Shadowclub

Shadowclub, a Johannesburg trio drawing from the raw, unvarnished punk-blues and hard rock approach of the Black Keys and early Kings of Leon, surfaced in the early 2010s and swiftly became a central force in South Africa’s active rock community. The group secured Sama Award nominations for both Guns and Money (2011) and Goodbye Wild Child (2013), ultimately claiming the prize for the first of those albums. Following a two-year hiatus devoted to individual pursuits, they resurfaced in 2018 with the EP Big Green Mamba Dream.

Isaac Klawansky, Jacques Moolman, and Louis Roux established the band in 2007 once Airship Orange disbanded. Intent on replacing their prior project’s intricate sound with something more direct and aggressive, they sought to capture the self-reliant sonic force of the White Stripes and Wolfmother while blending in the gritty texture of postwar blues. Their first full-length release, Guns and Money, appeared in 2011 and contained the hit singles “Good Morning Killer” and “Guns and Money,” earning the 2012 South African Music Award for Best Rock Album. The follow-up, the Sama-nominated Goodbye Wild Child, reached listeners in 2013 and featured the Top 40 single “Melanielectriclove.” The ensuing years brought nonstop touring across South Africa plus engagements in Russia, Mozambique, Botswana, and Namibia. After stepping away for personal reasons, the members reconvened in the studio with fresh energy and completed Big Green Mamba Dream, which came out in 2018.