What have we been up to? The past 8 weeks, amongst other things, have included live instrumental DJ shows at…

	Cybar The stylish, modern student sports bar in Rondebosch is pulling out all the stops in getting Pravda23 on the map. Friday evenings brought to you by Hunters Dry. cybar home | more…
	Pickwicks Stunning photography from our popular 3-month residency at the jugular of Cape Town’s nightlife. Shots by ADHP. more…
	Sout Project Launch Collaborating with 50-piece musical outfit The Sout Project culminated in Pravda23 opening the show at acclaimed art haven Montebello. more…
	Signal Hill An unplugged gig on Cape Town’s landmark sunset spot. We played backing tracks from a car radio while performing live acoustic guitar, violin, djembe and didgeridoo. more…
	Kimberly Hotel The balcony-top launch of both the latest Linda Stupart art exhibition and Rhodes’ University’s Jiggered Magazine. more…
	Mzoli’s meats in Gugulethu A mix of 300 meaty locals, tourists and others gather for a taste of Pravda23 live.
	Green Inn Tavern in Khayelitsha An ice-breaking violin house gig at a relatively unknown venue probably gets some jaws on the floor.

What’s next?

Present Pravda23 projects include:

The Kuleshov Effect: Version 4
The latest exports of Version 4 of Pravda23′s The Kuleshov Effect have been finalised. A free download of the one-of-a-kind dynamic music album complete with album artwork will be coming soon.

What can I do?
Download pre-release tracks from Version 4 here.

Cybar
Continuing our Friday evening residency at the most popular place in student-town, giving out loads of free stuff and generally making everyone happy while doing what we love.

What can I do?
Come to the party! Keep an eye on the gigs page and subscribe to the mailing list now to get the news.

Merchandise
Expect updates of our current range as Pravda23 launches new web-linking T-shirts.

What can I do?
Check out our current range of items on BandFashion. Free posting in South Africa.

In closing

I make it a rule to always be involved in a few pointless projects. The type that sap your energy, money and time. Some of them pan out in valuable experience. Others are tossed away, scattering by the wayside like the jar of rusty coppers you’re just never going to take to the bank. In their catharsis, these useless bastards are worthily redeemed, and for a fleeting, momentary absence of self-criticism, their destruction and creation are one.

I’ve also decided to quit trying to dumb this project down in order to include everyone. There’s a helpful FAQ if you’re still not with the program, but I suspect that Pravda23 fans will by now likely be familiar with the numerous innovations incorporated by this awesome creative outlet, and are tired of me dragging my feet. So let’s update this thing.

Subscribe to the mailing list or join the Facebook group so you know when and where we’re playing next.

Just watched Peaceful Warrior, based on a book I read by Dan Millman. The premise? Accepting change + detaching from outcome = being able to do whatever you want.

I decided not to speak when I got up today. I’ve been using my hands, pen, paper, SMSes and every means possible to avoid vocal communication. It’s interesting. People I know start by chuckling, then get frustrated with me, and then eventually resign, and join in the charades. Strangers tend to become as silent as I am once I do the point to self, cut throat, pacman hand routine while mouthing the words “I don’t speak.”

It’s been an interesting day. Here’s what the silence told me:

The music I’m making with the help of my program (Pravda23) is nothing incredible. It will be lost to posterity after I die. Obviously money’s not the goal (made my choice long ago). But in fact, the art is not the goal either. The DOING is the goal. There is no failure. I’ve been going so long with this project – since 2005, to be real – but my music is not something that I aspire to achieve, like the gymnastics gold. It’s a BYPRODUCT of the doing of that which makes me me.

There was a chap called Lonwabo by the bar at the gig at Cybar on Friday (every Friday from now? check gigs page). He was quite excited by the show. It’s so inspiring when I meet people who obviously forgot that they could still be surprised by something as simple as a violin and some beats. He’s quite a music bigshot, by the sounds of it. After asking me if my life was REALLY ready to change, he said, “Right, then I’m the first guy you know,” in a way that reminded me that at some stage, the era of begging venue owners to play gigs for beer will end.

Just bounced out the first track which will feature on Version 5. It’s Balkan. It’s violin. It’s beats. It’s magnificent. More journeys to follow, friends.

Did a li’l show at Cybar in Rondebosch on Friday night – one of the best. Thank the program, and all the folks who were moving their chairs closer to take a look! Join the mailing list for gig updates (sms or email) so you don’t miss out.

Join the mailing list or the Facebook group for upcoming party listings!

Download LuvBeatz [v4.0] now!

Download | All MP3s
A minor | 03:56 | 5.41mb | 192kbps

Welcome. If you’re new, this is how it works: you update your music by downloading the latest version of a track, or one of the complete album versions. Luvbeatz, a first-timer on the circuit, ie not a creative remix of a previous Pravda23 track. It still gets the “v4.0″ tag cos we’re busy with Version 4 of The Kuleshov Effect, the dynamic album that updates like software. Still with me? Gud gud. If not, read this. Either way, get on down to this spacious dubstep anthem for anyone who spellz beatz with a “z”.

Sign up here for updates about upcoming PRAVDA23 live parties!

A day gigging in Khayelitsha, new friends, new vibe. Original live performance DJing by Pravda23. Download video soundtrack Firewall [v4.0], get it on your phone and play it for your friends now!

Upcoming Township Gigs

Pravda23 will be playing live at Ace Tavern in Khayelitsha on Saturday 26th December. Bookmark the upcoming gigs page now.

Pravda23 is on hold for a little while.

I’m finding that without the space for inspiration, producing quality content becomes a strenuous activity, rather than an effortless, natural one. I claim this project as my own and not as something that I’m obliged to do in order to fill the expectations I’ve placed on myself to be a professional musician. The real world is a tough place to fulfil these dreams, and I’ve been going at it practically non-stop for the whole 5 years since I met the program!

I am available for gigs and house parties and the township stuff will probably continue, so don’t be afraid to contact me. But for the most part, I’ll be re-establishing myself as a ‘normal’ person instead of a manic artist so desperate to ‘get somewhere’ that the everyday beauty of life becomes a means to an end.

Farewell for now!
John Bartmann c/o Pravda23