The truth behind Adelle Nqeto, and her band: The Bank’s, interview…
It all started one night at Arcade Empire, at the Pop filter Presents: Making the Muso event, about a month ago. It was the first time I had seen Adelle Nqeto live, and she literally gave me goose bumps; this is no hyperbole, she was absolutely phenomenal! And her band was just as impressive, assuming their roles like Cirque Du Soleil acts, perfectly synchronized and endlessly entertaining. Adelle, herself, a petit and demure vocalist with confidence that radiates unexpectedly through her powerful jazzy voice; she commanded the stage with complete magnetism. I was immediately taken to their music and mustered up the courage (after conferring with all my fellow compadres) to ask her for a live interview on the station. She had an eloquence about her that could intimidate even the most elite etiquette educator and she was incredibly accommodating to my request. After a couple of back-and-forth whatsapps to discuss a date and time we settled on one that suited us both, and her drummer, from the band: The Bank, James.
The day of the interview arrived, and, after having played her songs to all my colleagues I was as excited as most Pretorians are the night before OppiKoppi! I managed to sneak home early from work and create the ultimate playlist; one that I thought complimented the band as best I could. I checked that we were on air and I heard the magic of Scatter Brain Jane Sessions streaming through the app – I was happy. My nerves got the better of me and I figured I better stop for a loop dop*, so I grabbed a squeezy bottle, but the only one I could find was clear! I stopped at the liquor store, bought myself a bottle of Polkadraai and continued to pour a glass into the squeezy bottle. Unfortunately, I dropped the lid of the wine bottle (covered in polka dots) into the squeezy bottle – cringe! I figured that they wouldn’t be too perturbed by this, and perhaps just find me rather strange, a first impression I think I’m fully qualified at portraying!
I was early, which is unusual, I won’t lie, and I had time to calmly load my playlist and prep the jingles. When I checked the signal again nothing was streaming. My little heart lunged to the ground, which, was under construction at the time (another cringe-worthy element to this now foreboding interview). Just as this realization hit, I heard the chatter outside and recognized that they had arrived, there was nothing I could do. So I met them with that kind of smile that tries to disguise impending doom and ushered them into the under-construction studio. Excusing the in-between state of what is soon to be a spectacular renovation, and trying to play with every plug as if it were protocol. All the while I was frantically consulting my fellow djs for assistance on the phone.
James set up his drum kit and ambled around the studio, paying careful attention to every nuance. Appreciating our drum kit/décor, reminiscing on his very first drum kit. Adelle, in her fine frame was shifting the furniture to make herself quite comfy, and all of a sudden they made me feel like a close friend attending their band practice. They started strumming a few chords when I broke the news – we were not live. They calmly waited for me to try and alleviate the issue. Continuously appreciating every song of the playlist that I had so calculatedly formulated. I tried rebooting the system, I tried changing every cable, I tried restarting the encoder – but nothing would give. After a while I resigned myself to the fact that this was not going to realize and patiently waited for the technicians to reboot the encoder from their side. By this stage I had portrayed all five stages of the grieving process to my fellow Grind djs on our whatsapp group. I even forgot about my squeezy bottle, complete with levitating wine lid halfway down. They hadn’t even noticed, and what’s more, they kept me composed throughout the whole hour and a half during which, should’ve been an interview and live performance. They conversed like old friends, jeering each other on and addressing each other with such sincerity. They spoke of the day that they had following – one that started with a gig at 10 am, followed by practise for a future “surprise” and finally the finale of Pop filter Presents: Making the Muso at Arcade Empire at 9pm. Not once did they show the slightest irritation or disappointment. Instead, they were human, real, kind and inspirational. So, despite not having been able to interview them, I got to know them really intimately, with no pretenses. I got to know them as the genuine and beautiful people that they are. And hey, I even received my own private performance!
We would like to apologize to all those listeners who were waiting to hear the enchantment that The Bank, and Adelle Nqeto had to offer. Unfortunately, the reality about working digitally is the unforeseeable faux pas’s that follow suit. We cannot control these types of glitches, despite having the most reliable Internet available to us. We can, however, guarantee future features with the band, and many live events where you can experience their talent right before your eyes. For instance, Arcade Empire on the 3rd of June. Make the time to see them live, you will see that not one word that I have written is a lie.
https://www.facebook.com/events/894675870641087/
*loop dop – Afrikaans for a drink that you can literally take on the run