We chat with Jaco van der Merwe
Q. So, to start things off… something I just need to know, being quite a big fan of “Die Woud”
a song off BITTEREINDER’S 2012 Album, entitled “Diedinkdansmasjien”, I’m sure I’m not
the only one curious to know what stoked the making of that legendary song! Can you
please tell us more about the process of this exceptionally relatable yet unique song?
A. Die Woud was actually one of the first Bittereinder songs ever to be written, but when we were compiling the track list for the first album ‘n Ware Verhaal in 2010, we felt it didn’t fit in with the body of work, and we saved it for the next album. It turned out to be quite an effective opening track for our live sets and the second album. It’s basically just a little narrative about a guy getting lost in a forest, the story wrote itself really.
Q. Something BITTEREINDER and yourself personally, are quite well known for, is a unique
wordplay on historic people, events and places... who might not be that well known by a
younger generation, How do you choose what exactly to use? (for example Jan F.E. Celliers)
A. Nice question, thank you. I love writing intertextual lyrics. I doubt there are more than a handful of people who pick up on what I’m quoting or referring to most of the time, but I can’t help myself and I know it makes my writing richer even if people don’t click all the sources. On Taalmeng for example I quote Inge Beckmann, Shakespeare and Kurt Cobain. Each song concept lends itself to ideas I’ve read about in other places, the connections come naturally. Off the top of my head, in Bittereinder’s oeuvre I’ve quoted or referred directly to the lyrics or texts of Arcade Fire, Gil Scott Heron, Percy Byshe Shelley, Jan FE Celliers, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, BVK, Jurassic 5, Atmosphere, Max Normal, Mr. Lif, Saul Williams, Hunter Kennedy, Bernoldus Niemand, Jack Parow, HemelBesem, TS Eliot, Cid Corman, Slick Rick, Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Voltaire. I’d love if some super-nerd decided to go ahead and see if they could find all of these.
Q. Is there a deeper emotional connection to the shaping of your lyrics and the themes you
choose to sing about?
A. Deeper than what? I’m a firm believer in Death of the Author, the texts now exist outside me.
Q. How did Jaco van der Merwe discover he can rap? was it a desire from a young age or a
talent that evolved with your urge to express?
A. I started my first band with a group of friends in 1998. We loved Rage Against the Machine. I wrote my first rap verses that same year. I’m still not sure if I can rap, but I love Rhythm And Poetry.
Q. How does BITTEREINDER choose who to collaborate with? And do you make them part of the lyric and sound process or do you just give them their part to sing/write/produce/play?
A. Every colab process is different, but we’ve enjoyed how every artist we’ve worked with really brings something unique to a track
Q. You guys have quite a cool bit of cross pollination, with the exceptionally talented guys
from “Desmond & The Tutus”, how did this meeting come about, and what sparked the interest in collaborating?
A. Jaco has been a massive Desmond fan since seeing them live for the first time at a Moonlight Film Festival in 2006. He took Shane’s number after the gig and told him they’d be making music together in the future. It started with a show called “Ajax and Friends” in 2006 at the State Theatre. And now Kwaad Naas and the PTA GRLZ remix are doing pretty well. Even though our “genres” are worlds apart we enjoy each others’ approaches to music and humour and being South African. We even have a whatsapp group with all seven guys in it. But Doug left the group.
Q. The Trio of “Bittereinder”, is an unequalled creative force, from lyrics, to production,
vocals and visuals… does all that creativity ever cause ructions among you all, or does
every member have his unique roll to play within the creative hub?
A. Yes and no. Of course there’s friction, but we always put our friendships first and the resulting artwork is always stronger because of the collective vision-melting that always happens in group work.
Q. There's no denying there's an incredible melting pot of diverse genres within all the
musical outlets you find yourself part of, including “BITTEREINDER”, “WALKIE-TALKIE” AND
“DIE BEGIN”. Which artists and genres would you say have inspired and continue to inspire
what you do?
A. Wow that’d be such a long list. Artists like Efterklang, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn, Lucius and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros really inspired what we did with Die Begin. I really enjoy acoustic neo-indie-folk vibes. Walkie Talkie is what it is, three bilingual spoken word guys colabing with electro artists that we like. And Bittereinder’s influences are endless between the three of us, our musical tastes overlap with artists like Thom Yorke, Karin Park, NIN, Bjork.
Q. What's playing on your Car Radio/Mp3 Player/Ipod right now?
A. Sufjan Stevens’ new album.
Q. What does the near and distant future hold for Jaco Van Der Merwe?
A. I’m doing some solo acoustic Bittereinder sets that I’m very excited about: a City Soiree gig in Pretoria on 18 April, playing the Otterlake Easter Festival this weekend 3 April. Bittereinder is also on the awesome lineup for Freedom Fest Caoe Town and Centurion on 25 and 27 April. And we’ll definitely be making some more videos soon. Also a ton of marking awaits me at the end of Term 1.
