Gunshot Blue’s gentle folk
Folk and blues have long been great custodians of South African music in the past and we’ve seen a resurgence of the musical genres in modern landscape. One of the latest folk/blues acts pushing the return to more grassroots music in SA are none other than Gunshot Blue.
The Johannesburg based band launched their debut EP 12396km this year with their debut single Rocky Road. The band is made of guitarist Pepi Dimevski (Bloodline LTD, Last Bout) and vocalist Frans Borman (Jet Black Camaro), who together, have created a nostalgic blues/country sound rooted in the local landscape.
They dropped their new single Lift em Up this month accompanied with a video so we caught up with the band to find out more about their sound and influences. Here’s what they had to say:
How did Gunshot Blue come about?
Like a strike of lightning from the sky. Like a trigger going off.
Is there a significance to the name of the band?
You know when you take that ice bucket and you pour it over your head… the moment it hits, that moment of waking up, the moment of revelation.
There’s been a resurgence of blues rock in the past few years why do you think it has reappeared on mainstream culture?
In one breath I’d like to say the media influences mainstream culture; tattoos, beards and bikes have been trending in cyberspace, in cinema, reality shows and in fashion editorials. Many minds seem to think blues rock make a good soundtrack to this landscape.
Describe your own personal brand of this type of music?
Gentle folk blues
How do you stay inspired and keep everything fresh and interesting for yourselves?
We’re in this river. sometimes it’s a small quite insignificant unseen unknown mountain stream, sometimes it’s this wall of a dam breaking flooding mountains. We are just going with the flow.
Describe your album 12 396KM?
If you were to travel by car from Johannesburg to Kumanovo that’s more or less the distance. The drive, it’s the town where Pepi comes from.
What was the inspiration behind it?
Something new. something fresh. a new challenge I guess, something more personal, something more honest, something a little more distinguished, simple, but refined.
How did you go about conceptualising the music?
Pepi and me( Frans) build the tracks together. He plays something, it strikes a chord with me, a few moments later I’m in. Sometimes we go up and down that mountain till the rock is chiseled. Other times the song may feel good from the word go. Wayne on drums and Kevin on bass joins us after we’ve set the scene.
What can fans expect from your live performance?
Feet tapping, heads bopping, hands clapping, feel good music and captivating folk tales.
What are some of the plans for Gunshot Blue this year?
A coup of the local and international industry 😉 demystifying the blues one Monday at a time, getting rank.
Listen or buy the band’s debut album here. Watch the music video for their first single, Rocky Road below:
