Bittereinder: pioneers of Afrikaans rap

Afrikaans rap group, Bittereinder have been pioneers in the local Afrikaans hip hop scene with their unique blend of electronic and urban sounds.

Last year, the group released their brand new single and video from Skerm, the title track from their new album, which is available on iTunes.

The new LP was the band’s third studio album and takes listeners and fans on the next part of their musical journey, still filled with surprises, great collaborations and striking visuals.

Take their video for the title track for example, the video itself exists on and in screens because of Louis Minnaar imagining of a golden sci-fi electro universe.

We caught up with the Jaco van der Merwe, Louis Minnaar, Peach van Pletzen to chat about the new year and new plans. Here’s what they had to say:

You guys have been in the music game for a while now, how did you guys maintain your signature style with this latest album, Skerm?
We have a signature style? Jokes aside, we sort of pride ourselves in finding and developing an original mixture of sounds, we feel we’ve ventured into new sonic territory with SKERM, so perhaps that’s our signature.

Explain the title, why Skerm?
We’re firm believers in letting the music and art speak for itself, we’ve written an entire album in a year, and we feel it’d be a little bit like a spoiler to talk about the music before the music has had a chance to talk to the listeners. Everyone can and should decide for themselves "why Skerm".

Where do you find inspiration for the material you write?
In every corner of the places we live.

What’s your method/ingredients for writing a good song?
New methods, new ingredients. Actually that’s not always true, some recipes are worth repeating with only slight adaptations.

How do know a song is going to make it to an album?
We don’t usually spend time finishing tracks that aren’t going to be on an album, we make the call with rough versions and ideas for tracks pretty early on. We have day jobs!

Who writes the music, what is the process before you guys do a new song?
We all write the music, Louis wrote most of the original tracks on SKERM. Each song has its own process.

What did you do differently with this record than the previous album?
We just streamlined the steps of the process, worked a little faster and more efficiently than on the first two albums.

Where did you record, was there a specific feeling or vibe your were going for and how did you achieve it?
We recorded at Peach’s Sleeproom Studios. Nicely lit with some cool lamps. Recorded in the evenings after work, a mad mixture of radiant creativity and total fatigue.

What was the most challenging thing about putting this album together?
Working nights. It got pretty strenuous, but those glimmers of magic in making art kept us going.

Who was involved in the process?
Jaco, Louis and Peach.

You’ve performed at almost every festival, what is the trick of getting a crowd so big to dance along and engage in the music?
Getting a good portion of the crowd to connect with your music before they’re at the live show is half the trick, probably.

What’s the craziest thing that has happened touring in the past year?
Difficult to single one "thing" out. Eventually it all becomes one long intertwined memory.

What have been the worst moments about doing what you do so far?
Even the bad moments are worth something good in the bigger picture.

What have been the highlights so far?
Playing Lowlands, Paradiso and Melkweg in the Netherlands. And every Oppikoppi show.

What can people look forward to from Bittereinder going forward?
Lots of new videos and plenty more shows.

Watch their music video for Skerm below:

Afrikaans rap group, Bittereinder have been pioneers in the local hip hop scene with their unique take of hip hop urban music for a a few years now.

Last year, the group released their brand new single and video from Skerm, the title track from their new album, which is available on iTunes.

The new LP was the band’s third studio album and takes listeners and fans on the enxt part of their journey, still filled with surprises, great collaborations and cool visuals. Take their video for the title track? The video itself exists on and in and thanks to screens because of Louis Minnaar imagining of a golden sci-fi electro universe.

We caught up with the Jaco van der Merwe, Louis Minnaar, Peach van Pletzen to chat about the new year and new plans. Here’s what they had to say:

You guys have been in the music game for a while now, how did you guys maintain your signature style with this latest album, Skerm?

We have a signature style? Jokes aside, we sort of pride ourselves in finding and developing an original mixture of sounds, we feel we’ve ventured into new sonic territory with SKERM, so perhaps that’s our signature.

Explain the title, why Skerm?

We’re firm believers in letting the music and art speak for itself, we’ve written an entire album in a year, and we feel it’d be a little bit like a spoiler to talk about the music before the music has had a chance to talk to the listeners. Everyone can and should decide for themselves "why Skerm".

Where do you find inspiration for the material you write?

In every corner of the places we live.

What’s your method/ingredients for writing a good song?

New methods, new ingredients. Actually that’s not always true, some recipes are worth repeating with only slight adaptations.

How do know a song is going to make it to an album?

We don’t usually spend time finishing tracks that aren’t going to be on an album, we make the call with rough versions and ideas for tracks pretty early on. We have day jobs!

Who writes the music, what is the process before you guys do a new song?

We all write the music, Louis wrote most of the original tracks on SKERM. Each song has its own process.

What did you do differently with this record than the previous album?

We just streamlined the steps of the process, worked a little faster and more efficiently than on the first two albums.

Where did you record, was there a specific feeling or vibe your were going for and how did you achieve it?

We recorded at Peach’s Sleeproom Studios. Nicely lit with some cool lamps. Recorded in the evenings after work, a mad mixture of radiant creativity and total fatigue.

What was the most challenging thing about putting this album together?

Working nights. It got pretty strenuous, but those glimmers of magic in making art kept us going.

Who was involved in the process?

Jaco, Louis and Peach.

You’ve performed at almost every festival, what is the trick of getting a crowd so big to dance along and engage in the music?

Getting a good portion of the crowd to connect with your music before they’re at the live show is half the trick, probably.

What’s the craziest thing that has happened touring in the past year?

Difficult to single one "thing" out. Eventually it all becomes one long intertwined memory.

What have been the worst moments about doing what you do so far?

Even the bad moments are worth something good in the bigger picture.

What have been the highlights so far?

Playing Lowlands, Paradiso and Melkweg in the Netherlands. And every Oppikoppi show.

What can people look forward to from Bittereinder going forward?

Lots of new videos and plenty more shows.