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Sample Track 1:
"Happy Man" from Manifesto
Sample Track 2:
"Knowledge" from Manifesto
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Bio

More About Tidal Waves

The crowd is skanking in unison, bouncing up and down like an irie earthquake of rhythm. The maestro with the guitar stops blowing his harmonica and leans into the microphone and shouts: 'Original Music! For Original People!' The crowd screams back in togetherness. The maestro smiles and hits them with another song.

Tidal Waves are widely regarded as the hardest working reggae band in South Africa, playing gigs from Oppikoppi to Pretoria, Cape Town to Potchefstroom. Originally from Klerksdorp, a small dustbowl gold mining town about two hours South of Jozi, the band is now based in Yeoville, Johannesburg. The band is made up of four very gifted musicians, the core of the group being held together by Jacob 'Zakes' Wulana alternating on keyboards and guitar, as well as vocals harmonica and vuvuzela and Sam 'Drumbo' Shoai on vocals and drum kit. Shadrack “Charlie” Mathopa is on the bass, while Jaco “Mr.” Mans wields the lead guitar.

Tidal Waves write and perform original reggae music with traditional African music influences like Maskandi and Mbaqanga. The sound is original roots reggae with strong rock, ska and blues influences. They are renowned for performing music in English, Afrikaans, Setswana and Tshivhenda. Like all good reggae, their lyrics are socially conscious and uplifting, imploring their fans to stand up for integration and One Love. Other songs have deeply rooted anti war sentiments, while others lament the sad tales of urban South African poverty and the struggle to survive as musicians.

The cultural and racial diversity represented in the band conveys the greater vision of South Africa as a Rainbow Nation where every person, no matter the race or cultural background, is considered equal. This serves to bridge any racial and cultural divide in a positive and uplifting manner and because of their versatility, their music appeals to South African’s from all walks of life. In many ways, Tidal Waves is the creative embodiment and voice of South Africa’s dream and are uniquely positioned within it's melting pot of cultures and people to offer a very genuine and down to earth insight on what life in South Africa is like.

A Tidal Waves performance is always high energy and the band plays regularly in Johannesburg and Pretoria as well as touring and gigging nationwide, especially the mother city of Cape Town. Tidal Waves have taken their original music tours to Mozambique, Swaziland and as far abroad as New Zealand and the Seychelles. They also have several successful tours of Europe under their belts, where they performed at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium and the Mano Mundo festival in the Netherlands, as well as a packed schedule of medium size venues across Belgium and Italy.

Tidal Waves are widely respected in South African music circles as an honest, hard working band with an original sound and irie vibes. Because of this they have some of the most ardent, die-hard fans and supporters in the SA music industry.

Tidal Waves recently featured in the local documentary South Africa Live – a Musical Affair (aired on MTV Base in September ‘09) alongside artists such as Freshlyground, Simphiwe Dana and the Parlotones. The band has also been approached for an interview on BBC Radio.

2009 marked the 10-year anniversary of Tidal Waves – a decade 'heart reggae' and spellbinding performances! The band launched their latest album entitled 'Manifesto' and completed a successful nationwide album launch tour throughout December 2009.

In January 2010, Tidal Waves performed at MIDEM in Cannes, France as part of exclusive artist collaboration entitled “South Africa at MIDEM 2010 – Celebrating Africa’s Music” where Tidal Waves shared the stage with leading African artists such as Jozi, The Parlotones, Zulu Boy, Nothembi, Thandiswa, Lira and Kurt Darren. Tidal Waves have been confirmed to perform at the International Africa Festival, taking place in Wuerzburg, Germany during May 2010, and also received interest from the SXSW Festival and Music Conference in Texas, USA.