LEADING AFRICAN DJ BLACK COFFEE INSPIRES WITH A UNIQUE MUSICAL EXPERIMENT FOR BALLANTINE’S
Electronic music and vocal techniques collide in ‘Black Coffee’s Human Orchestra’, which sees inspiring DJ and Producer Black Coffee lead a 40-strong group of African vocalists to create a stunning voice-only recreation of his most famous electronic track, ‘Rock My World’
OCTOBER 2014: Ballantine’s, the world’s No 2 Scotch whisky, has launched an inspiring short film, ‘Black Coffee’s Human Orchestra’, created in collaboration with world-renowned African DJ and Producer, Black Coffee. The film is the latest in a series presented by Ballantine’s, each of which has been shot around the world and features unique individuals who represent Ballantine’s global mantra, ‘Stay True, Leave an Impression’. Each film in the series, which can be seen at www.StayTrueStories.com, captures these individuals as they bring their own story to life, performing innovative, creative and artistic experiments centred around their passions, philosophies and talent.
The latest film, shot in and around Johannesburg (Soweto and Maboneng), illustrates Back Coffee’s passion, creativity and ‘Stay True’ spirit of continuous experimentation with music. The film opens with Black Coffee’s own back-story and beliefs around life, music and creation, before we see him assemble a group of vocalists from across Africa. The climax of the film is an experiment which defines Black Coffee’s ambition as an artist; an impressive feat to deconstruct one of his most famous electronic music productions, ‘Rock My World’, recreating it using only the vocal abilities of his 40 strong choir.
About Black Coffee
Hailing from Durban but now based in the creatively buzzing metropolis of Johannesburg, Black Coffee has been creatively involved in music since the age of two. From then, he has followed a path of musical experimentation via bands, jazz, music school (where a passion for production led him to copy his teacher’s studio key so he could experiment after hours) and latterly, as a club-filling DJ known for his modern and international take on the booming ‘Afropolitan’ house movement.
He is known for his passion in bringing people together and uniting them through music, participating in numerous projects and launching his own Foundation in support of social cohesion, raising funds through challenging himself with initiatives that include a marathon 60-hour DJ set. This philosophical belief developed during South Africa’s transition from the Apartheid regime; a period during which music had a united thread that helped to, and continues to, bring people together.
It is this sense of conviction to music and desire to innovate that truly define Black Coffee as the perfect representation of Ballantine’s mantra of ‘Stay True’.
About Stay True Stories and StayTrueStories.com
Ballantine’s is engaged in a global journey to produce a series of films which feature personalities who serve as an embodiment of ‘Stay True, Leave an Impression’. ‘Black Coffee’s Human Orchestra’ follows on from films including ‘Kilian Martin’s Carmen’, featuring world leading freestyle skateboarder Kilian Martin and his unique take on Bizet’s Spanish set opera Carmen, ‘Ben Mead’s Art of Drumming’, which shows the London-based star of Ballantine’s global ‘Stay True’ TV campaign performing an exceptional experiment to visualise sound, and ‘The Whale Song’, featuring Chilean bassist, Juan Manuel Aguirre, as he takes to the sea in a rare experiment to capture the union of music and nature. Further films are currently in production across four continents and will be released throughout 2014 and 15.
These films can be found at www.StayTrueStories.com, an online hub which also launches today, collating the richest and most captivating stories from across the web, chosen as a result of their ability to inspire us to Stay True to our own courage and conviction.
Black Coffee commented: “Musical experimentation and its power to bring people together is why I do what I do. When Ballantine’s asked me what my dream experiment would be, I wanted to set us the challenge to do something unique. To see the group of vocalists we put together from throughout Africa with each playing their own part, producing the final recreation of ‘Rock My World’ was an amazingly satisfying moment.”
Peter Moore, Global Brand Director for Ballantine’s, commented: “Black Coffee is a true representation of what we mean by Stay True; someone who does what they do because they have to, because it’s inside them. We hope that both this film and others online at StayTrueStories.com, will inspire those watching to drive themselves forward in their own way, just as Black Coffee does himself.”
Notes
About Ballantine’s:
Ballantine’s is the No 1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the world’s No 2 Scotch whisky by volume, and the range sells over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s has won more than 130 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years for quality, as a result of its unique richness of character and perfect balance. The range, from Ballantine’s Finest to the exclusive 40 Year Old, is the most extensive in the world of Scotch and is maintained by the latest in a tradition of Master Blenders that dates back to 1827.
www.ballantines.com
About Chivas Brothers:
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.
www.chivasbrothers.com
