Inside The Voice: James Bassingthwaighte
The Voice South Africa is fast becoming a firm favorite among local reality show fundies.
Week after week we tune in to watch some of the finest talent Mzansi has to offer take to the stage and compete for our votes. We indulge in the performances and embrace (and criticize) contestants and judges alike.
As much as we coo over the exceptional display of talent that grace our screens every week it is only fair to acknowledge the 'little people' that form such an integral part of the final showcase. These are the behind-the-scenes guys - the producers, the camera crew and all the other dedicated guys and girls who work together to produce a show of this magnitude.
One such a guy is musical producer James Bassingthwaighte whose production ingenuity is largely responsible for the astonishing installments of The Voice South Africa we get to see every week.
I had the honor of getting to know the man behind the music a bit better. Here's what he had to say:
You were born & raised in East London and moved to JHB in 2009 after studying at UCT. Did you find it hard adjusting to the hustle and bustle of the ‘Big City Life’?
Hey! What’s not “big city” about East London? It’s got a Woolworths Foods!
UCT was pretty much about the student life (so I can’t remember much of it), but moving to Johannesburg was a pretty big culture shock. It’s an intense city when it comes to the “get it done” attitude. I think because the music industry (especially as it pertains to television etc) essentially lives in Johannesburg, it’s a little easier to get more varied experience.
Where does your love for music and specifically music production come from?
I’ve played piano since I was four and been a musician my entire life. As for the production element side of things, I’ve always taken on more of a “musical director” role as opposed to being a performer. I’ve been ‘organizing’ performances since high school, whether it was a house music competition, putting together a jazz big band at University or running a function band straight out of varsity. Not sure what hidden psychological turmoil this stems from (!), but being on stage has never excited me as much as holding the puppet strings in the background.
When you started Thatch Music did you ever envision working on massive productions such as the SAMA’s, The Presidential Inauguration and the Metro FM Music Awards?
Not at all. Each year seems to bring with it some new, exciting opportunity, so we just try to maintain a culture of commitment and honesty in our dealings with clients and hope that the rest takes care of itself.
You are constantly surrounded by some of Mzansi’s top talent. How would you say South African talent compares to that of the rest of the world?
I’m obsessed with South African music and artist (across the spectrum) and I don’t think there is any difference between our “most talented” individuals and those from elsewhere. What might be different is the depth of the talent available, but that simply comes down to different statistics, population sizes and access to education.
Where our artists may be lacking is in consistent exposure to international standard production value (due to budget). For instance, an international artist may be working on, let’s say 20 major television productions in a year, each with extended rehearsals and major technical budgets. In SA, a top artist may only be involved in 1-3 television performances and each of those with only 1 day rehearsal etc and a budget that doesn’t allow for much more than a couple of nice lights and some low fog. That, in my opinion, is where the difference between local and international performance lies. This isn’t a rant that “we don’t invest enough into our arts” or anything – it’s just a matter of fact.
There is obviously very little room for error when it comes to Live Music Production. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you thought ‘This is not going to end well’?
It’s a brutal environment to work in, as you don’t get a second chance. The two major areas that can go wrong are performance and technical. On the performance side, I spend the entire show praying that we have prepped and rehearsed the artist enough that regardless of what happens, their muscle memory carries them across the line to a great performance.
On a technical side, we are running quite a lot of digital systems that could crash at anytime and it’s incumbent upon us to make sure that backups are running and that we are savvy enough to fix any crashes if they happen.
I haven’t yet had any major technical meltdowns yet (touch wood), but on the performance side of things there have been a couple of clangers, of course. I think the funniest has to be a dancer for Zozo and Sangere Beat wetting his pants on stage at the SAMAs in 2013.
Can you run us through a typical day in the life of James Bassingthwaighte?
I’m a really early riser, so I try to get all of my creative work done in the morning between 04h00 and 09h00. After that, my day is pretty much spent on admin, logistics, rehearsals and tending to the artists that I’m working for on that particular event. Because the performance is always deeply personal and important for the artist, there’s a really delicate relationship that needs to be built with each one to make sure they can place their trust in you to create an outstanding performance.
You have worked on X Factor SA and are currently busy with The Voice SA. Are you a fan of talent shows to the extent that you watch them on TV or is your involvement strictly business?
I watch absolutely every performance from any reality show (and other events as well) as I can to analyze and try to understand what the musical director has done to achieve what I’m seeing and hearing. I don’t really have the time to watch each show from start to finish though, so I’m a little oblivious to the back stories.
How is working on The Voice SA different to working on X Factor SA?
Firstly, the most important difference is the demographic of the channel, as that influences everything from song choice to performance styles etc. The MNet audience is vastly different to that of the SABC audience. I don’t have a preference at all as I find them both incredibly exciting, but in terms of song selection, The Voice SA leans much more to the pop/rock feel and a little more international song choice, while X Factor SA allowed us to explore a more Urban and Soul route and much more local content in terms of music. There are some very key format differences as well (such as the pre-live rounds), which adds to the uniqueness of each production.
There are countless international shows and events that require live music production. Which is the one that you would most like to work on?
I don’t really have my eye set on any productions out of South Africa (I would rather work here with local artists my whole life than try hustle for a break in a country where I don’t know anyone), but I guess if I had an opportunity to work on any show I wanted, the Superbowl Halftime Show must be quite a rush.
In a couple of weeks The Voice SA will come to an end. What is next on your agenda?
We go straight into Coke Studio, a fantastic series where artists from around South Africa and the continent are invited to produce a “hit” in 3 days and then perform it live.
You clearly have a huge passion for music. What is your favorite album at the moment?
I float between my love for song writing and my love for great musicianship. On the song front, I’m the hugest John Mayer fan, so I always seem to have an album of his on somewhere. When it comes to musicianship, I’m geeking out on guys like Snarky Puppy and Jacob Collier at the moment!
Doesn't James just sound like a smashing guy?
Tune in to The Voice South Africa every Sunday to see the best talent South Africa has on offer!
