In our third instalment of introducing the 5 Finalists we picked to be a part of our first Band Or Bust competition in Stellenbosch on Saturday the 7th of March, I chat to Champion Trees, an indie rock band from Cape Town.
Formed by Alexis Pienaar (bass), Francis Christie (guitar/vox), Troy Nijland (guitar) and Langa Dubazana (drums) in late 2018.
On the back of a well-received, self-recorded debut EP, the band has focused its attention on playing shows to gain momentum – and what better place to make their mark than our first Band Or Bust.
Texx: So tell me a bit about yourself – who are you and where are you from?
Troy: We are four friends who study together at UCT. We formed in late 2018 and we’ve since self-released an EP of five of our songs that were written in the first few months of the band. I met Francis just before we were due to end up at university together and we started playing some guitar together here and there. Lex and Francis are cousins and had always wanted to get a band going at some point. We realized it would be tough to find a bassist so Lex bought a second-hand bass off Facebook Marketplace and the three of us started getting together to mess around on ideas. Thankfully Lex had played quite a bit of music with Langa in highschool, and so he asked Langa to come through and rehearse with us. That was a real turning point, and things started to get going from there.
Francis: We often get asked about our band name. I was reading about the Arderne Gardens for no real reason at all, and I saw something about how they have a few champion trees there (which are trees that have become protected national monuments) and I really liked the term. This was at some point in high school, and I remembered it when we were thinking about what to call ourselves. When we were first messing around we called ourselves Japanish Goalkeepers but whenever we told anyone our name it caused confusion, and so we figured it wasn’t very memorable.
Texx: In your own words, what kind of music do you make?
Alexis: Our music varies between quite serious post-punk revival-esque songs, and some with more light-hearted themes like going to Namibia to farm sand. Overall, I’d say we’re an indie rock band.
Texx: Sum up your live show in one short sentence?
Francis: Gatherings of doting friends, relatives and the occasional lost group of South Korean tourists.
Texx: What’s been the highlight of your musical journey so far?
Alexis: The highlight for us thus far is the release of our EP towards the end of last year. We overcame limitations such as only having Francis’ bedroom as a recording space, and it was only then that we felt the band had been truly actualized.
Texx: What do you think you bring to the Final 5 that makes you stand out?
Troy: A genre-defining performance.
Texx: Which act out of the Final 5 do you rate highly and why?
Langa: BrotherBrother. I saw them live once and I have never heard vocalists that in tune with each other. Almost as though they were one singer. Really really a class act.
Texx: Which part of the prize package is the most attractive to you and why?
Langa: Writing with a single produced by Karen Zoid and Theo Crous. I’m just really excited to work with pros in the music business. I’m keen to see their workflow and how they think about and create musical ideas.
Texx: If you could pick any of the judges to drink with who would you pick and why – and also what would we be drinking.
Francis: If we had to choose a judge to drink with it would have to be Wynand Myburgh. We’re Fokofpolisiekar fans, and they’ve definitely informed our music quite a bit. Besides that, he owns a great beer company and he definitely hits it hard so it’s the obvious choice.
