Here is the biography taken from his website:
Steadyrock! - As Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy
As 2009 heads into its final stretch comes an album that’s instantly headed into best of the year territory.
The record in question is the long-awaited full-length release from Steadyrock! – a Mozambican-born, South African-living singer and songwriter who’s been the region’s best kept music secret for the past few years, beloved by a small but ever-growing band of fans.
Titled Steadyrock! As Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy, the 13-track album has it all: banging club tracks, radio ready hits, lyrics of love and unity, scorching summer songs – all held together by Steadyrock’s warm, easy voice.
That Steadyrock! has the goods to catapult into the mainstream and make an impact on a much wider spectrum of music fans is no mystery to those who’ve seen ‘White Wedding’, one of the most successful South African films in recent memory.
It’s Steadyrock’s song ‘My Favourite Song’ that opens the film, and four of his tracks are featured on the soundtrack album - his expansive, inviting songs tracking the emotional journey taken by the characters in the quintessentially South African romcom.
‘My Favourite Song’ makes an appearance on Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy, drawing a link between the film and Steadyrock’s debut full-length album – as well as with his 2008 record, ‘One World Citizen’ which is where Steadyrock! first debuted the cut.
The latter album was independently-released by Steadyrock! and became something of a treasure for music fans who were smitten by the live shows that have seen Steadyrock! play, either acoustically or with his band, at the likes of Oppikoppi, Old Mutual Encounters, and many other high-profile bills.
Now, with a freshly inked distribution deal with Electromode in the mix, Steadyrock’s enormously listenable mix of reggae, folk, rock, dancefloor, Afro-groove music is finally being made available to a much bigger audience.
‘One World Citizen’ earned Steadyrock! some substantial critical acclaim so it’s no wonder that several songs off it have been included the new record, among them ‘My Favourite Song’, ‘Nothing Compares2 U’, ‘Rock On’ and ‘The Best Days of My Life’ – all re-recorded and freshened up to deliver something new to even those fans who’ve been tracking Steadyrock’s recorded career for the past few years.
To add to this, the album’s new songs come with a charged energy that easily reveal Steadyrock’s versatility.
‘Out of the Storm’, for instance, is a rock-guitar suffused number that’s a revelation for those who’d had Steadyrock! pegged simply as an Afro-reggae artist. On this standout track, Steadyrock! and MXO let their voices take flight in the most affecting way, providing a perfect foil to the electric guitar that drives the music. Also adding a new dimension to Steadyrock’s arsenal of music talents is “She Ain’t Talking To Me” featuring Sgebi on a song that can easily give the likes of Justin Timberlake a run for his money and is a surefire radio hit. It’s the same with “I’m Back” featuring Mpho-Za - a song that puts the groove right to the fore, showcasing Steadyrock’s innate feel for a song, be it instantly commercial or critic-pleasing material.
Indeed, it was Steadyrock’s songwriting ability that saw him sign a deal with Sony ATV South Africa late 2007.
“In many ways that was a turning point for me,” Steadyrock! reveals. “I had been playing with other people, just trying to hustle a living out of playing live music but always believing that songwriting is where my real abilities lie. When Sony ATV offered me a deal based on the strength of my songs it was really the green light for me to focus on my original material and solo career in earnest.”
Until his Sony ATV deal, Steadyrock! – born Ivandro Jadir Jacinto, into a Mozambican family of musicians – had been riding under the radar for most of his music career, working with many best-selling artists as a songwriter, producer, and guitarist and performing as part of a duo. In fact, until his partner in a live duo unexpectedly left, Steadyrock! had never considered a solo career, let alone one where he took mic duties.
But, as is evident on ‘Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy’, Steadyrock! is a solo artist of real substance, capable of writing songs that are eclectic enough to appeal to a diverse fanbase but never ever straying out of the signature style that he’s has created over the past few years.
‘My Favourite Song’ featuring Cosmiq is a perfect example of this. The song is easily identifiable as a rock-reggae number but Spanish Fly’s propulsive bass and Kgosi Lethojane’s jaunty piano play off Steadyrock! and Cosmiq’s gorgeous vocals to create a song that lives up to its own billing (and is the subject of a really top-drawer video that’s already in rotation on Channel O and MTV Base).
‘Rock On’ - which has also been recast on Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy - features another sorely underrated talent MXO, and now is elevated into a dancefloor stomper with the inclusion of country-rockabilly guitar and some sci-fi-worthy effects. MXO’s easily identifiable rough-hewn vocal also appears on ‘Out Of The Storm’, yet again proving Steadyrock’s intuitive sense of just what singers and musicians may help him best serve the songs. The choice of PO Box of Kwani Experience to join in on ‘Life’s Wonderful (Africa Unite)’ is inspired, adding power to Steadyrock’s ability to sing about social issues and the need for unity in a way that’s never cloying or contrived.
But the skilful deployment of a brace of talent creative collaborators (including co-producers Mpho-Za, Omen and Badman) doesn’t for an instance mean Steadyrock! needs assistance to grip the attention of music fans. Just listen to ‘Good Old Days’ and ‘The Best Days of My Life’ and you’ll waste no time in joining with the Steadyrock! faithful in believing in this singular artist’s wondrous talent that’s’ equal parts songwriting, singer, guitar and performer,
Over the past few years, there’s been an army of believers who understand Steadyrock! has what it takes to become one of southern Africa’s most important artists.
“What has also played a role in building my confidence has been the love I’ve received from musicians, after I’ve played on the same bill as them,” Steadyrock! confides, giving an inkling of just how positively this artist is viewed by his peers. “It’s also been amazing working with so many different people over the years, and being able to play live on so many different bills. All of this has fed into the songs and production you hear on the new album.”
He’s already written material for the likes of actor-singer Emmanuel Castis as well as MXO and others, and alongside his music in ‘White Wedding’, Steadyrock! also contributed music to the recent docu-movie, Hidden Heart – Story of Chris Barnard and Hamilton Naki.
As a songwriter, Steadyrock! is prolific, with a catalogue of over 100 songs he’s written over the years. “I’m always writing,” he says. “There’s hardly anything more satisfying to me than creating something that affects people emotionally, and spiritually.”
Thankfully with the release of Steadyrock! As Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy at least some of those songs are to get a more mainstream airing on an album that’s, hands-down, one of 2009’s best.
STEADYROCK! As Agent Provocateur in Musiocracy tracklisting:
1. Nothing compares 2 U
2. Life’s Wonderful (Africa Unite) Feat- P O Box From Kwani Experience)
3. I’m Back Feat: Mpho-za
4. Rock On Feat- MXO
5. P.I.G ( Psychologically Independent Girls)
5. Good Old Days
6. Out of the Storm Featuring MXO
7. She Ain’t Talking To Me Feat- Sgebi
8. Good old days
9. Set the roof on fire
10. Best Days
11. People of All Colors
12. My favorite song Feat COSMIQ - Movie Soundtrack (The white wedding)
13. Woman
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