Undergrounds make it to the top
The competition saw 45 bands compete for the grand prize, which was worth about R50 000
DECEMBER 5 will forever be remembered by South Africans as the day the President announced the death of global icon Nelson Mandela – the country immediately went into a state of mourning.
In this unfortunate state, six young musicians were celebrating their victory.
Local band, The Undergrounds, had just been announced as the winners of The Setup several hours before the announcement that made local and global headlines.
The competition saw 45 bands compete for the grand prize, which was worth about R50 000 and included a Music Connection voucher, a professional photo shoot and a live performance as well as an interview on Jacaranda FM with Julio Garcia.
“We’re grateful for the win. We give all our thanks to God who gave us the talent and our supporters who’ve supported The Undergrounds from the very beginning,” said Steve Thompson (21), who recently joined the band as a drummer.
Although new, he fits right into what can easily be called a brotherhood between the original members, Thapelo Mochaki, Aubrey Mphahlele, Dennis Khumalo, Tabakatose Msindo and Kabelo Mathebula.
The band only celebrated a year of being together in December and have more than 20 live performances under their belt as well doing well in several music competitions, including reaching the semi finals at the Klipdrift Battle of the Bands.
The competition, organised by well-known South African artist, Justin Serrao, saw them compete in the first round against four other bands which saw them qualifying for the semi finals and after faring well there, they were named as one of the five bands to compete in the finals.
Having been finalists in a previous contest, the band went in determined to win the judges’ vote and the crowd’s support and it seems their charisma and soulful sound did the trick.
Just after being announced as the winners, they heard about Tata’s passing and had a moment of silence before celebrating their sought after victory.
Apart from hard work, talent and dedication, they attribute their success to the support of many people, especially the owner of Phillips Lounge in Tembisa, who sponsored a taxi to transport fans to the finals of The Setup.
They also have worked under the mentorship of Chief Molelekwa, the late Moses Molelekwa’s father and are grateful for him taking them under his wing and letting them practice at the Arts Centre.
“We would like to thank the community of Winnie Mandela for bearing with us rehearsal after rehearsal,” they all laughed in unison.
The band is looking forward to more performances, airplay on national radio stations and hopefully a record deal during 2014. They have aspirations to feature on the bill of music festivals and spread their simple message of making people dance to their music.
