Lark concert at Klein Libertas Teater

Cape Town’s legendary glitch opera group continues their national tour with a show in Stellenbosch

After a brief hiatus, the legendary Cape Town electronica group Lark has regrouped and re-produced, and after kicking off a national album release tour with a live concert at last Friday, they are set to perform again on Friday 3 August at the Klein Libertas Teater in Stellenbosch.

Described as glitch opera sewn together with live instrumentation, soaring vocals and dirty electronic beats, Lark’s music garnered a cultish following in the Mother City roughly five years ago, and now they look to resurrect the craze with their third record, “Gong is Struck”.

The band was formed in 2003 by lead vocalist Inge Beckmann and producer and instrumentalist Paul Ressel. The two later brought in bassist and studio engineer Simon ‘Fuzzy’ Ratcliffe and renowned drummer Sean Ou Tim, aka Mr Sakitumi. They released their first studio album, “Razbliuto”, in 2007 – a work that earned mass critical acclaim as well as a SAMA award for Best Alternative Album. This was also the year the band made their vision of live performance tangible with the release of Dagger and a Feather – a live performance DVD filmed and recorded at Cape Town’s BMW Pavilion that featured a string section and a number of guest artists.

The band toured like ADD-ridden nomads during late 2007 and 2008, and also released their second studio album, which took both material as well as name from their debut EP, “Mouth of Me”.  With the release of music videos for tracks “Moonlight” and “Heroin Mary” they secured their fan base and the press dubbed them, “one of the most competitive acts to come out of South Africa”.

Later that year Paul Ressel was signed with UK agency Z Management as a producer, a turn of events whic prompted his decision to move to London. With band members in opposite ends of the globe, Lark took a temporary break from the limelight.

This was not to last long, however, as they returned the following year in 2009 (and then again in 2010) to headline one of the biggest alternative music festivals in South Africa, Ramfest.

What’s more, the founders of Lark hurdled their geographic distance by using Skype to write and record their new studio album (as an online magazine we just gotta say, we love this!).

They spent almost a year perfecting their project, and in August 2011 Inge and Paul appeared at Oppi Koppi Music Festival and GrandWest Arena as Lark (Electro), showcasing material from the new album.

So, to sum it up, Larklings – get excited!. By the sounds of things, there’s plenty to be excited about: According to Inge Beckmann, “This third album is darker and more tribal than the previous releases. Yet, it also comes with more hooks, it is more structured, more confident and ultimately more decisive. ‘Gong Is Struck’ contains a cover version of the legendary ‘We are Growing’ (the Shaka Zulu theme track). It was a huge honour to record and reinterpret this epic theme song. Listeners are in for a massive treat.”

The video for the “Gong is Struck” single “Stole the Moon” is already charting on national television.

Line-up Friday, 3 August 2012:

• Future Primitives
• Taxi Violence
• Lark

Tickets are available through Webtickets at 50p/p or at the door for R60p/p.

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By Aisling Holmes