fans believe that this year's line-up is one of the most impressive in years and includes international giants such as Chris Botti and Ravi Coltrane. So it's no wonder that Auriol is delighted to have been invited to be part of Joy of Jazz: "When my manager told me I just let out a scream. We are going to be working with a full orchestra and that excites me." Auriol will be performing a selection of songs from her album, Behind Closed Doors, as well as a clutch of new songs which will form the framework of a new album planned for later this year. Auriol, born and raised in the Western Cape, grew up listening to classical and jazz music in a family of musicians. However, she kept her vocal talent and songwriting very much under wraps and even today some members of her family do not know she is a singer: "We never talk about these things at home," she confides," and my granny only knew for the first time when she saw me in a video while she was watching TV at a friend." And all this despite coming from a musical family where mum played piano and her brothers played guitar. It would be four whole years of marriage before Auriol even admitted to her husband that she had singing talent. Through a chance meeting with songwriter and producer extraordinaire, Andre Scheepers, the Auriol Hays Project came into fruition. Auriol and Andre met each other by accident on a cold winter's night in a small farm house next to a poultry processing plant in Muldersdrift, Johannesburg. Auriol needed a keyboard player. Andre needed a new talent to mould. The result would be a top 10 hit on 5fm's Top 40 called Take It Slow. Behind Closed Doors is a collection of songs that range from the upbeat (Take it Slow) to the bittersweet (Nostalgia - "I call it my husband song and I always end up being very emotional when I sing it!"). Squeezed between these are crime songs (Die Today and Guns on the Table), a big band jazz song (Aerodynamically) and a little song about desire (I Only Want You). "Andre is very strong on love songs even though he has never been on love. I have been married, like since forever," she laughs. "He writes beautiful songs and these kind of remind me of the beauty of love. Being married is hard and sometimes the music allows you to remember a lot of things that you forget. Music is very cathartic." She talks briefly about one song, In the Sky, that she calls her "crack happy song" and it reflects her happiness at living in Jozi: "This is my ode to how much I love Joburg." Auriol's rise in music came as a complete surprise as she never had ambitions of being a singer. "I never knew I'd do this for a living. I would only sing when the bath water was running. That's how bad it was. I always thought that maybe I could sing. Then I started to listen to jazz and it was such a revelation. I tried and never thought that one day I'd be on my way to friggin' Montreaux or perform at Joy of Jazz." She admits she enjoys trying out new songs because she "gets bored very easily" and needs to maintain the passion and enthusiasm. Auriol is influenced by acts as varied as Radiohead and System of A Down as well as Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald. For the Joy of Jazz appearance Brendon Ou-Tim will accompany the pair on bass and double bass and there will be a full orchestra. Auriol Hays performs on the Dinaledi Stage on Thursday, August 26. Also performing at this opening night performance at Standard Bank Joy of Jazz is one of the most talented and critically acclaimed soul singers of the last decade, Rahsaan Patterson with support from London based guitarist and vocalist Brian Temba. Peter Feldman has been a journalist and arts critic for over 45 years and served on The Star in various capacities for 35 years, ending up as a specialist writer on films, music and theatre. During that time he travelled extensively on assignments and interviewed many international film and pop stars, both in South Africa and overseas. He also covered some of South Africa's biggest film and musical events. He is active in the freelance field and his work over the past 10 years has appeared in a variety of South African newspapers and magazines. He writes regularly for Artslink.co.za, The Citizen, South African Jewish Report, The Sunday Independent and is a contributor to "Eat Out" Magazine. He also contributes movie reviews to Chai fm Radio and has worked on TV in his specialist capacity. Over the years Feldman has been the recipient of several awards for his contribution to music journalism and the SA record industry. He wrote lyrics for some top artists, including Sipho Mabuse, and had a hit disco single, "Video Games," which was released in 1988. After retiring from The Star in April, 1999, Feldman joined the PR and events management company, Dlamini Weil Communications, where he currently works as an entertainment and media consultant. |
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