When asked how he would describe Native Young - creator of the project Yannick says, “It’s a constantly evolving tapestry of culture, emotion and melody”. Formed in the garage of a Gugulethu marimba maker in 2014 – this brotherhood is blurring lines and breaking cultural barriers through their own distinct brand of ‘Kasi pop’.

With members stretching from Khayelitsha to Spain – Native Young is an independent collective hosting a menagerie of rotating talent and eclectic taste. Their music itself is focused on returning to the grass roots of pop, raw African rhythm and simple storytelling. It’s this simplicity that has provided the group with a vehicle for deeper cultural exploration both musically and spiritually. Often fusing English, Xhosa, Sotho and Zulu lyrics in sweeping anthemic choral arrangements - Native Young certainly is an ode to African heroes like Umoja, Super Rail Band and Marumo - along with a melodic nod to western contemporaries like the Beatles.

In 2015 Their fresh collaborative sound found it’s way onto the local Cape Town music scene by way of enigmatic live street performances and high energy festival appearances that captivated audiences and attracted the interest of UK indie label PIAS, who helped the band gain support from BBC radio and Triple J in Australia.

June 2016 saw the release of Native Young's debut LP 'Kings' - a unique blend of acoustic African sound mixed with electronic sensibilities and listed as one of the top 20 South African albums of 2017 by indie music blog Texx and The City. The group has also held successful performances at prestigious international festivals like Lake of Stars in Malawi, Les Escales in France and an opening slot at Fusion festival Germany.

As for the future, the collective will be focused on touring both locally and internationally as well as writing tracks for their next full length album, set to be a conceptual journey into the heritage of African disco and traditional Mbaqanga. Music is that ephemeral expression that seems to connect us all and It’s this sentiment that boldly shines in the raw and colourful tale of Native Young.