You see, I have a strange serendipitous relationship with Hot Water but I don't think they actually know this. Looking back it seems that I always see them around the time of changes in my life. I first saw them play at Fogey's Railway House in Muizenberg in April 2008 and about a year and a half later I find myself in the same place, listening to the same band yet everything is different. I am different, the country I live in is different and, by the look and sound of things,
Hot Water is different too. Not only are there some new people in the band but they have also obviously grown into an even tighter outfit.
Hot Water played at Fogey’s on Halloween night and I decided to give Donovan a call beforehand to find out what else is going on with the band.
Donovan Copley Interview
Portfolio Travel Blog: What projects have you got going now?
Donovan Copley: We have just finished writing songs for the new record and are looking at dates to start recording. New songs
Laduma and
Wamkelekile are already up on our website. Comedian
Nik Rabinowitz is collaborating with us on Laduma and we have made different versions of it, with the middle part in different languages. It’s very exciting to a approach a song that way, to change it for a certain audience yet keep it the same as well. We are also talking to international record companies to see if we can expand abroad a little more.
DC: I started out as a solo artist playing with different people each night. It was very exciting and definitely landed us in hot water at times. And yes, that is how we got the name. (laughs)
PTB: Hot Water is a collaborative effort with different musicians playing each time but with you at its center. Is that a conscious decision or just how things turned out? And what do you look for in other musicians?
DC: Hot Water is basically based around vocals, guitar, bass and drums. We have different bass players and drummers and whoever is available to play a certain night will play. What do I look for in other musicians? Passion definitely, when there is a light shining through, when they get excited about things that’s when I get excited about playing with them and learning from them. A good personal connection also helps but I am most inspired when they are passionate about what they do.
PTB: What are your dreams for Hot Water?
DC: To play Europe for three months each year during our winter. At the moment we are talking about doing shows in France, Belgium and Germany some time next year. And it would be great if we could play even more countries.
PTB: Speaking of Europe, you played in The Netherlands in August of 2008 and again at the The Hague Jazz Festival this year. Do you feel any connection to Europe and Holland in particular?
DC: The English and Dutch influenced this country so much and that is even more obvious when you are in Holland. I was surprised at how comfortable it felt to be there and it is the recognition you feel that makes it so comfortable. For our Afrikaans member, Leon Visser, this was even more so. Even if my family has been in South Africa for generations being in Europe does make me wonder where is my home? There’s something about the European mindset, the efficiency and a strength in the Western world that felt familiar to me but I am also African.
PTB: What does that mean to you, to be African?
DC: Well, if the world is a tree than Africa is its root, right? And what does that mean, what is a root? It is physical, deep, dark, rich and most of all nourishing. The root is connected to the earth and it has a pulse, a rhythm. And that is what being African is to me, to feel connected to the deep soul in the darkness of the world.
PTB: What are your musical influences?
DC: Definitely Paul Simon’s Graceland as he has a high voice like me and made this awesome folk, blues, pop rock record and we add an African jive to it. But also musicians as Johnny Clegg, Bob Dylan and 60’s music.
PTB: Bob Dylan is known for his political songs, can you tell us something about what inspires you in music and what your songs are about?
"...that is what being African is to me, to feel connected to the deep soul in the darkness of the world..."-Donovan Copley
DC: Our songs are not political they are a bit more archetypical and universal. Like our new single Laduma, which is what they yell when someone scores a goal in a soccer match, I took that word and personalized it. Made it into a boy who grew up in the heartlands and has to work hard to fulfill his dreams.
PTB: Can you tell us something about how you write a song? Do you sit down and decide now I am going to write or do you write something and come back to it, craft the words into a song?
DC: I do craft but it all based on a feeling. Stanley Kubrick says that "The truth of a thing is the feel of it, not the think of it" and that is what it is like for me. I start from a feeling. I think that music serves as a bridge between cultures, between blacks, coloreds and whites but also to myself and to life. The desire to connect is why I make music; it connects to life, it connects to myself, it connects to who I am.
PTB: You were involved in the Niall Mellon project last year. How did that come about and what did you do?
DC: It was a synchronized meeting. They used our music in their nationwide ad campaign in Ireland and we played for them when they were building 200 odd houses in Khayelitsha that were to be completed in 6 days and. We loaded our gear onto the back of a flat bed truck (a mobile stage) and drove through the building site playing for the residents and workers in the blazing hot sun. We later drove down to their base camp in Cape Town and entertained the Irish workers at their Marquee that catered for 2500 tradesmen.
PTB: Do you have any suggestions for people visiting Cape Town?
DC: Take the 'Red Bus', go to Cape Point and visit Robben Island.
As for the gig on Saturday night? The band that night consisted of Donovan Copley on vocals and guitar, Chris Bakalanga on bass and Byron Powell on drums. The band was in great form playing two sets and a mix of older and new songs. They were joined by Australian captain Tony 'Mandolin' on Mandolin and violin as well as by Leon Visser on Thembi, Marimba Meldoie and Hang on. During the second set the crowd got up from their chairs and danced and sang along to favorites like Bushfire and I happily joined in.
Catch Hot Water next at:
The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock on November 22nd or
28th Nov - Gecko Fest, Kommetjie www.geckofest.co.za
5th Dec - Zula Bar Long St
You can connect with Hot Water on Facebook for updates on gigs, albums and tours.
More About the Photographer and interviewer
All images: Kathalijne van Zutphen. All rights reserved.
Kathalijne is a freelance photographer from Holland, currently based in Cape Town. She is available for photoshoots in the Western Cape (and further afield by arrangement). She specialises in shooting musicians and bands, and in portraiture. She
You can connect with Kathalijne on her website, or via Facebook, or on Twitter.
