Arts Writer
MULTI-instrumentalist Afro-blues folk rock duo Bottomless Coffee Band will perform at Die Boer Theatre in Durbanville on January 7 at 8.30pm.
The husband and wife duo’s first album, Room With a View, was released last year and featured nine original songs and two of their most requested covers.
Classically trained Esté Rabé effortlessly complements husband Lourens, who honed his skills by spending countless hours improvising garage band style.
Their chemistry that is contagious. “We just love making music together, it’s a romantic way to express our love for one another and we have so much fun doing it. Also, we have so much to say through our music.”
Lourens has mastered acoustic and electric guitar playing, he also plays the harmonic and a drum kit he built himself which he calls the “foot drums” because he plays them with his feet.
Esté plays the ukulele, accordion and acoustic bass guitar as well as interesting percussion add-ons.
The duo kept their marriage out of the public eye for the first four and a half years. “We decided we did not want to make the “married duo” too public too quickly,” says Lourens.
“We don't really know life without the band and I wanted our relationship to mature, spend time together, get married etc… No matter how much we love making music together, or how gifted one may be, our marriage has to come first.”
They started the band in their final year as students and when they started working in full-time jobs they knew they needed to keep making music together. Performing at events seemed like the perfect solution.
Before long their weekends were booked up almost a year in advance with weddings, festivals and corporate events.
“We really learnt a lot about hard work, professionalism and persistence. We gave it our all, every time, even if we were supposed to be background music – we played our hearts out, we still do, every time.”
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