Nibs strums across borders

Nibs van der Spuy, a South African musician with roots here in the North Coast, has just released his first anthology album, and is touring internationally.

Nibs was a teacher at Crawford La Lucia and Crawford North Coast for seven years, and though he lives in Westville, he travelled daily to the Dolphin Coast in that time and says that the journey was the inspiration for his 2005 album entitled Beautiful Feet, which is still his best selling album.
“It is the sugar cane, the Indian Ocean and the diversity of culture which make the collective heartbeat of KwaZulu,” he said.
The anthology album is called Crossing Borders, driving north, and comprises of 16 songs taken from Nibs’ last seven solo albums on the first cd, and a second cd called Catching Trains, which has been recorded on the road through Europe at various festivals, concert halls and even a maximum security prison.
“I draw my inspiration from real life experiences, the landscapes, people from all walks of life, emotional experiences and obviously listening and discovering new music from all genres,” said Nibs.
“The KZN North Coast epitomises freedom. Freedom of journey, freedom of speech, richness in culture, richness in beauty. I travel all over the world and nothing comes close to that deeply spiritual connection I have with KZN.”
Nibs will be returning to SA soon and is set to play a big gig at the Italian Club in Durban North on Thursday, October 3, where he will perform a solo set followed by a second set with percussionist Gareth Gale and guitar legend and former Crawford North Coast pupil Guy Buttery.