Deity's Muse: The story of a first-time SAMA nominee
Meet Deity's Muse, the Gauteng-based band who were nominated for a South African Music Award in 2022.
Being nominated for a South African Music Award (SAMA) is a big deal - as it is recognition for the talent and passion musicians have for their art. Not to mention the bucketloads of blood, sweat, and tears that go into producing the final product.
With such a diverse music scene in South Africa, the SAMAs gives musicians from all walks of life the chance to showcase themselves to a much broader audience.
While the rock scene in South Africa may not be on the same level as our international counterparts in terms of scale, we are blessed with so much talent bubbling under the surface.
READ: The SAMA 2022 winners in full
One such talent is Gauteng-based band Deity's Muse.
The four-piece comprises Wayne Boucher (vocal, guitar), Sashan Pillay (drums), Alvin Boucher (bass, backing vocals), and Kyle Engelsman (guitar, backing vocals).
While the band has taken various shapes and forms since their creation in the early 2000s, their SAMA nomination is just reward for their years of hard work in studio and playing live - both locally and internationally.
Have a little taste of their outrageous abilities below:
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While they may not have won the SAMA for 'Best Rock Album' over the weekend in Sun City - losing out to rock legends Springbok Nude Girls - the mere fact that they have been given a chance to showcase their talent outside of their usual scene is going to prove invaluable.
SEE: Springbok Nude Girls documentary
We caught up with Wayne and Alvin Boucher to find out more about the experience and what this all means for them going forward:
As a first-time nominee, how did you feel when you found out the news about the nomination?
Wayne: Utterly shocked. Coming from our little underground corner of the South African music scene, a SAMA nod was never on our radar. It always felt unattainable. Even now, after the event has already taken place, I'm still surprised but completely appreciative of having received a nomination in the first place.
Alvin: Once I saw the official nomination I experienced a number of emotions. I freaked out, dude. I was speechless. Proud. Overwhelmed. To name a few.
What was the experience like attending your first SAMAs?
Wayne: The actual event and production was really fun and incredibly professional. As a bunch of dudes who are used to beer-drenched venue floors and sleeping on random couches on tours, it was quite refreshing to feel welcomed at such a glitzy event. The organising and communication surrounding the event left a lot to be desired unfortunately, but hopefully that is improved upon going forward. Overall, we really enjoyed the vibe and atmosphere of being there.
Alvin: Well, soon after we got to Sun City there was a mix up with our accommodation reservation supplied by the SAMAs. We had to wait for some time to get into the event. But the staff from the SAMAs went out of their way for us and tried their absolute best to resolve that issue. Big ups and massive thanks to the ladies and gents that assisted us. After that, everything ran smoothly. The production and venue at the event were mind blowing and quite frankly unreal. It really was an honour to be part of it all.
We have such a diverse music scene in South Africa, but, sadly, rock isn't always at the top of everyone's mind. What was it like interacting with your fellow musicians from different genres? How were you received?
Wayne: Indeed. I do feel that perhaps the addition of a metal category like The Grammys would add to the diversity of it all. But that being said, we felt incredibly welcomed at the SAMAs by everyone we interacted with. Before the event started we did a lot of chatting with various fellow nominees who all showed genuine interest in what we were doing there. When our category was announced on the night, everyone we had already interacted with audibly rooted for us. It was really cool!
Alvin: That is true. Rock and Metal seem to continue down an underground music path here in SA. A real eye opener during the SAMAs event was the number of artists and musicians interacting with everyone from all musical genres. Everyone we spoke to was surprisingly excited about our nomination and the Best Rock Album category. I even had a few RnB and Soul artists interested in collaborating with us in the future.
While you may not have won the award, what does the recognition mean to you as a band?
Wayne: The recognition is quite invigorating as we're quite used to being overlooked by the mainstream, so it really does mean the world to us. It was certainly an experience we'll never forget and I do hope that sometime in the future it happens again, and even more often for peers in our little corner of the South African underground music scene.
Alvin: Springbok Nude Girls are signed to the same label as us, so it’s a win for everyone in my opinion. And fully deserved for the Nudies. Just the nomination on its own is incredible for me. It means we are heading in the right direction and our hard work and persistence is finally paying off. We will work even harder now, push ourselves even further, and hopefully we can get another nomination in the future - and possibly even win it!
What's next for Deity's Muse?
Wayne: We're playing the Metal4Africa Festival this weekend (3 September 2022), which we're really excited about. We're also currently in pre-production for our next release. We've been doing a lot of writing and recording lately. As for tours, we're working on returning to Cape Town in December for some shows, so expect some announcements on that soon. We're also looking at getting back to touring overseas again in 2023 to continue where we left off before COVID-19 decided to rain on everyone's parade.
READ: Lira shares health update after SAMA nod
Check out more from Deity's Muse below and take a trip over to their official website to find out where and when you can catch them live!
Images: Supplied