Live on SABC2 thanks for checking it out

Hi guys thanks for checking it out.. I’m currently playing live on SABC2 … with Johnny Cradle… its awesome.. please feel free to join my mailing list .. download my music and forward it to all your friends.   cheers. Tristan

Barack Obama’s inaugural speech

Thank God.  Finally . Something to make us less embarrassed to be human. Lets hope things change for the better for all of us.

This is President Obama’s inaugural speech as issued by Times Online : http://www.timesonline.co.uk

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you Mr. Gary Gargan

Just a quick shout out to say thank you to Mr. Gary Gargan for making and awesome donation. Thanks man.

Please feel free to copy / rip / forward and send on my VIRTUAL BUSKING email to all the guys from ‘HOUSE’ that you are still in contact with . ha ha . long time.

its so awesome to have you guys all over the world supporting this innitiative and getting my music out there.

chat soon .

T

How to download Tristan’s music.. for those of you having problems

Apparently the download process is a little tricky .. I’m working on fixing this but …for now this is how you access your free / donation album..

1 – Register your email address above and click submit.
2 – Check that you have been successfully subscribed on the confirmation page. It will have a little yellow notice saying that you have been successfully subscribed.

3 – Check your email INBOX. Your personal download email should be waiting for you . You can download the music at anytime and you can forward the download email to your friends who will also be able to download the album. just like you can. The email is also small so it wont block their in-boxes with the music.
4 – Click the Download Full Album link. This will take you to MEDIAFIRE where you will be able to access the files for download.
5 – MEDIAFIRE hosts my music and will list all the various songs that you can download. So… Click the individual TRACK NAMES.. the track names for each track will take you to the download page.

6 – Simply Click the Download LINK for each track and repeat the process for the other tracks. Save the downloaded tracks to your computer. Add Tristan’s music to your library of music and remember to share it with all your friends.

7 – REMEMBER – Send the download email on to your friends all over the world so that they can download it too.
Leave a nice comment on this website and make a donation if you can.

Thats it.. if you have other difficulties accessing the downloads please leave Tristan a comment and let him know so he can fix it.

Tristan Waterkeyn songs in Sweedish Fundraising Album

I have just opened a mysterious looking parcel that arrived at the Overtone offices this morning.

Its a really wonderfull experience to open a letter.. and discover a CD that is not only being sold for a good cause but that also contains one of my songs .  ‘The Mack‘ from the ‘Hay day’ album has made a surprise appearence in this Sweedish fundraising project.

Its a charity fundrasing compilation album by Afrika Grupperna that contains both South African and Sweedish artists.

My very special thanks to Maja and Lisa for including me in their project.  Thank you.

Visit their website here http://afrikagrupperna.se or read the website translation below.

Please support this cause and order a copy .

Order the CD!

“Africa is not a country”

For the second year in a row, we have Färnebo Students produced a support disk with a beautiful collection of songs from the Swedish and South African current artists.

By purchasing this CD, you’ll help us raise money for African communities Southern Africa Collection.

Who are Färnebo folk High School?
We who compiled this disc are at the Gothenburg branch of Färnebo folk High School.  Schools want to arouse interest and commitment to fair questions, but also spread knowledge about the opportunities to influence and change locally and globally. We are 16 students who made a four months long training courses in South Africa. Back in Sweden we have looked at outreach information and collection campaigns. This disc is part of this work. For a great price, you can listen to Miss Li, Jens lay, Zoro, The Tough Alliance and many more in the entire 19 tracks!

Order the CD!

What does the money go from the disc to?
Africa group supports fifty projects in five countries in southern Africa. Here are some of the projects the money goes to:
Angola: Malanjeprogrammet operated in cooperation with the Angolan rural development and environmental organization ADRA. The program includes counseling and micro-credit for rural development and training for the development of local associations.

Mozambique: In Cuamba comprises the activities of a clinic for voluntary hivtest and a Young. Activists have been trained and cooperation are of different compounds for outgoing information via radio, in schools and in society. From 2008, the African Group’s support focused on the two patient associations of HIV-positive, in cooperation with health care is developing a home program. Education on HIV / AIDS, sexuality and gender is an important part of work.
South Africa: Africa Groups supports four country organizations working for the South African government’s land reform program must be implemented, for local democracy in rural areas and to the people there to be able to create a better life.

First Donations for VIRTUAL BUSKING

I’m leaping for joy.. i’m shaking my …

thank you thank you .. today i received my largest donation to date for my music $50 . how awesome is that?

Thank you for helping me to keep making music and for allowing my music to travel.

Mr Neil .. you rock . thank you. thank you.. USA here i come.

T

Virtual Busking with Tristan Waterkeyn

What is Virtual Busking?

busk - to entertain by dancing, singing, or reciting on the street or in a public place for donations. Virtual busking is to entertain via the internet for donations.

Hello everyone.  So as you can tell im trying something completely new.

I have come to realise that music and its distribution is rapidly shifting form . Gone are the days of the standard ‘get your music in a store’ model.  Further more getting your music out and around the world is far more important than having a couple of albums sold..

The manufacturing costs of physical albums can make physical distribution too expensive etc etc..

Most of the music that people have on their little ipods they have copied from their friends and thats just they way it is.

There is little point in moaning about the fact that people arent buying music any more either.

The only real option is to get your music out into the world as best as you can. The internet is the obvious way forward.

So .. download my album and share it with your friends and family.. The email is nice easy to forward.

Im traveling through my little life and i love the idea of my music traveling arround the world too.

Think of someone far away that you think should have my music and send them the download email.

Please leave me a comment and let me know where you are from .

This is going to be an adventure for me and my music.

First act at the ‘We all Benefit’ concert for victims of Xenophobia

12►

PANSA Western Cape’s We All Benefit Sunday 1 June, raised over R70 000 for Victims of Xenophobic Violence

“Our artists opened their hearts and in doing so touched those of the audience. From Brett Bailey’s provocative display in the foyer, to Mbali Kgosidintsi’s honest and touching poem, to Oliver Mtukudzi’s quiet genius, to “Corne’s” swapping of audience shoes… we went on a very unique journey. Melodic sounds, foot stomping, tears, raucous laughter: the We All Benefit was a tribute to the wealth of culture born in Africa, and available to us in South Africa… ”

Quite an experience .. the red velvet opens and suddenly i find myself confronted by 1500 people who are expecting me to sing…. what the…?

Western Cape Mini Tour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Overtone Music is proud to announce that Tristan Waterkeyn Trio has officially started a mini tour in the Western Cape area of South Africa. During the next two months, the band will be promoting compositions from the album “Hay Day”, with a newly arranged show that promises to captivate even the most skeptical of listeners. Covering Cape Town, Rondebosch, Muizenberg, Stellenbosch and Durbanville, the trio plans to create awareness of their “not so conventional”musical approach before hitting the road nationwide in mid August.

Through the combination of styles such as Pop, Funk and Bossa with splashes of Latin and Rock beats, the band is capable to adjust their performance to the most intimate venue or the rockiest music club. This power trio performs a compilation of smooth compositions, shown off at their best courtesy of the exquisite clarity of the production and the simplicity of its arrangements.

With years of expertise in the American music industry, producer & performer Jay Sandoval has assisted the band for the live performances of “Hay Day” creating a more dynamic and up-beat approach in each song, trying yet to keep the original sound of the album in which participated musicians of the caliber of Tony Cox or Steve Newman to name a few.

Tristan Waterkeyn Trio has recently finished a 3 week residency at Zula Sound Bar, where bands like Mama Know Nothing, The Beams and Joshua Grierson were featured as opening acts. The band’s upcoming shows are:

- Sun Jun 1st, Joburg Bar (Cape Town)

- Wed Jun 4th, Mercury Lounge (Zonnebloem)

- Thu Jun 5th, Durbanville Kunskafee (Durbanville) with Joshua Grierson

- Sat Jun 14th, Fogeys Railway House (Muizenberg)

- Wed Jun 19th, Cafe Sofia (Rondebosch)

- Tue Jun 24th, Die Boer (Durbanville)

- Sat Jun 28th, Dorp Straat Theatre (Stellenbosch)

- Fri Jul 4th, Corner Bar (Durbanville)

For more information about Tristan Waterkeyn Trio, please visit:

www.overtone.co.za

www.myspace.com/tristanwaterkeyn

Tristan Waterkeyn Trio Taking Over!

On Wednesday May 7th at 9:30pm, the Tristan Waterkeyn Trio starts “Operation Western Cape”. The band has an extremely busy agenda for the months of May, June and July, covering some of the best music venues in the area. Furthermore, they’ll be promoting their debut album “Hay Day” with a live production that has been carefully arranged to suit the taste of even the most skeptical. Performances in Cape Town, Rondebosch, Durbanville, Muizenberg and Stellenbosch have been confirmed in what promises to be a very intense and successful mini-tour before hitting the road around the nation in August.

The simplicity of Tristan’s music is supported by the quality of the musicians in this international band. Together, they provide audiences with a delightful experience, especially to those who are looking for a touch of classy instrumental style.

Make sure to check one of the Trio’s shows near you, it’s not just another show, it’ll definitely be… something else.

“Hay Day” – 2007 – Tristan Waterkeyn’s Debut Album

“Hay Day” – 2007

Tristan Waterkeyn’s Debut Album

HAY DAY – CD REVIEW

Mellow, thoughtful and aurally pleasing, Tristan Waterkeyn’s debut album Hay Day is a hammock-style hit waiting to be discovered. Acoustic guitar and jazzy rhythms complement lyrics both darkly humorous and poetic, the songs melded smoothly together by Tristan’s deep, sincere voice.

The 26 year-old singer and songwriter is based in Cape Town, but his young years have seen extensive travels to the various corners of the globe. Adventuring through Europe, the East and Australia, he was exposed to a variety of styles of music, and life experiences which have shaped his music into the mature, carefully crafted art that is Hay Day.

Tristan’s music is the stuff summer sailing holidays are made of; chilled, with an island feel to it.

It’s the stuff you listen to late into the night around a beach bonfire with the people you love. The 12 professionally recorded tracks offer a mix of the melancholy and the more upbeat, making for a balanced album which is easy to listen to from beginning to end.
From the light-hearted “Kathrin”, written on a beach on the coast of Australia for
a traveller with a penchant for dreadlocks, to the cleverly penned “Inner way”-
thoughts on the paradoxical nature of love and how it can bring people together
or break them apart, and the smoothly intriguing “Atmosphere”, the album is a
rich tapestry of music with Tristan gently threading it all together.

With many CDs, you skip over a few songs, only enjoying half of the recordings.
With Hay Day, your finger won’t be hovering over the skip button; it’ll be on
repeat instead. – CD Review by Carey Finn 2007

Credits on the “Hay Day” Album 2007:

THE BRILLIANT MUSICIANS: Adri Raas – backing vocal (Afraid of the dark)
Ben Badenhorst – electric guitar
Howard Butcher – bass dubs, claps & clicks
James Kaye – drums / percusison
Jonno Sweetman – percussion
Kyle Shepherd – keys / piano
Martin Wolfaardt – percussion
Wesley Rustin – bass / fretless bass
Paul Gibbings – double bass
Rayele Goodman – violin
Steve Newman – guitar (To the Hills)
Tony Cox – guitar (Atmosphere)
Tristan Waterkeyn – lead vocals , rhythm guitars

THE RECORD LABEL:

OVERTONE | WWW.OVERTONE.CO.ZA

Overtone is making things happen for South African Music and its Artists. If you are in a band and need help … come check them out. Overtone is the friendly face of the music industry.

THE STUDIOS:

Pre-Production at Overtone Studios, Cape Town.
Initial Recording at Sibebe Studio in Cape Town.
Final Recording and Production completed with Howard Butcher at Eden Multimedia, Knysna

THE ALBUM

All Songs, Music and arrangements by Tristan Waterkeyn
Engineered, Mixed by Tristan Waterkeyn and Howard Butcher
Mastered by Howard Butcher.

Tristan Waterkeyn: 8 Questions for the Press.

Tristan Waterkeyn: 8 Questions for the Press.

1. When did you start creating your own music?

I started playing guitar when I was about 10. My mum used to drag me off to lessons of one sort or another every week. When I was 17 I formed a band with a bunch of school friends in Harare (Zimbabwe) and I started writing songs and lyrics, but I wasn’t brave enough to sing them in public. It’s only been in the last 5 years or so that I’ve started writing in a big way. I think Cape Town has brought a lot of creativity out of me – I finally realised that I had a voice and it might be a good idea to start getting onto stages and singing my songs! Over the last few years I’ve played just about every week at all the local live music venues.

2. Is the album what you envisaged at the start?

I think the album as a whole became richer and more complex than I envisaged at the start but I don’t think it’s lost its simple acoustic flavour. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of South Africa’s most talented musicians and engineers and drawing on their energies and skills has ultimately made for a far superior product. I don’t think I ever imagined this recording project would consume so much energy or time, but it’s been incredibly rewarding to be involved with every stage of the process from the song writing to sound engineering and production, and then to be releasing through Overtone. It’s a great thing to be able accomplish one’s goals, to complete one’s creative projects while still maintaining ownership over every phase of their development process. I think the album is in many ways better than I could have ever anticipated.

3. The music on your CD hasn’t been played in public – the “musician performs until he has enough material to record” process seems to be going backwards. Why?

I have in fact performed all of the tracks at various stages and on numerous occasions since I first wrote the songs. I’m primarily a solo artist so I’ve never really had a fixed band to take on the road. The plan was that once I’d completed the album, I’d put together a band. I’ve never really been short of material to record, and I think if I had the resources I’d spent all my time in the studio. I believe that to access the music industry at a higher level, you need to have a visible product and a way of getting it “out there”. Having launched Overtone I believe it’s the perfect vehicle to give South African artists access to a wider audience as well as to the music industry in general. I plan to extend Overtone’s resources to other South African artists, just as soon as I have tested the entire process on myself…

4. “There’s something of a Jack Johnson sound to your music.” Would you agree with that? Does it have any significant influences?

I heard Jack Johnson for the first time only after receiving comments from friends that I sound a bit like him. I wasn’t influenced directly by him, but I appreciate his easy song writing style and the simplicity of his sound, and I can see how the parallel might be drawn. In terms of influences, I’ve been more affected by some of the brilliant female singer songwriters of the last few years – Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Anni DiFranco, Aimee Mann. I enjoy their sophisticated poetic and lyrical styles. I’m big on lyrical content and its delivery in the context of a song. I love the layers of meaning that result when a skilled songwriter has been at the helm, and I think that generally the ladies do that far better than their male equivalents.

5. Your lyrics seem to hold hidden or alternative messages, in a poetic sense. Some songs seem to make indirect philosophical observations of society. Is this intentional from the start or do other levels appear as you work?

Both. Often at the start you have a core sense of what you want to comment on, and then as you start writing you create more layers of melody and meaning. Often I’ll discover another sub-plot in a song I’ve been writing only after the event and I’ll go back and re-write it to accentuate those newly found characters. I love writing about the human experience and elements of society that seem strange to me. Quite often I’ll find a melody and a theme for a song at the same time, then write the lyric to fit the mood, or to take it somewhere else.

It’s easier to write unhappy songs so I’ve tried to do the opposite, although I’ll often contrast an uplifting light melody with a cynical or cutting lyric and I find the result often takes the impact to another level. I studied a range of social sciences and I’m attracted to themes that pose strange questions or result in what I see as an odd result. I like thinking about society and the way we operate in it. I also like writing about people I know or that I’ve seen somewhere before.

6. You’ve lived in four different African countries and spent years travelling in Asia and Australia, much of it sailing. Have these experiences influenced your music?

Living in different countries has given me an array of experiences to draw on for inspiration in my songs and messages. There are musical influences from a great number of places and I think it’s made my music more interesting. Some of my songs are about people I met while I was on the road. Sailing and travel provided a lot of time for experimenting with new sounds and ideas to sing about. I think my next project will tend towards a more stylistically African sound.

7. There’s a fun, almost theatrical style in the way some of the tracks on the CD have been recorded, which seems quite a novel approach. Do you think this detracts from the “seriousness” of your music?

I like to think of the different instruments in each song as having lives of their own, having their own conversations with my themes. I think it brings a song to life. For me it’s all about people and the way they seem to others. I think having a strong idea of the character that you are singing about is just the start. The recording process was also theatrical on many levels. It was important to get each musician to understand the songs the way I do. I tried to get them to imagine their individual sounds as a part of the overall picture the song would create. The instruments became particular characters in each scene. They each have different roles and are doing different things to create an overall atmosphere in much the same way as the characters in a film do.

8. Why did you call your album “Hay Day”?

There are a number of images that the name “Hay Day” brings up for me. I think the music has a light and happy sound. It makes me think of picnics, fields full of friends, warm weather and freedom. Its definitely “feel good” stuff. I’ve also been told that I sound like “new vintage smooth” and I think that I do create music that puts an older sound into a new context. Then there’s the idea of ones “heyday”, one’s prime. I think I might one day look back on this and think that was mine. What could be better?

The New Biography by Anthony Boyd.

“Hay Day” is the kind of CD I’d want to have accompany me on thousands of kilometres of sailing. It’s a “lie back in your hammock, look at the horizon and let the movement gently rock you” sort of album.

It’s melodies spin themselves from lyrical yarn, the instrumentation’s brightly colourful and it’s all woven closely together by a silky smooth voice. Poetic, ambiguous words and jovial, sometimes theatrical play on instruments are an invitation to delve into layers of meaning. And it’s all taut… a nice taut mainsail to pull you along…

Tristan Waterkeyn’s been around. Born in Tanzania , moved to Kenya , then to Zimbabwe , where he went to high school. He learned to play the guitar to escape the rigid institutionalism of boarding school, and made appearances in Harare for a band called “Substitute Parachute”. After that he spent three years backpacking through Asia and sailing thousands of kilometres (yes, with guitar in tow), before returning home to Africa .

To Cape Town , to be exact, where he studied philosophy and comparative religion at University and soon found a group of people to share his passion for music with. Having finished his degree and having found himself more involved in the live music scene than anything else, Tristan saw a need for a more unified community in South Africa ’s diverse music industry.

He formed “Overtone”, a company dedicated to building up the music industry of South Africa . Overtone provides every South African band and artist with access to its rapidly expanding online community with easy access to the music industry via its directories. For fans and the industry, it offers a monthly gig-guide and newsletter, as well as access to information on different sectors of the industry in South Africa – from bands themselves to live venues, stores, labels and industry news. As a resource for artists, Overtone is to offer all the facilities that they would normally have to source from multiple individual companies. It also offers facilities and help for musicians to record and produce their own albums.

This brings us back to the new album “Hay Day”. It’s taken a considerable amount of effort, time and coordination – a testing of the Overtone system – to arrive at the finished article, and here is Tristan’s (and Overtone’s) seamless debut album.

(Biography and Interview by Anthony Boyd 2007.)

‘Hay Day’ Album now at the printers

The long awaited new album ‘Hay Day ‘ has finally been sent off to the printers.

The finished product is immaculate and the final list of all family, friends and supporters who made it possible have been included.

Thanks to everyone who ordered the album before it went to the printers. We have managed to cover the cost of all the printing. In the next couple of weeks we will be sending copies of the album all over the world to those of you who ordered your copy online as well as to all major radio stations and magazines in South Africa and overseas.

Thus far we have had a very positive response from everyone who has listened to the album online, and we look forward to even more reviews and media coverage in the near future.

Tristan has recently played on some lovely big stages too, from the V&A Waterfront Amphitheatre to the Castle for both private functions and public holidays.

Things are definitely heating up and we expect things to get even wilder in the next few months.

The Launch date for the album has been set for the 3rd of May at Cafe Miam Miam , Long St, Cape Town, South Africa and follow up tour is on the way too.

See you at the shows.