THE MUSIC:
KORDAZE started out in a small coastal town called Knysna, South Africa.
They have been described by some as a fusion of bands like Coldplay,
Better Than Ezra, Dave Matthews Band and Crowded House with shadows
of the vocal styles of James Taylor, Bruce Hornsby, Paul Simon and Neil Young.
Sometimes rough & edgy, sometimes gentle & empathetic each Kordaze song
tells an intimate story.
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DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM OR INDIVIDUAL SONGS.
THE BAND:
Cuan Korsten (vocal/guitar) and 2 of his best friends, Jonathan Sweetman (drums) and Paul Gibbings (bass), decided to start making some music and called themselves "Spoken For". They gigged a little but really just enjoyed jamming together. Anything just to make some music.
They met Joanna Dazeley (piano/sax/flute/vocal) and right away realised that this musician had talent. Unfortunately, they discovered that the name "Spoken For" was indeed spoken for and so when Jo joined ranks they called themselves "Dewpoint".
To keep the dream alive they played any type of gig available from wedding to background to corporate function all the while trying to organise their own gigs where people could listen to their orginal music.
Sadly, most Punters are only interested in what they already know so it decided that the way forward was to record their debut album themselves and start marketing it online, at gigs and through word of mouth (hardly original but needs must). It was at this point that Jonno and Paul decided to pursue their love of the jazz idiom and the quartet was halved.
To mark the change, the decision was reached to find a new band name. This hastened by the fact that they needed to register an original band name, in order to record and release their album, as "Dewpoint" was also taken.
In 2004, Kordaze was created. The name came about by putting parts of their surnames together (Korsten and Dazeley) to create a name that sounded like "Core Days".
Under the new name and with a cd in-the-making to promote, they continued to gig, mainly at weddings and functions but also at the 2004 Grahamstown National Arts Festival and a variety of other events (including the opening of a block of flats oddly enough).
It took about a year to record, and saw collaborations with old band mates, Jonno and Paul. By early 2005 they had something they could be proud of, something they'd poured their hearts and souls into.
In 2006 the decision was made to relocate (temporarily) to the UK where, they felt they might have a better chance of gaining exposure and marketing their music.
They played their very first gig in London at the Slug@Fulham to a crowd of about 600 people, opening for South African stand-up comic, Barry Hilton.
By the end of 2006, Cuan (citing personal reasons), decided a change was needed and embarked on a solo career and thus the duo went their separate ways.