Gramadoelas
voice, accordion, trumpet, guitar, drums, bass, programming, mouthbow
Gramadoelas are the original funky ‘vastrappers’. Their performances are a dancing celebration of rural Cape music, pushing the boundaries of this ancient music well into the future.
Gramadoelas are of the belief that true Afrikaans music shouldn’t sound like American music with Afrikaans lyrics. It should sound like real Afrikaans music.
Their mixture of boeremusiek, goema, rural vastrap, ‘koortjies’, ‘riël’ and psychedelic funk and house is a winner.
They were one of the first post-Apartheid groups to successfully cross all cultural boundaries, playing to enthusiastic audiences at jazz, rock, and world-music venues, where they insisted on playing Cape Afrikaans music long before it was fashionable to do so.
Gramadoelas consists of Alex van Heerden (accordion/trumpet/vocals), Leslie Javan (guitar/vocals) and Wesley Rustin. (double bass/bass guitar) Their regular drummer over the years was Jonathan Jacobs, who now lives in Malaysia.
They have been together since 1996, and have performed at a variety of festivals, including the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, the Jazzathon and the ‘Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees’. In 1998 they rreleased their debut CD, ‘Gramadoelas’, which received excellent reviews. They took a break from performing during the last few years while lead vocalist Alex van Heerden focused more on his international career.
Since 2008 they are back on the South African music scene, with a new CD on the way.
“...daar is hoop geliefdes. Daar is ‘n nuwe gees aan die opkoms. ‘n Gees van herdenking en oorwinning. ‘n Gees van sterk wees en trots wees, van jouself wees en ons wees en nou wees. En hierdie gees het net een naam...Vastrap” Alex van Heerden
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