The video we’ve all be waiting for! Haezer’s Trouble Make Video launched this past Saturday night. Here’re the goods 🙂
He may dispute it but I don’t know any electro producers bigger than Haezer in South Africa. His brand of electro has shook dancefloors all over South Africa and Europe heard it. He’s toured extensively overseas and is continuing to tour to Australia this year. He launches his music video for Trouble Maker next week. BCTC asked Haezer a few questions about his video and music plans for 2013:
BCTC: Trouble Maker was partly shot in the townships of Cape Town. How important is it for you to involve a South African element in your visual work?
Haezer: I don’t really subscribe to any limitations in my design and although it was a very natural and almost obvious choice to involve a South African element to the video, it’s not something I put too much focus on. We have a very unique culture and Cape Town for me is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The idea that the director, Kyle Lewis, pitched to us works better set in the township setting. We have such an interesting dynamic in Cape Town. Whenever I drive from the airport to town, past all the townships, I question, “What’s actually going on in there?” And it was super great going in to visit and shooting the music video. The people living there were super accommodating, friendly and I’m very happy to have shot the music video there.
BCTC: Your video has 4 young kids in it who have super powers. Do you feature in the video at all?
Haezer: No. I prefer NOT to show my scary bearded face in my music videos 😉
BCTC: Did you have a video in mind when you were writing the song?
Haezer: Not at all! Even after the song was done I knew I wanted to do a music video for it but had NO idea what the concept would be. It’s very hard making a good music video with our sponsor and budget restrictions. The key to a good music video is a good concept. If you’re just focusing on the ‘wow factor’ then you need a lot of money to pull it off. I was very lucky to get Olmeca and Red Bull involved to give the video some budget. It’s a very simple music video, with a single story line running through the whole video, but I think the story is strong enough and the shots are really slick.
BCTC: How important do you think music videos are for electronic artists?
Haezer: It just helps to bump up your profile. When promoters want to book you in Europe the first thing they ask is whether you have a music video.
BCTC: How did you find these young kids to act in your video? How did they response to your music?
Haezer: Haha, they didn’t hear my music! We didn’t need any sync on set so they just acted out the story. The director cast the kids and I must say he is very talented in finding actors who fit the description of the characters in the video.
BCTC: You have fantastic international support on the line up for the video launch. How did you get Oddword (Belguim) involved in the event?
Haezer: I’ve played with Oddword a few times and we’ve become good friends. Boy from Oddword told me he is in town to visit his girlfriend and I just said, “Okay, well, you know you’re playing my music video launch!”
BCTC: How did you select the South African contingent for the line up of B-Team, Sideshow and Headphase?
Haezer: I listed all the DJ’s that I like to hear play 🙂 From that list I chose who I thought would be good for a line up that includes myself and Oddword. Headphase is a brilliant DJ to get things going. BTeam is super fun and Sideshow, well Sideshow is just brilliant. She can play any genre of music and get the crowd going, so she was an obvious choice for me.
BCTC: What would you like the audience to keep in mind or know about your Trouble Maker video? Give us the inside scoop!
Haezer: The kids aren’t actors. The mob in the music video are actually just guys who live in the township. I couldn’t believe how well they acted with no training. So definitely check out the acting. The only other thing I can think of is the sound design, which is done by me in the beginning and everything else was shot in Khayelitsha.
BCTC: You’re playing at the CTEMF 2013. Do you feel South African electronic music festivals are more important for the artists or the audience?
Haezer: The artists are nothing without the audience and the festival is not possible without the artists. It’s 50/50.
BCTC: You’re the king of electro production in South Africa. How does your fan love compare in South Africa, where you’ve built the scene, to overseas, where you’re entering a scene?
Haezer: Haha! I wouldn’t say I’m the king…I’m more like a baby, starting to take his first steps and preparing for a marathon of a career in music. It’s bizarre. With blogs and the internet the word spreads super fast. When I did my first tour in Australia (this was before I’d released anything official and only had +- 12 tracks available for free download on blogs) I had sold out shows with Gtronic to 2000 people. What blew my mind was that they knew all the lyrics!
I think South Africa holds a certain air of mystery to Europeans, so fans always come up to me after the show asking what SA is like…And obviously I represent the shit out of it! So I’m sure we’re gonna see plenty of little European electro heads walking the streets of Cape Town soon 😉
BCTC: What’s the nicest thing a fan ever did for you?
Haezer: I’ve had so many awesome gestures. Self made t-shirts, Haezer tattoo’s, metal works, Haezer designed nail polish, you name it! (BCTC: I WANT SOME!!! #NailPolishJunkie)
But, no DJ can handle the thought of embarrassing themselves on stage. At a show in Delitch, Germany, I was standing on the DJ table and one observant fan quickly pulled me down and pointed out my zip was undone! I think he warned me in time, so thank you to that dude!
BCTC: You’ve recently confirmed tour dates in Australia. Do you feel like you’re conquering the world?
Haezer: Not yet. The world is still a massive place. I still haven’t toured America or Asia and a lot of eastern Europe. I hope to do much more touring abroad in the next three years.
Make sure you get to Haezer’s video launch for Trouble Maker on Feb 2nd in Cape Town. Tickets available for R50 – R60 from Webtickets.
Pictures courtesy from the Haezer Facebook Page.
