Dirty Skirts@ 93 Feet East, London – Thursday 18th September

• 27th Aug 2008

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. For four years they remained independent of the South African music industry… unsigned, unmanaged, maybe unmanageable. However2008 has seen the band sign their colossal new album Daddy Don’t Disco to SONY BMG.

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 was released on the 27th of June 2008.

Featuring Jess de Tolly on lead vocals, synthesisers and guitar, David Moffatt on lead guitar, Passion Paliaga on bass and Markie de Menezes on drums, theirs is a mixture of alt pop, punk and rock – with a solid dose of electronica thrown in for good measure.

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.