The Dirty Skirts are a fiendishly independent band
that has built an impressive underground following
since releasing their EP in 2005. The alt-indie-rock
band is based in Cape Town and comprises Jess de
Tolly on lead vocals and guitar, David Moffatt on
guitar, Maurice Paliaga on bass and Mark de Menezes
on drums.
The Dirty Skirts
The Dirty Skirts have always had clear intentions as
to where they were headed: to rise to the top of the
South African music scene, and to take their music
to the World. Driven by the awareness that it must
be possible to reverse the tide of American/UK
musical imports that washes through South Africa
year to year, they’re on a mission to sell those
pesky colonial powers something new, something very
Cape Town.
It’s been, and continues to be a hero’s journey
conducted in their inimitable style. They remain
independent of the South African music industry…
unsigned, unmanaged, maybe unmanageable, they remain
mavericks, despite their rising status, and the
imminent release of their colossal new album Daddy
Don’t Disco.
The Dirty Skirts formed in Cape Town after a
fortuitous braai-side meeting between Jess and
David; a meeting of compatible hard working
dreamers. They immediately set out to etch the band
onto South Africa’s musical Hall of Fame by
independently recording and releasing their
eponymous debut mini-album in 2005. Singles such as
“Feeling the Pressure” and “Set Me Alight” scorched
up the local and student charts.
Their first full length debut album On A Stellar
Bender followed in 2007, with the barnstorming
single “Homewrecker” reaching 1 on a number of
National radio charts. In late 2007 they began
writing the follow up album Daddy Don’t Disco, which
will be released on the 1st June 2008.
The Dirty Skirts
As with most bands, The Dirty Skirts are not fans of
pigeon-holing their music (“we’re not pigeons”), but
their sound is steeped in an alternative rock
tradition stretching back some forty odd years.
Think Pink Floyd, David Bowie, John Lennon, Talking
Heads, The Pixies, Jane’s Addiction, The Cure and
many more.
Featuring Jess de Tolly on lead vocals, synthesizers
and guitar, David Moffatt on lead guitar, Passion
Paliaga on bass and Markie de Menezes on drums,
theirs is a mixture of pop, punk and rock – with a
solid dose of electronica thrown in for good
measure. The Dirty Skirts are clearly not scared of
hooks, quirk, humour, and riffs, all of which are
belted out over their soaring melodies.
The Dirty Skirts
An essential part of The Dirty Skirts experience is
their live performance. They are an astonishing
proposition on stage, a heady combination of
effervescent joy, humour, passion and raw animal
power. They favour a punchy, “nose bleed set”, with
improvised jams interspersed between their material.
The result? They fill the largest and best clubs in
South Africa, they headline every significant main
stage of the country’s festivals; they’ve
successfully taken their music to the UK and the US
(including performing at the SXSW festival in
Austin), not to mention a spotlights worth of media
attention.
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