What
do ice cream and music have in common? Well, it’s kind of a long story, but
here’s the basic gist: SA’s much-loved ice-cream brand Cornetto recently
launched their Dare to Love campaign, in which they dared
consumers and celebrities to take a chance on love. In the spirit of their
campaign, and when they caught wind that Mi Casa was planning to perform in
Cape Town, Cornetto dared the house band to share the love and take their show
on the road to all major South African cities, not just the Mother City. Men
being men, Mi Casa accepted the challenge, but in return they dared Cornetto to
become involved with their tour and to create the ultimate fan experience. And
so it came to pass that the soulful house music trio will be touring the
country to give fans their first taste of their new album Home
Sweet Home.
Mi Casa is one of SA’s hottest musical success stories.
With multiple awards under their belts, the boys have been extending their
catchy brand of South African dance to the rest of the world, and following
gigs in London, Italy, Portugal and Canada, they managed to find some time to
squeeze in some very fruitful studio recording sessions which formed the basis
of the new album.
Featured on the album are local heavyweights such as
Cassper Nyovest, Big Nuz and DJ Tira, as well as the very popular East African
group Sauti Sol.
If you still have no idea who we’re talking about, let me
fill you in. Dr Duda (producer, keyboardist and DJ) has been in the music biz
for 15 years. J’Something (lead vocalist and song writer) hails from Portugal
but crossed the border and moved to the Eastern Cape some years back. And
finally, Mo-T (trumpeter), whose father used to blow his horn for Mango Groove,
is all about that jazz and followed in his father’s footsteps. Together the
three boys create soulful house music with a distinctive South African flavour.
The Johannesburg-based house band released their debut
album Mi
Casa Music in 2010,
which quickly saw the dance trio reach new heights, and the album soar to
platinum status within six months of release. This feat put Mi Casa firmly on
the map and they were invited to open for international acts such as Drake,
John Legend and Kool & the Gang.
Mi Casa’s sophomore album, Su
Casa Mi Casa, became a double-platinum seller. Home
Sweet Homewill be their third album and it promises to give them
the major international breakthrough they’ve been building towards. The first
single, ‘Chocolat’, has just been released nationally to rave reviews.
The Home Sweet Home album-launch road trip kicks off at
Grandwest Arena in Cape Town on 4 September. From there they’ll travel to
Bloemfontein’s Windmill Casino on 18 September, then on to Port Elizabeth’s
Boardwalk Casino on 4 October and Sibaya Casino in Durban on 30 October. Their
final stop is Johannesburg’s Gold Reef City on 13 December. The launches will
feature state-of-the-art sound and lighting to bring home the experience that
Mi Casa has managed to put down on their brand new album.
