The mercury quivered …..
Posted on 02 March 2010 by Juli
on www.winecountry.co.za

In the mid 40’s on Sunday when we took a leisurely drive out to Kleinevalleij for a lunchtime concert by Sterling EQ.

We settled down on white couches with ostrich skin footstools under umbrellas on the lush terraced lawns. Families arrived with packed picnic baskets even though food was on offer. The vineyards were sucking up some moisture from the irrigation and a cool mist wafted over us every now and then. The kids decided to take a dip in the river and we envied them their freedom.

A White Mischief vibe hung in the air as black clad waiters hovered with ice. Bovlei Sauvignon Blanc was sipped in crystal glasses and young ladies strolled around offering ice creams.

The afternoon got hotter when four of the most gorgeous girls entered stage left – okay, actually across the lawns down the slope and onto the covered “stage”. EQ is absolutely exquisite.

These four young ladies started playing and it was as if everybody stopped breathing for a moment. The sounds they bring forth from their electronic instruments are out of this world. Classical music just became really fashionable again. I can see all the little girls asking for violin and cello lessons.

Sterling “Electric Quartet” (popularly known as Sterling EQ) has taken the South African entertainment industry by storm with their genre-defying musical style and sensational live performance. What started out in 2007 as a corporate show, exploded into a musical phenomenon which the public and media alike cannot seem to get enough of.

Towards the latter half of 2008, public demand led to the recording of an album (“Nova”), which also meant the time had come for Sterling to settle into a unit of permanent performers.

The result was a quartet whose members captivate audiences from all walks of life with their dazzling display of virtuosity and vibrant stage presence. The members’ undeniable talent and energy, coupled with their interesting backgrounds (flautist Carina Bruwer is also a record-holding marathon swimmer, electric cellist Ariella Caira is a qualified actress, electric violinist Magdalene Minnaar is an acclaimed soprano, and electric violinist Eriel Huang is actively involved in the Asian community of South Africa) fascinate and charm the public, media and critics alike, the effect of which has cemented Sterling as arguably the most famous “string quartet” in Africa.

With success often comes controversy and Sterling is no exception. Some of the more traditional Classical music practitioners do not approve the “Sterling genre”, and perceive it to be a “slap in face” of Classical music and the Great Composers. And even though only a portion of Sterling’s music is classically inspired, the fact that they use Classical instruments (however modernized and electrified!) to make what is essentially commercial music, is something some purists struggle with. Sterling, however, welcomes and encourages this controversy, as they believe this only grows the interest in them and their music, and therefore aids them in their quest to take their music as far as it can go.

Sterling’s debut album “Nova”, produced by the multiple award-winning Gabi Le Roux, was released in March 2009 and is selling fast. Sterling’s debut music video “Nova – The Movie”, directed by the multiple SAMA award-winning Lara Hollis, was released in December 2009, and has been hailed as a “breathtaking production” by various industry and media insiders.

A self-released, self-made band, Sterling EQ will keep testing the boundaries as long as the audience is listening.

The ladies packed up their instruments and we sat back and sipped the last of our wine – we looked at the mountains and vineyards and decided that we would like to get married – again – here, at Kleinevalleij.

This venue is perfect ….