Is Die Antwoord "The Answer” It Purports To Be?
Die Antwoord are a fresh new breed, no, species of musician in contemporary music’s bleak, moon-like landscape of aesthetic is everything, despite the medium being aural.
The contemporary music scene, in my eyes (everyone’s entitled to an opinion don’t shoot the sheriff) is no longer about musical talent, but about really nice things to look at and a half-assed backing track to go with them. Contemporary music is an afterthought. An excuse to parade a beach perfect body, which only dollar-sign-shaped willpower is able to achieve, on screen for three minutes thirty seconds. The medium of sound has converted to eye candy.
Enter Die Antwoord
I’m not saying this group have entirely subverted your general punters perception of what current music is, I’m just suggesting the South African trio seem to have conjured a pretty good mix of well considered aesthetic paired with unique sound to create something kinda special. Spearheaded by two and produced by a third, Anri du Toit, Watkin Tudor Jones and Justin de Nobrega, better known as Yolandi Vi$$er, Ninja and DJ Hi-Tek are the individuals in question.
So, what’s so special about Die Antwoord?
Genre
The group produce what reliably sourced Wikipedia describes as “rap-rave” music which, I’m pretty sure is a genre that was hyphenated for them and them alone. First tick.
Physicality
The members of the group are aesthetically intriguingly unique. I’m sure some would class the appearance of the front guys Yolandi and Ninja as weird which, arguably, by definition, I’d have to agree with. Though firstly: Fuck normality. The music industry, as I’ve argued, is saturated with boring perfect humans inspired by nothing, simultaneously both conforming to and reinforcing the same, repetitive, unimaginative stereotypes of what’s hot and what’s not. Secondly, this pair are so unique that as an audience member, you’re instinctively intrigued by them not as Die Antwoord, but as individuals, their home life, personal lives and all the other lives this new species of public-eye-persona has.
The group are self-acclaimed to be inspired by “Zef” a South African counter-culture movement. Yolandi defines Zef as “associated with people who soup up their cars and rock gold and shit. Zef is you're poor but you're fancy, you're sexy, you've got style.” In terms of Die Antwoord’s music videos, promotional imagery, interviews, the lot, Die Antwoord do indeed, conform to this underdog self empowerment counter culture, but also, very definitely have their own stand out appearance.
Whilst Ninja, often only choosing to wear shorts, proudly parades a torso covered in an array of seemingly hand drawn tattoos, Yolandi’s hairstyle is like no other - a bleach blonde skinhead-inspired bowler cut draws a distinct hard line toward each ear, only to drop at the back introducing a girl length mullet complete with a mane-like back combed crown. Pair this with bleach white eyebrows and oft-worn blackout contact lenses, and Yolandi aspires to nothing but alien imagery. The pairs physical appearances contradict, with Yolandi’s childlike size, physique and wispy voice in contrast to the weathered, aggressive, scornful, gold-toothed Ninja.
Similarly, Die Antwoord’s music videos have an intriguing transfixing quality, designed as stylised, art-inspired short films generally with a graphic nature. Yolandi and Ninja have even broken into the world of film, starring in Neill Blomkamp’s science fiction epic Chappie. NB: In the trailer, Yolandi refers to the protagonist robot as a “black sheep…different to everyone else” - a motif within the film to which Die Antwoord conform.
Sound
I won’t lie. Some of the stuff this trio produces is simply too much for me. Too hard-hard core - think The Prodigy meets Eminem lyrics birthing an angry, Benjamin-Button-weird baby. Despite this, you’ll often finish a Die Antwoord track with surreal, offensive lyrics stamped into your subconscious which innocently dance off your tongue when you’re doing the washing up, wondering around the supermarket, talking to your Grandparents etc.
Generally Die Antwoord’s sound is overtly, unembarrassed-aggressive. It pairs heavy rave-like (claps for Wikipedia) lead synths with sporadic unforgiving beats which stop and start. Lyrically the songs are again, unadulterated plain face offensive, pairing expletives with lyrics such as:
“Your mind is rushing, vagina gushing, another chick in the corner taking a piss.”
Die Antwoord’s songs are fearlessly disjunct with middle eights and harmonies appearing out of nowhere as if coming from a different track, jumping in with samurai swords, causing a scene and leaving as they please.
Unapologetically, Die Antwoord present a middle finger to musical structure in an apathetic effort to piece their songs together. Die Antwoord not only lack conformity to musical structure, but genre and lyric language are similarly fluid, with songs aloofly switching between English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu (with rhyme, without reason).
Hardly music you can have on in the background, Die Antwoord’s sound demands attention through its lyrics, aggression, irrational structure and dissonance. Nothing is certain, everything is fluid, unconfirmed and free to do what it wants. Die Antwoord subvert everything and conform to nothing but liberation, rebellion and Zef. Keep it up guys.
THESTYLECON, 2014