05 January 2009
Launching his musical career around six years ago or so, Durban-born singer/songwriter (now residing in Cape Town) Ian Henderson saw the light with the emergence of the “quiet is the new loud” aesthetic espoused by the likes of Damien Rice, Damien Jurado, Badly Drawn Boy, Iron & Wine, Elliott Smith et al and nailed his colours to that mast with its brand of irony-free heart-on-sleeve earnestness.
Given that starry-eyed young minstrels appear upon – then promptly disappear from – the scene as quickly as mushrooms after a spring drizzle, it is testament to Henderson’s commitment to his cause that he’s still toughing it out and, by looks of things, doing so with increasing success.
He has just released a new record (Superglue); been featured prominently on local radio and television; recently returned from performances in Stockholm and New York and is currently touring South Africa with guitarist Jedd Kossew in support of his new album. This includes three dates in his home province of KZN comprised of shows at Yossi’s Restaurant in Glenwood at 6pm on December 12; Luna Lounge in Kloof at 7pm on December 13 and at Ramsgate’s Bellevue Lodge at 6pm on Sunday December 14.
An interesting back-story to the making of Superglue is that, for a studio album, it is a remarkably international affair: recorded mostly in South Africa and in Scandinavia, it also includes contributions from the US, Paraguay, Australia and Germany in collaborations where the musicians never met face to face but jammed and recorded over internet connections and phone lines.
At his concerts in KZN Henderson is joined by a diverse array of homegrown musicians so don’t be surprised if you see a Buttery here or a van der Spuy there.
