One of the major things South African musicians get right is the ability to tell stories. It’s bred into us, it’s part of our bloodline. Many memories of a bluetooth speaker blaring story songs while sitting around a smouldering fire at two o’clock in the morning, drinking red wine and eating left over braai meat come to mind.
It’s not genre specific either. Everyone from YougstaCPT to Satanic Dagga Orgy have used storytelling in their music, and you can add Leon-Ben Lamprecht to that list, his latest music video for new single “Vyeboompiekniek (13 jaar)” a visual illustration of romance in motion.
The song follows the story of two lovers who meet at a braai, and was written for Lamprecht’s 13th wedding anniversary, his wife being his main muse, and the focal point of the video.
Told in Afrikaans, the rock-based guitar track is reminiscent of Radio Kalahari Orkes, with a rather cute style of animation by by Philip ‘Fip’ Botha, that pulls heavily on the nostalgia of university parties, picnics in back gardens and listening to Blink 182.
Although music hasn’t been a part of Lamprecht’s life very long, having found his way into the field as a journalist and author of children’s books, it was the storytelling aspect that drew him in, and it shines on this rough acoustic offering.
