POISON

Don Laka's 'Poison' - the new green embarks on 10-city national tour.

In a boon for music fans in SA, kwaai-jazz maestro and pioneer Don Laka is dropping an explosive new earth-conscious record which will be supported by a 10-city national tour. Titled Poison, the album is a wake-up call for the South African jazz industry, featuring, as it does, an eclectic mix of Laka’s signature kwaai-jazz sound mixed with a poignant message about the dire plight of our planet.

At the age of 52, Laka has tackled Poison with even more passion and intensity than his other projects. “I feel this passion I feel for saving the earth has had a rejuvenating effect on me personally and my music,” he says.

As a solo artist, Laka has shone, locally and internationally - touring London, the United States, Canada and Austria, Russia, Chile, Cuba and Jamaica, while achieving international recognition for his music in England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and the United States. He is the only South African jazz musician to achieve three platinum records and two gold records. He is also the owner of many prestigious awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 from the Mamelodi Community, the SARRAL best composer award in 2002 and the Lifelong Contribution award from Dr Z. Pallo Jordan during the former Arts and Culture Minister’s honour of SA Music Heroes in 2007.

As a producer, Laka has used his rare sound engineering skills to help legendary South African musos such as Brenda Fassie, Sankomota, Sibongile Khumalo; Hugh Masekela, Ray Phiri, Mango Groove, Sharon Dee; Johnny Clegg, Bongo Muffin and Mafikizolo. He has also helped create some classic hit song from many of these.

After more than three decades in the South African music scene, Laka has reinvented himself with Poison in what must be his most significant humanitarian project since the early 2000 release of his album, Supanova, where he first touched on global warming issues. Indeed, Laka sees Poison as encompassing not only an album and a tour, but also an educational campaign to warn the world of the ugly side of global industrial progression, how it is affecting our lives today and the long lasting effects it will have on the planet.

The inspiration for Poison stems from an unlikely source. “I was watching a documentary on how the melting of the ice caps is disturbing the lives of polar bears in the North Pole,” he says. “They were struggling to find food in preparation for hibernation. That got me thinking about the damage that we had done to the world and what kind of legacy we are building for the future.” Acid Rain, Broken Glacier and My World are some of the song titles on the album. Laka is putting his words into action in the production of the CD, eliminating 90% of the plastic generally used in production and embarking on a new development process to create the sleeve.

Don Laka’s City-to-City tour schedule kicks off in Durban at the BAT Centre on April 8 and 9.