The Lemmings The Lemmings are a rock band from Pretoria
Latest Newsflash:
The Lemmings are currently working on a fourth album entitled "On A Clear Day" to be released early 2008.
See our music video for "Rain" from the third album on our Videos page!
Then go get our latest album through iTunes, click here:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?
id=215661205&s=143441
If you are not redirected to the correct page, you can search "The Lemmings, Imperceptible Shift In The Light" at www.itunes.com store.
More News!
In one of
the more unlikely collaborations of the year, The Lemmings (as "Die Lemmings") have teamed
up with South African music legend Lucas Maree...
This phenomenal legend of the Afrikaans music industry has teamed up with The Lemmings for a re-work of the classic Afrikaans song "Kinders Van Die Wind" (Children Of the Wind), to be released as the promotional single/video for award-winning film "Ouma Se Slim Kind" (Grandma's Clever Child). This moving Afrikaans-language film (with subtitles), about a pre-Apartheid South Africa, was shot in High-Definition by director Gustav Kuhn (Southern Sky Pictures), and has already knocked Oscar winner "Tsotsi" off several number one spots including The Apollo Awards "Best Script" and "Best Audience Response", even though the film was still in rough-cut version at the time.
The
"Kinders Van Die Wind" single will debut on South African
radio and TV in late March 2007.
"Ouma Se Slim Kind" in South African cinemas from 11 May 2007.
About The
Lemmings
The Lemmings are a rock band from
Pretoria, South Africa, formed in December 1995 with
Abri van Straten -
singer/songwriter and Ludwig Bouwer bassist.
Two new members are Warren Bruckmann on drums and Brian Hodge on
Keyboards. The intricate drums and effects-drenched bass line-up is augmented by a
classical guitar and swirls of electronics and piano which gives the group its unusual sound and
sensitivity. The music has been described as "fluid and
poetic" creating a new space in today's arena.
The Lemmings have done several national tours in South Africa and two tours of the UK and Sweden. In
total, the band has played far over one thousand shows.
Finally, the new
album is here!
"...imperceptible shift in the light..."
The new album "...imperceptible shift in the light...": After
a short (four-year) break, they're back! One of the truly original bands
in South Africa. A blend of acoustic rock and out-there electronic
textures. Anyone who likes to listen to catchy songs with a much deeper
sense of meaning will enjoy this album. Now available by ordering
from [email protected]
or call +2712 804-7756.
What fans are saying about the new album and shows:
"...and I'm loving
the album!" - J. K. Actress / Model, Poland
"I'm listening to the album and I'm
learning the tracks, I'm painting a big big canvas while I have
your music on the headphones, I
like it..." - Paolo, Painter / Musician, Italy
"...we've been having major LEMMINGS
WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS and
miss you already!" - Laury
Dezigremel, Award-winning sculptor, France
"... I am thoroughly enjoying your
new album! I hope to hear from you regarding any news for
your tour, as it has got me very
excited." - G.D. Lighting Engineer, UK
"I cannot stop listening to your
album. I simply love each and every track. Everyone that I have
played
it to has also loved it" - R.T.
Engineer, UK
" Brilliant." - A.F. Classical
guitarist, South Africa
"...I really enjoyed it...I really
like what you do it's very sophisticated sounding.... I really like
it!!!"
- Bill Shanley,
Guitarist (Mary Black / Van Morrison) / Producer, Ireland
Previous releases
1997:
Live Space
"Everyone knows" that you cannot record a killer live album in
one night. Oh yeah? Then "Live Space" released in 1998 must be
a figment of our imaginations! But seriously, recorded in one night, in
front of 800 people - we had a really good time.
Audience demand for a recording was so strong that the band had to
record an album. They were approached by several record companies in
South Africa, but decided not to sign to a local company. Instead, the
band produced a self-released concert CD "Live Space"
(released January 1998), which is still selling well.
1999: CD Single "Hollow People"
The Lemmings recorded the single "Hollow People" which had its
video featured on national television in South Africa as well as on the
Pepsi World Chart Show in SA.
July 2000: Until Zen
'2000 saw the release of the 10 track 'Until Zen' as a thanks to their
fans before leaving for Europe. The album, another self-produced
project, captures the band in its purest, non-complicated form. With a
minimal of studio tweaking, "Until Zen" was recorded in seven
days and is a perfect representation of The Lemmings as they sound in an
intimate setting. The year 2000 saw the release of "Until
Zen", which marked the first of the band's studio albums. It was
also showcased in the UK and Sweden on a 6 week tour.
In 2001, the band took a creative break. The individual members went off
to pursue other musical projects and to recharge their creativity after
seven years on the circuit.
Abri spent almost a year composing
and producing the music for the Sun City Extravaganza
"Odyssey", a
show that more than 50 000 people
ultimately saw.
He also spent a year in the USA and
then Knysna, South Africa, writing new material.
Ludwig started designing and
building his now well-known studio One Big Room, which has made quite
a mark on the local
music-production circuit. Ludwig also spent the time producing many
albums and
demos for other artists.
About The Music
"We
are motivated by the present situation on Earth and our position in it.
Music can bring hope and create the feeling of a future worth living.
Art is really all people have today. An appreciation of beauty. One of
our biggest sources of inspiration is the following quote: "A
culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by
artists." L. Ron Hubbard.
The Bands Name
A great many myths abound about what a lemming is and what it is supposed to do. The most common myth on which the computer game was based - is that lemmings are stupid little furry creatures similar to huge rats that follow their leader off cliffs and die. Some say they commit suicide due to over-population. There is also a story that goes that they leap into the Baltic-ocean in order to find a new land to inhabit. The truth is far more interesting
Many, many years ago - some say before the time of the city of Atlantis - a beautiful and perfect land existed. It was known as Lemuria, and some referred to it as Mu. It was the land of the lemmings and it was paradise. But, as nature sometimes does, a great catastrophe occurred. Some say it was a meteorite, some say it may have been a volcano, others swear it was an angry god, but all agree that it was the greatest threat Lemuria had ever seen. The lemmings faced an almost certain end to their race. Becoming more and more desperate, and unsure whether they would be able to save their precious land, the elders of the lemmings built a special boat and put all the youngest of their race aboard, safely nestled in protective cocoons. They cast the boat off into the stormy ocean praying that the gods and the elements would guide these young infants to arrive somewhere more inhabitable.
As the vessel disappeared into the stormy distance, the elders turned back to their task of saving Lemuria.
Weeks
and months later, carried from ocean to ocean by the currents and tides,
the vessel bearing the infants struck shore on the cliffs of northern
Scandinavia. The local villagers who discovered these infant lemmings
raised them and tried to domesticate them, but as free beings often do,
they resisted this attempt at control and when they grew up they fled
into the forests where they again started to flourish. Unlike their
ancestors though, the young lemmings had retained none of their former
technology and over generations became quite a primitive race.
The haze of time could not erase all the memories completely though, and
even to this day, the lemmings talk amongst themselves and swap folk
tales about a perfect land called Lemuria.
And sometimes, just sometimes, when the nostalgia gets too much, a few
lemmings gather enough courage to leap back into the ocean in search of
this place, this perfect state of existence...