Nineteen years after Afrikaans rocker Valiant Swart's
ground-breaking debut, "Die Mystic Boer" (Eng: The Mystic Boer) was
released on CD it is now being released on vinyl, in association with Cape Town
design agency (and friends of Valiant) Cow Africa. Fans can rediscover the
iconic songs that first put the Boland punk on the map, including "Die
Mystic Boer", "In Die Transvaal", "Ware Liefde" and
"Buitenkant". The "Die Mystic Boer" vinyl package includes
a high-quality vinyl record (180-gram, 33RPM), the classic album cover, as well
as a full-colour inner sleeve with the lyrics and a collage of historical
reviews and exclusive photos from the group's personal archives. Talk about
collectors' delight! Says Valiant: "Since childhood I've dreamed of making
a record. In 1990, when I started making music full-time, I thought it was just
a matter of time before my debut would be released. Since 1985, however, CDs
started replacing vinyl records as the preferred music format. In 1991 The
Dolly Rockers, at that time the most popular alternative group in Cape Town,
used up the last available vinyl in the Cape for their EP. There was literally
no more stock of the required raw material to make vinyl records in the Cape!
For a poor alternative Afrikaans rocker like me it was an unthinkable and
impossible dream to make a CD. I had to wait another five years for my debut
release - on CD. By that time, vinyl records had largely disappeared from the
scene. The vinyl revolution of the last couple of years got me thinking that it
would be quite special to do a limited edition of one of my albums on vinyl.
Great was my surprise when Charles from Cow Africa phoned me one day to suggest
that they assist me in realising this dream. I immediately agreed and today I
finally have my debut album on vinyl - albeit twenty five years later!"
The original album cover was carefully revised and updated by Cow Africa. The
music itself was left intact; sound levels were only slightly adjusted for the
vinyl format. According to Charles Miller from Cow Africa: "The
rediscovery of vinyl is something all of us at Cow are quite passionate about
and we have a couple of serious collectors in our ranks. One day we were
discussing some of our favourite artists that should have been released on
vinyl but never were and Valiant's name came up first. We knew what we had to
do." This release of "Die Mystic Boer" brings Valiant Swart's
music to the vinyl format for the very first time. Fitting then, that it's his
debut album and just in time for its twenty-year anniversary in 2016. Only 500
of these limited edition collectors' pieces are available at R300 each.
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