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about
Southern Cross is like a kind of purge - so much negativity! But I feel like there’s a lot of negative shit going around and a lot of it is connected. It’s about altered states, privileged states, ‘United States’, addiction, capitalism, colonialism, extractive mentality - all the stuff I (we?) see on a daily basis in South Africa and now, thanks to the internet, the World - I feel like we as humans need to start asking ourselves some very serious questions… Perhaps agents and moments of chaos may even be necessary in order to bring about massive system change?
The name references the constellation that guides nighttime travelers/sailors in the Southern Hemisphere, but also resembles a fallen crucifix, or alternatively, a diamond (I grew up on diamond mines around Southern Africa, but diamonds and gold (Johannesburg is built on gold) also refer to the idea of symbolic, hypothetical wealth which, in a way, equates to a kind of magical thinking on the part of humanity. There’s also a lot of referencing of individual and collective addiction throughout the song - as an addictive personality myself I feel both deep frustration with, as well as deep empathy for the addictive state.
Musically the transition from the show-timey verses into the clamorous choruses highlights the disconnect between different modes of perception. Are we living in a dream or a nightmare? How quickly can our realities change? How can we manage our realities? Drugs? Religion? Money? Magic? Rebellion? It’s written from quite a songwriterly perspective - it manages to reference two classic rock images in the first verse - I (as a white male) have a deep love for classic rock, but on the other hand, a deep respect, love and fascination for music of African/Black origin.
That said, it would also be remiss of me to not point out that so much of the awesomeness of the music is thanks to the exceptional rhythm section I managed to arrange: Portia Sibiya’s bass swaggers like a bull, while Nozi Mnunguni lays down thick yet elegant 12/8 grooves. I knew there could be no way of doing this project without these two - mavericks of the Afro/Jazz/Prog scene - they brought an irreplaceable Magic (with a capital M - Portia has also been called to ’Twasa’ or Sangoma duties in another life). They also brought a deep sense of funk, stemming from a powerful love for music on many interconnected levels.
lyrics
Mind up and cut like a diamond
High above this wired town
Gold lines and a red balloon
Lord I never want to go back down
And all of those pointless parties
All those things to do just
Dig lines in the countryside
Or swing Along with the abattoir blues
Hanging out
In the milky way
Loaded dice
So far away
Dreaming of
Dilation
Oh the Southern Cross
And is there only one way
to get those rocks up
for every million ways to be bored?
and only one way to get noticed
for every million ways to be ignored?
and are we digging to perdition
in the shadow of the century
or just
manufacturing fools gold
work, or digital alchemy?
Hanging out
In the milky way
Rolling dice
So far away
Dreaming of
Dilation
Oh the Southern Cross
Hanging out
In the milky way
Loaded eyes
So far away
Dreaming of
Dilation
Oh the Southern Cross
I have been writing this music questioning the nature of reality, as well as taking an active interest in the ideas of Magic, Spirituality, politics, purpose, morality and Chaos.
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