BRENT KOZAK
Brent is a folk rock musician residing in Knysna on the Garden route of South Africa. His critically acclaimed debut is The Rice Paddy Tour.
Dedicated self-tuition and practice yielded the skills required for Brent to enjoy years of regular gigging after having started in 1991 as a professional. Notable bands Brent participated in were Black Coffee, The Long Haired Freaky People as well as collaborations with Rowland Gutsche, Wendy Oldfield and the occasional guitar spot for Duck Chowles and Mike McCullough, amongst others.
Always perplexed by the nature of industry in general, he kept apart from it, instead finding comfort in his personal contributions to music with a style grown out of a deep fascination with human nature and a profound love for its arts. But a dedicated and talented musician will at some point intersect with the recording industry. Thus Brent’s forays led him to playing sessions on many a project passing through Knysna’s Peace of Eden Recording Studio where he met the SAMA (South African Music Award) nominated producer, Howard Butcher (Guy Buttery, Dan Patlansky, Tony Cox, Steve Newman). Inevitably, Brent’s solo project came to fruition at the end of 2009 with his debut album, The Rice Paddy Tour. In 2010, at the Grahamstown Arts Festival, it was launched to much acclaim.
As an album, The Rice Paddy Tour is humorous and instantly accessible, inspired by a deep-seated affinity for luminaries such as Monty Python and Frank Zappa, artistes significant to Brent’s development as a musician. Despite that, Brent’s perspective is inimitable. It could easily be the first chapters in a thesis of ridicule but it’s punctuated by straight and level virtuosity, evident on tracks such as ‘String Rattle in F’ amidst others. What’s remarkable is that the whole thing was developed through the creation of a single pivotal track, ‘Little Fishy’, a composition that would ultimately define Brent’s satirical voice and musical expression, on the album and elsewhere. Arriving before all others ‘Little Fishy’ acted like a cork releasing the contents of its bottle into an insatiable sea of satire, one that lampoons complacency.
Brent remains the consummate musician yet he finds time for books, film and chess. He is often accompanied on stage by the backing vocals of Lorette Pagel.
Free MP3 Download: BRENT KOZAK ‘Yellow Fishy’
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