British Blues Award beckons SA’s Dan Patlansky

PETER FELDMAN

The 34-year-old Johannesburg musician joins an elite group of nominees that include Kirk Fletcher, Mike Zito, Buddy Guy, Dana Fuchs, Thorbjorn Risager and Buddy Whittington. The seventh presentation event will be held on September 11 at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, as part of the Newark Blues Festival on September 10 and 11.

“This is without doubt great recognition from my peers,” Patlansky told Jewish Report. “Any nomination or award is just pay-off for many years of hard work. But to be mentioned along with the names on that list is very exciting for me, indeed.”

His latest album “Introvertigo” came out in May and Patlansky is currently touring and promoting this work. “I’m always writing and we are thinking about releasing some back catalogue material later in the year”, he said.

Patlansky, who has carved a special niche in South African music, has been engaging with UK audiences over many years and is constantly undertaking tours there. “We have toured many times … and the biggest highlight has been seeing our profile and ticket sales slowly but surely increase massively over the last few years.”

Patlansky has a hectic schedule at the moment for, apart from touring, he will be conducting his annual guitar weekend in the small Free State town of Clarens. Thirty musicians from all over the country and from different levels and backgrounds will join him on the weekend of August 19 to 21.

“I teach four group workshops covering all aspects of playing. There is a lot of jamming going on. It is definitely one of my highlights of the year.”

Asked what motivates him after years in the business, he replied simply: “The music motivates me and the passion I have for it. It’s easy to do a job for years that you love doing. We are slowly but surely getting there on the international side of things. But it’s a lot of fun getting there.”

He attended a number of different schools, but ended up going to the National School of the Arts.”It was a great place in those days. My music dream only started when I was in about Standard 6. So it was my dream through high school to follow music.”

His early influences, he said, included Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, BB King and Freddy King, but there were many others from the world of Blues, Jazz, Rock, Funk, Soul and Country who had an impact on his formative years. 

Asked for his thoughts on the state of South African music, he said: “It’s small compared to the rest of the world. But I think relatively speaking it’s going to a healthier place every year. We are an emerging market still and have a lot of ground to cover. We have the artists to compete.”

Managing both a career and a family is not an easy task, but Patlansky said it’s really “all about balance”, adding that without a strong home base touring cannot happen for him and vice versa. “It’s really tough to achieve this balance sometimes, but it so vital.”

When away from music, he tries to spend as much time with his family as possible. However, he admits that music is a huge part of his existence and he finds this relaxing as well.

To budding musicians wanting to enter a tough industry, Patlansky advises that they must fully understand what they are getting themselves into because it’s tough and demanding. “But if there is enough passion in place, then it’s is really easy.”