The Graeme Watkins Project

Biography

12 Months ago, the world was pretty “safe” – the economy was still in tact, the future was bright and in SA Music, Season 5 of Idols was in full swing. Little did we all realise that someone, and something, special was being unearthed – Graeme Watkins. With his unique personality and edgy song-choices, Graeme soon became a fans favourite in Idols. And despite achieving “Runner Up” status, Graeme vowed to return to the big stage, on his own terms, as a fully-fledged musician … and that time is n...

12 Months ago, the world was pretty “safe” – the economy was still in tact, the future was bright and in SA Music, Season 5 of Idols was in full swing. Little did we all realise that someone, and something, special was being unearthed – Graeme Watkins.

With his unique personality and edgy song-choices, Graeme soon became a fans favourite in Idols. And despite achieving “Runner Up” status, Graeme vowed to return to the big stage, on his own terms, as a fully-fledged musician … and that time is now!

Graeme has since teamed up with some of the most highly regarded and accomplished musicians in South African music to create his new initiative – The Graeme Watkins Project (GWP). Ryno Zeelie plays Lead Guitar (famed for playing with Danny K,

We Will Rock You and Rent); Rudo Pieterse on Bass (having played for Karen Zoid, amongst others) and Matthew Marinus on drums (notorious for his work in Fevertree, Zebra & Giraffe and Skouspel shows).

Despite being a simple “3-piece band”, GWP produces one of the biggest sounds around. GWP brings a dirty, edgy, rough approach to a medley of pop, indie, rock and electronic genres.

“A Masterpiece is a stroke of genius in a moment of madness… So live life like a madman” is Graeme’s motto, and there is definitely madness incorporated into his music. When listening to the first three recorded demo’s, it’s hard to believe these songs were written and recorded over a 2 week period!

Channelling influences such as “The Springbok Nude girls”, “Boo!”, “The Killers” and even a hint of “Depeche Mode”, this unique sound is bound to inject a splice of energy into every listener. With the ADHD inspired beat, the music is designed to get the crowd into the mad-capped mindset of the band members, to break out of their comfort zone and rock out to the all-encompassing movement of the melody.

The dedication and commitment of this fierce foursome progressed has seen the fan base rise by 1,500 after GWP’s first televised performance of an acoustic version from one of the new original tracks, “Light That Shines”. Since that Performance on Kyknet’s, “Glitterati – Valentines special 2010”, GWP’s YouTube upload has far surpassed any other artists that have been uploaded on the Glitterati You Tube channel.

This unit has managed to break the “cookie-cutter” mould of stereotypically SA Pop-Rock by producing a handful of fresh, new original tracks – each lined with raw, pure emotion … pretty much exactly what everyone, not only the SA Music scene, desperately needs right now.

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