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| Mail & Guardian - 'A personal work of colour' |
| Press | |
| Friday, 01 February 2008 | |
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by Dillon Davie from Mail & Guardian  Some might think that for a talented musician, recording and releasing your first album is a straightforward process. Sign a record deal, get a fat advance, spend some time in a studio with a big-name producer, do some promo and then sit back and watch your debut opus climb the charts, right? The experiences of South African flautist Wouter Kellerman, whose self-financed debut album Colour has just been released, say otherwise. Kellerman has supported himself professionally in dual careers, working as an electrical engineer while sidelining in the flute, including playing as principal flute in the National Youth Orchestra back in the 1980s. This duality has given him the means to finance and produce his album himself, affording him the luxury of treating it as a personal work of art, not a product needed to turn a profit commercially. In 1997 Kellerman took a year off to focus solely on music and enter competitions, winning the Perrenoud Foundation Prize at the Vienna International Music Competition. After that he decided to explore different musical sources, to play 'music from the heart'. Colour reflects the personal journey of a classically trained musician towards world music and jazz-informed improvisation. The album has been a five-year work in progress, which began when Kellerman started jamming with his friend, guitarist Paul Whellock. These guitar/flute duos, tracks such as Irish Moon and Buenos Aires, form the backbone of the album. Also in the mix are pieces that began as improv sessions with dancers/percussionists/vocalists David Matamala and Salome Sechele. These sessions created basic musical outlines that were 'crystallised' into definite forms in the studio by producer Maurice Lotz. Kellerman is perhaps the only flautist in the country to play both the bass and alto flutes. One of the tracks on the album, Na Die Re...
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