Mel Botes

His music reflects his passion, exuberant creativity and a mind that questions everything: sense and purpose but also boundaries, consciousness and reality. It abounds with contrasting qualities – sometimes bittersweet, painfully beautiful, sad; dramatic, majestic, inspiring, compelling; sometimes disturbing, tempestuous, with explosions of sound that surprise; sometimes strange, even eerie … but never boring. Mel Botes was born in Klerksdorp and grew up in Zeerust and Rustenburg. At the age of eight he received his first guitar from his father, who is also a musician. His lifelong dream and passion was to become a professional musician. This dream has come true and his passion is evident in everything he does. He received formal training in classical guitar – from Charl Lamprecht among others – as well as jazz and blues. Imagine a blend of influences like Pink Floyd, Sting, Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler, an admiration for Vivaldi en Beethoven and Mel’s amazing ability to constantly surprise with the way in which he shifts boundaries … and you will form an idea of what his work encompasses. He played in a number of bands and performed in Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. He soon became an accomplished songwriter and guitar player (one of SA’s best) and developed a unique, personal style which has become his trademark. Today, Mel Botes is synonymous with creative and innovative music in South Africa. He has exceptional talent as a composer and is able to compose music while reading a script. In 1999, Mel first hit the spotlight with his four-part rock opera, David’s Confession. He wrote all the lyrics and music and this project took seven years to complete. The first movement of this groundbreaking work About Time, was staged at Sun City. An album with the same title was recorded at Bop Studios. Although it has only been exposed to a limited audience, this album was considered one of the cornerstones of South African rock music and a milestone in the history of local music. For those privileged to have listened to it, it will come as no surprise that it has since gained cult status. Mel made his Afrikaans debut in 2000 as winner of the Beeld/Geraas and Janus Musiek Vuurdoopliedjiewedstryd. This competition is presented in collaboration with Select Music and RP Studios. Mel’s song “As” won in the category “Song of the Year”. He received the GMT award for Songwriter of the Year for the Afrikaans album Oomblik van Waansin resulting from the competition. It was mainly recorded at RP Studios in Aucklandpark and boasts a pure acoustic sound. Accomplished musicians support him on this album. Clinton Waring can be heard on keyboard and piano, Leon Ecroignard plays the bass guitar and Vinnie Henrico plays drums and percussion. Denny Lallouette can also be heard on bass in “Stormsee”, “Oomblik van waansin” and “Vir altyd” and Mathys Maree plays the additional keys in “Oomblik van waansin” and “Vir altyd”. Julian Wiggins plays the Celtic flute and bodhran and Jolette Odendaal, Anna Davel and Petronell Baard do the background vocals for “Stormsee”. Mel plays all the acoustic and electric guitars on the album and was also responsible for the direction and adaptation. The duo “As (deel II)” with another master guitarist, Mauritz Lötz, is one of the gems on this album. In 2001 Mel was nominated for three categories of the GMT (Geraas Musiek-toekennings) for Oomblik van waansin – Best Producer, Best Songwriter and Best Contemporary Album. He won the award for Best Songwriter. In 2002 he wrote the official Aardklop song “Aartskind in ‘n winterwoud”. He and Clinton Waring – on guitar and keyboard respectively – are the in-house musicians on the well-known Dis hoe dit is… met Steve TV-series which appears on KykNET. This requires the skill of a great musician, since no prior rehearsals were scheduled. During 2003, Mel made his debut as an actor in the television drama series Song vir Katryn by Jan Scholtz. He played the part of Slab, a doctor who is also a musician. Valiant Swart played the part of his friend Jinx. This soundtrack album was released in 2004, and was nominated for several local music awards including Songwriter of the Year for Mel’s song “Katryn”. In the follow-up to this specific series Mel played a bigger part and shared the soundtrack with Valiant Swart. Mel contributed seven songs. Mel was one of the few SA musicians who had the opportunity to be part of the Nelson Mandela 46664 Concert. He was equipped with a six-piece band and this gave him an opportunity to prove the unique scale on which he can perform. He was also one of three musicians to perform at Mr Mandela’s birthday ceremony at Ellispark, Johannesburg in 2005. The long-awaited album Flight of Bird, a production that took three years to complete, opened in October 2005 at the Aardklop Arts Festival to critical acclaim. Voted one of the top ten shows, and nominated for the Anglo American/Ashanti Awards, it broke new ground with its multi-dimensional combination of live music, live dramatic performance and dance, and multi-media playback of video, animation, cartoons and artwork. It was described as (quote Festival Newspaper 27 September) “one of the best musical productions Aardklop has ever seen”. Flight of Bird has been compared to War of the Worlds, a musical version of Star Wars, the fantasy of Lord of the Rings, the romance of Casablanca and the poetic horror of Apocalypse Now... This is an epic tale of one man’s struggle to find his place in a world filled with challenges and adventures. The album again showcases his versatility and phenomenal talent as musician, songwriter and composer. If one were forced to summarize this brilliant album, these words from the lyrics might be a good start: Lose yourself … imagination … Mel composed various pieces of music for an events company called Witch & Wizard Productions. Among these are the advertisements for the Ford Icon launch, Citroën, Viagra, ABSA: The Four Elements and the theme song for the African Games in 2005. He was further given the opportunity to compose music for the well-known SABC 1 program Soul City as well as some of the music of the Bill Flynn Movie Running Riot. A compilation album (live) of Mel Botes in Namibia will be released soon. The documentary was filmed with the assistance of well-known editor Johan Lategan during a tour in Namibia at Mel’s own cost. It was bought by KykNET and is periodically broadcasted. He composed all the music for the drama series Dryfsand (on KykNET), written by P.G. du Plessis, and Andries Plak on SABC 2. The music for the film Hitchhiker by Chris du Toit was also written by Mel. In the movie Ouma se slim kind Mel’s song “Reënvoëls” can be heard. A few years ago the organisers of Aardklop asked Mel to write the first Afrikaans rock opera. It has now finally reached completion and is called S.T.O.R.M. – the story of Herrie Vermeen. The music is especially enhanced with a wonderful story behind it. It is the story of a man who realises that he has the ability to communicate with other elements and beings. He also receives strange revelations and visions from several sources. One day Herrie is given the order to address the nation and campaign (through music) against the government’s inability to curb crime. He must also start a secret political party titled the SSPP: the Special Security Party Party! The soundtrack for this production will be recorded soon. Mel is also planning to start a non-profitable organisation with the aim of building a centre where victims of post-traumatic stress can be helped. Watch this page for news about this exciting new venture! His genial talent can not be described with words; it must be experienced. Go on, you are being challenged … At the age of eight, Mel received his first guitar. Since then he has had no other dream or passion in mind than than making music!