The Almost Perfect Podcast

Thanda Kunene is an art director and photographer who is not afraid of discomfort. Thanda is a rather nomadic soul who seems to forever be on the move and has carved out his own space in the SA creative scene by being an original thinker and staying true to himself. Thanda has played an essential role in capturing Durban's alternative music cultures and has countless photos of some of SA's biggest stars before they blew up. 

These days, Thanda is expanding his talents as an art director and is relishing working with a team after so many years as a one-man-band. In this podcast, we reminisce over the glory days of the Durban live music scene and look at some of the reasons for its collapse. We also find out how someone who is so bad at social media was able to carve out a career in an industry that's often fixated more on reach than talent. Oh, and we talk about the time we dodged a hail storm of rocks together during a riot in the CBD. Enjoy. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey team,

Things have been a little weird lately which is why I haven't put out a podcast in a couple of weeks. I figured I'd briefly check in with you and let you know how things are going this side. You can expect a new interview next Friday.

Stay safe/sane.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Goss-Ross is a photographer who got his start in the moshpits of Durban and is now a creative director at an ad agency in Dublin. Kevin made a name for himself as a photographer who captured debauchery, dicks, and drugs, which saw him being pigeonholed by the local industry before he spread his wings and explored new boundaries by moving to Ireland. 

This is a deeply nostalgic episode of The Almost Perfect Podcast as we dig into the history of Durban alternative scene, the characters and egos involved, the spaces that enabled it to thrive, and what it was like to capture the chaos. We also touch on some of the technical aspects of photography, we dig into Kevin's influences and mentors, and we find out how Kevin got into photography by chance. Enjoy. 

Keep up with Kevin Goss-Ross on Instagram, Twitter, and his website. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/almost-perfect-75-kevin-goss-ross/

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Mbali Ntuli is a politician who is currently challenging for the leadership of the DA. Considering the DA's history with young black women in their party, it seems like a rather ambitious task, but Mbali is up for the challenge and hopes to be a positive change for the DA and the country. 

While we obviously get into politics a bit, most of the conversation is taken up by a shared love of literature and sci-fi. We hear about Mbali's political awakening before digging into the really important topics, like Star Wars, Isaac Asimov, and The Handmaids Tale. It's a laidback chat with someone whose day-to-day life is anything but laidback. Enjoy. 

Keep up with Mbali on Twitter.

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Gilli Apter is a comedian, writer, and director who has learned to be patient with her passions. You might have seen Gilli on Trevor Noah's Nationwild or Frizz Pop on Showmax, or on stages all around the country as Gilli is certainly one of the hardest working comedians in SA. Gilli has a razor-sharp wit that she honed for years as a writer before eventually starting stand-up comedy. The funny thing is, she only started writing because she wanted to get into directing.  Now, she does all three and makes juggling multiple careers look easy. 

In this episode, we get into what it's like growing up as a first-generation South African in an Israeli household, the value of a non-restrictive creative education, and how your dreams can get derailed if you're not careful. We also get into the nitty-gritty of joke writing, the differences between being a comedian and being a funny person, and we go through some of the advantages and disadvantages to starting stand-up later than most of her peers. As always, there's a lot to learn from this one. Enjoy. 

Keep up with Gilli Apter on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Photo by Andrew Berry.

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Carvin Goldstone is a comedian but you already knew that. Carvin is one of the most successful comedians to come out of Durban. With multiple successful international tours under his belt and a couple of popular specials on TV, Carvin has been living the stand-up comedy dream for a while now. So imagine my surprise when Carvin started this interview by talking about how much he's been enjoying staying put and withdrawing from public life. 

Like many of us in the entertainment industry, Carvin started the lockdown by furiously creating content but soon found himself questioning "Why?". In this episode, we chat about the online rat race and not wanting to participate in it anymore. We get into the importance of protecting your peace but how you have to try different things to really know whether or not they're for you.  We also find out some behind-the-scenes info on how selling a comedy special in South Africa works, and we have an honest discussion about the past, present, and future of Durban comedy. Enjoy.

Keep up with Carvin on Facebook and Instagram.

https://almostperfect.co.za/almost-perfect-72-carvin-goldstone-returns/

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Red Robyn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Wentworth who recently moved to Cape Town to pursue her dreams before, well, you know. The sweet-voiced songbird used to dream of being Britney Spears but these days she just wants to travel with her guitar and spread love. Naturally, that's a bit difficult at the moment, so Robyn has found herself focusing on the more business side of the music business.

In this episode, we get into how dreams evolve over time and how to maintain a healthy balance with success and failure in the music industry. We discuss her formative years studying drama and music at UKZN where she became a part of the phenomenal jazz-fusion band Blvck Crystals. That time period helped Red Robyn mature into the person and musician she is today, even if it was rather chaotic. These days Red Robyn has management and finds herself carefully scheduling her time between her solo career and as a band member in The World of Birds.  Listen in as we find out how she went from releasing songs on Soundcloud to becoming one of SA's most exciting young musicians. Enjoy. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/almost-perfect-71-red-robyn/

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Lazola Gola is a comedian, writer, and director who first got on stage to tell jokes in high school. While you're never too young to start, you're also never too old to try something new which is why Laz has spent his 30s pursuing directing alongside his comedy and writing. Laz has had such an impressive career already, but it feels like he's only just begun exploring what he's truly capable of.  

In this episode, we learn how being exposed to comedy gigs at an early age helped make stand-up a tangible career for Laz. We get into the freedom and limitations of stand-up comedy, and why some ideas work better on screen than on stage. Laz shares the importance of sticking to the script (literally) whilst also giving consideration to the many ways you can bring a script to life. And we get a peek into what it was like to be a part of the LNN writing room. Enjoy. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/almost-perfect-70-lazola-gola/

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