Anaphys: Post-Prog Hits South Africa

Progressive rock is all about pushing technical boundaries, breaking structural conventions and taking music into the realm of the abstract. I’m sure at least one in five people reading this have had a Toolgasm whilst listening to 10 000 Days.

Since the glory days of Tool there’s been a revival of the prog movement with bands like Mew, Circa Survive and Mars Volta taking the genre into new territory, or simply, post-prog. An example of this is Karnivool’s Sound Awake, which takes ideas from Tool and runs with them, hurling them into the sky to see how far they can go.

South Africa, whose biggest rock exports to date have been Seether and The Parlotones, has just caught up with the times with Anaphys, a Cape Town-based self proclaimed post-prog band.

Armed with their Winter Collection, the band launched on 28 August 2010 at The Albert Hall in Woodstock. Although a seemingly odd venue for a live rock show, the rustic charm and quaint stage layout set the perfect scene for its unusual performers.

Anaphys doesn’t do anything ordinary or without reason. Naturally, the opening act was also something out of the box. Instead of yet another local band with faux American accent, two scantily clad Soma Fusion dancers slithered through the crowd. I’ve never seen a more mesmerised audience move to the front of the stage so quickly. But the choice of supporting act had another marked effect: the sensual dancers set the mood for something magical, warming up the audience for something new and exciting, which was to follow. The feeling of mass anticipation was almost tangible.

The band is a four piece comprising vocalist Timothy Lester from the Magic of Pegasus, bassist Jordi Reddy, who last was seen playing for The Sleepers, guitarist Stephen Kukard and Xander van der Westhuizen, also from Magic of Pegasus, on drums.

Lester delivered a big concert performance. His counter tenor voice conducted the crowd through the complicated arrangements, taking them high, taking them low, but never out of synch with the rest of the instruments.

One eager audience member asked, “How do they remember all those notes?” It’s a good question. The band is tight.

The Winter Collection is a multi-conceptual release, with songs running up to seven minutes each. The live performance feels like a single composition quilted from its constituent songs. They each tell a different story, yet seem to hold a singular meaning. The intricacy is a far cry from the run-of-the-mill song structure we hear on the radio these days.

The idea for Anaphys was born in 2004 when Reddy began writing music that he felt challenged the accepted musical conventions. It took five years to perfect the sound, with Lester joining the band in 2006 after responding to an advertisement in the Cape Ads.

“I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand the music, or where it comes from,” explains Lester. “All I can do is let it be whatever it wants to be. It never really stands still long enough for me to identify it.”

Like the music, the name itself means different things to each member of the band. It is clear they are playing for each other, rather than writing songs with a commercial appeal. “If you listen to Anaphys and feel something in the process then it’s for you,” says the vocalist.

Lester echoes Reddy’s desire to take South African music to another level. “We’re not trying to fit into a mould that can be put on a shelf somewhere. We’re trying to be something different; something that no-one’s heard before.

Check out Anaphys’ biography here.

Listen to the tracks online at www.anaphys.com

- Sally Fink