Bombshelter Beast is an enigma; it is a fusion of every genre you can think of, with a family of musicians whose individual talents are immeasurable. The project was formed by Marcus Wyatt and consist of (yes I am going to name them all); Pule – voice/raps/storytelling, 
Dionne Song – voice/storytelling/dance party, 
Mihi Matshingana – voice/drama/dancemoves, Alex Hitzeroth – sousaphone
, Sisonke Xonti – saxes/clarinet/flute
, Janus VD Merwe – saxes/bass clarinet
, Marcus Wyatt – trumpet/vuvuzela (musical director), Speedy Kobak – piano accordion/trombone/vuvuzela, Gavan Eckhart – sound design/chicken handler, Justin Sasman – trombone/vuvuzela, 
Romy Brauteseth – bass/art design
, Kuba Silkiewicz – guitars
, Justin Badenhorst – drums
 and Erica Louw – opera diva.

They have recently released an album entitled “Dance of The Chicken”, but word on the street is that this is a band to see live – you won’t understand it until you’ve seen them live.

Let’s talk about how Bombshelter Beast started?
Marcus:
“I wrote some music for a film in 2010, the movie was called TAKA TAKATA, it had Trevor Noah in it. The brief I received wanted a Balkan element to the music. The character in the movie was from Serbia. This being a Joburg story I wanted to make sure it had a Joburg flavour, so I brought it Pitch Black Afro and Mapaputsi to rap. It is an interesting mix of styles, genres… there were a lot of horns involved, and a lot of people involved in the recording as well.”

“Then in 2015 the Orbit asked if I would put something on every Tuesday, but something with a big band. I had been wanting to give this music some life in a live situation and so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to do it. So that is how it started in a nut shell. We started it, and once we started, it couldn’t stop. Watching Bombshelter Beast live is quite an experience. It is a lot of energy, 6 horns, 3 vocalists. It has taken on a life of its own. The new music is slightly less on the Balkan side, but just as quirky. For me it’s the worlds best wedding band, when you see the band you just want to party. I think that’s what we are all about, just having a good time, but of course not at the expense of the music. It’s something different.”

It has obviously grown – you have such big names in this group. How did you pull the right people in?
Marcus:
“It can’t be random, it is too many people. It has to be planned, otherwise there would be chaos. In terms of the big names we decided two years ago that we would develop the band’s identity as opposed to attaching it to some well known name or super star. Our plan is still to collaborate a lot with different artists and of course going forward we would do a lot more of that. We want to develop the identity of the brand and the group without any super stars. But in actual fact all our musicians are superstars, we’ve all been playing music for a number of years, some of us. We have quite an age range, of the 12/13 people, the youngest is around 22-25 years and the oldest, Speedy, is in his mid 50s. So it spans a few generations. We have an actor who is also a comedian, one member speaks 20 odd languages, we have a musical theatre actress, we have orchestral/classical musicians, we have jazz musicians… we have all sorts. A fusion of talent. It’s people I have known for many years, or people I have met recently who I really respect as musicians.”

“Sometimes it is difficult to get the band together for performances or rehearsals, or promotions because everyone is busy, and we are all over the lace, but it is a bunch of really talented musicians who are coming together for this project that we all love and enjoy doing.”

Let’s talk about the album?
Marcus:
“It is a studio album that took a while to finish, because with a band this size and with the energy we produce on stage, it was always going to be a challenge to try and match that in the studio. Sometimes you feel that studio albums can be compromises in a way. I think we have struck a good balance – the energy is there on the album, but it isn’t a live.”

When you release an album you want people to recognize a specific sound, but you are a fusion of different elements. How did you sit down and choose the songs to put on this album to define Bombshelter Beast?
Marcus:
“I guess it was fairly easy because we started the recording about a year or so after we formed . So at that stage we only had enough material for an album, which made it easier. But also all of the songs that we played on stage were a lot of fun and are catchy and off beat. I think that’s what we were gong for. It’s a very accessible sound that most people can relate to but also a very different sound because there are so many musicians.”

“I guess Afro Balkan stuck with us for a while because of the elements. But now there is a fair amount of Kwaito, house, dancehall, dub, ska, rock, hip hop… if we have to enter a competition, it is tricky for us, because when it says pick a genre, we can pick them all. So I think that’s our sound. It’s not defined by any genre, it is more defined by the actual sounds of the band. It’s positive, happy music, dance music essentially but you can’t define it, because it is combination of various things. In SA the industry tends to be a bit conservative so finding a space for us within that industry has proved to be quite a challenge. Collectively the album is more than anything else.”

How do you then manage 12 people, and how do you earn a living?
Marcus:
“We are all professional musicians, we all work in the entertainment industry. We all freelance. We are a bunch of working musicians. I play everything from small jazz groups to big bands, to playing with DJs, and everyone else does that as well. Luckily we haven’t had to rely on this for an income. It’s slowly picking up, so that helps. I do believe in the future it could generate a good income, then changes would have to be made and we would have to run it like a business. At this stage it is still manageable. We all want to play and that is precious.”

If you could choose a favourite song that defines BB – Is there one?
Marcus:
“There’s no such thing. It’s impossible. I’m not sure I can answer that question. I have my favourites, but the beauty of this project is that there are so many different songs that appeal to different people. I always like the song Man or Mouse because it is very quirky and has a Balkan element, and it has a very Joburg sound to it. It even has elements of Boere music in there. I also like Madam Blis, which I originally wrote for another project, but the version we have on the album is excellent. Although in that song there isn’t any Balkan element to it. so if I had to say that you should only listen to that song, then you would fail to see a whole other side to the band.”

The band will be performing on Friday, 1 June 2018 at the DUNKELD BOWLS CLUB. Go see them!

Follow Bombshelter Beast online at:
www.bombshelterbeast.com
www.facebook.com/bombshelterbeast/
@bombshelterbeast – Instagram
@bombsheltabeast – Twitter