Gerhard Barnard, ook bekend as die Brixton Moord en Roof Orkes se kitaarspeler Kapelaan Pat Plank, is in sy ander lewe as beeldhouer besig om ‘n groot nuwe werk te voltooi. Hierdie beeldhouwerk se titel is “The Juggler”. Die foto’s kom uit sy ateljee in Velddrif op die Weskus.
Verder is Gerhard besig om track sop te neem vir die band se volgende album. Hou die ontuisblad dop vir meer hieroor, of volg die band op YouTube.
Meer oor Gerhard Barnard as beeldhouer by sy website.
On the theme of trips and trivia, “Geraamtes in jou kas” is one of the Brixton Moord & Roof Orkes’s darkest songs. It comes from the band’s first album Spergebied (2002) and deals with the country’s troubled and violent history. It excavates the time and atmosphere when white, male conscripts were stationed in the country’s black townships in the 1980s. Generally, this is not a topic people want to be reminded of, but despite this, the track proves to remain popular on streaming services. “Geraamtes in jou kas” is one of the band’s most listened to songs on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. Maybe it is because of a reminder in the song that societies, like individuals, cannot permanently bury their past. It could also be Esme Evakwaad’s haunting background vocals.
Perhaps this thoughtful blog by John Samson explains why some people find meaning in listening to the track. The blog was published as part of a series on 1001 South African songs you have to listen to “before you go deaf”. In the blog he analyses the song’s lyrics and puts those in historical context.
Here is an English translation of the text:
THE SKELETONS IN YOUR CLOSET
A hand comes through your window
And your lightbulb is an eye that stares
Your ceiling starts to buckle downward
And fingernails scratch beneath the floorboards
‘Cause you know, you know
The skeletons in your closet have begun to stir
The clothes are crawling in the tumble dryer
And your boots are dancing in the hall
Your backpack slowly opens by itself
And grins along with your old coat on the wall
‘Cause you know, you know
The skeletons in your closet have begun to stir
You remember the dust
On the streets of a township
And the hatred in their eyes
At the end of your rifle
‘Cause you know, you know
The skeletons in your closet have begun to stir
You remember the fires
And the wheels of a Casspir
And the smell of burning rubber
Through the filter of your gas mask
‘Cause you know, you know
The skeletons in your closet have begun to stir
So pull your hat down low over your eyes
For Sharpeville and for Boipatong
And swing from your dream
So your shoes never get muddy
From the earth beneath your feet
Here and there mixed with blood
‘Cause you know, you know
The skeletons in your closet will keep on stirring
The skeletons in your closet will stir forever
Ockert Greeff, Brixton Moord en Roof Orkes’ drummer, has just published a new poem in the literary journal New Contrast. About this, he writes on social media:
“As I have a little soldier of a poem, ‘Cold Bulb Hung,’ and I’m very happy to say it has marched straight into the pages of New Contrast Literary Journal, one of South Africa’s longest-running and most respected literary journals […] Somehow, my foot soldier now finds himself standing at attention in the very fine company of Damon Galgut, Gabeba Baderoon, Malika Ndlovu and others […] Salute to the editors for giving this poem a place to stand.” The journal’s cover art, in the picture, is by Ruschka du Toit and the special issue of the journal appears in memory of Diana Ferrus and Zoë Wicomb. The New Contrast website is here and you can buy a digital copy of the journal edition with Ockert’s poem here.
Other poetry news from Ockert is that his poetry manuscript “I Do to You” has been listed as a semi-finalist in the 2026 Wolfson Press Chapbook Prize. This prize is awarded by Wolfson Press, a nonprofit organisation attached to Indiana University South Bend. The winning manuscript is published and added to their esteemed literary catalogue. You can read more about this award here.
Van die album “Bazaar punk” (2022). Iemand wat van die Kaap af terug Johannesburg toe ry op soek na iets wat hy daar verloor het en steeds nie kan vind nie. Van die teks in die video se agtergrond kom uit ‘n hoofstuk deur die historikus Charles van Onselen met die titel “The Main Reef Road into the Working Class” uit ‘n klassieke boek oor Johannesburg se geskiedenis. Main Reef Road sterk van Springs tot Randfontein en trek ‘n streep van die Oos-Rand dwarsdeur Johanneburg se suide, tot by die Wes-Rand. Daar is ook verwysings na ander straatname, soos Robert Broom en Beyers Naude. In Afrikaans word “Main Reef Road” vertaal as Hoofrifweg, maar min van ons Johannesburgers gebruik die Afrikaanse naam. ‘n Video oor herkoms en vervreemding en wat gebeur as die son jou deur jou kar se voorruit verblind.
Van die album “Bazaar punk” (2022). Die video is gemaak met uittreksels uit films van Buster Keaton en Charlie Chaplin, asook Alfred Hitchcock se klassiese film “Vertigo”. Geen video oor mense wat beter weet hoe om te val as om te stap kan sonder daardie verwysing nie.
Van die album Slaaptyd in die suburbs, een oor ‘n Goth wat aan die einde van die jaar besluit als is nou genoeg. Die video bevat beeldmateriaal uit Amsterdam, Berlyn, Kopenhagen, Parys en Leipzig – meestal van stasies, pakhuise, kunsgalerye, katedrale.
Die tune is van lank gelede, maar die video het eers op 16 Desember 2025 uitgekom – heel toepaslik, waarskynlik. Wyle Brixton Barnard se humoristiese blik op die absurditeite van kultuur en verbruikerskultuur met beelde uit die 1990s, asook ‘n paar uit ‘n klassieke Soviet-era film deur Dziga Vertov.
Van die album Terug in skubbe (2005, Rhythm Records). Oor hierdie video skryf Roof Bezuidenhout op Facebook:
“My great-grandfather was a mineworker and a terrorist. During the South African war (1899-1902), he blew up railway tracks. He was captured by the British imperial forces and sentenced to death. Because his name was so complicated – he was Andries Jacobus Burger Rossouw – the clerk who penned the execution order wrote down his initials in the incorrect order. Due to the error, he was sent into exile to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) instead. He returned to South Africa and the gold mines of Johannesburg after the war. In the end, he died from silicosis at the age of thirty and was buried in the Braamfontein cemetery.
“This is a new music video for an old song by the Brixton Moord and Roof Orkes, written by the late Brixton Barnard. It has an epic guitar solo at the end by Kapelaan Pat Plank, also known as Gerhard Barnard, the band’s guitarist and a sculptor in his other life. He is also Brixton’s older brother.
“I dedicate this song to all those of us who don’t fit into preconceived notions of what we should be doing and who we should be. The video contains images of other people who were considered to be terrorists by their own people – including Beyers Naudé, Breyten Breytenbach, and Bram Fischer.
“We performed a version of this song earlier this year at the Breytenbach Centre in Wellington, Breyten Breytenbach’s parents’ old boarding house that now serves as an art and community centre.”
Van die album “Slaaptyd in die suburbs” (2014). Woorde en melodie deur Brixton Barnard en dis ook hy aan die woord. Die video is gemaak met vintage video footage van die ontploffing van die Zeppelin, asook ‘n Amerikaanse opvoedkundige video oor hoe om tornado’s te hanteer.
Van die album Bazaar Punk (2022), die eerste track. Hier skep Brixton Barnard die atmosfeer vir die hele album – iemand wat terugkeer na die dorp waar hy groot geword het. Kapelaan Pat Plank se kitaarspel beklemtoon die atmosfeer. Dis ‘n Saterdagoggend en die eerste trein het pas aangekom.
