Tasha Baxter

For years Tasha Baxter has been one of South African music’s best kept secrets – but the release of her debut album Colour of Me is destined to turn her into hot public property.
This creative escapade is the result of a partnership between Baxter and Andre Scheepers. Scheepers, a gifted pianist and songwriter who has worked with the likes of Merchandise and Black Rabbit, collaborated with Baxter over a period of almost a year to create Colour of Me. This talented duo put together the demos which would later form the album, working in Baxter’s dining room and other unconventional spaces. The 9 track demo that was the eventual result of this process was indeed a labour of love, with Baxter contributing bass,guitar, vocals and melodies; and Scheepers contributing keys, synths and beats. Once the demo was complete, Baxter set about finding a way to bring the music to the public.
Baxter met Noisia – Thijs, Martijn and Nik – in an online dance community. She quickly impressed them, as one of South Africa’s most forward-thinking dance, trip-hop and drum ‘n bass innovators. Baxter took a chance on the Dutch production team and sent Noisia some of her music online. Before she knew it, in February 2006, she was on a plane to Holland, where a collaborative in-studio process saw Baxter create the demos that earned her and Scheepers a deal with EMI South Africa.
Recording ‘Colour Of Me’ was a challenging process, Baxter confesses. Scheepers and Baxter did pre-production and songwriting, with Baxter returning to Holland in May for more in-studio work. This was followed by the recording of live instrumentation at RP studios in Johannesburg, with acclaimed SA engineer, Neal Snyman. Martijn from Noisia journeyed to South Africa to oversee this process and returned to Holland with the precious separates in hand. Mixes flew back and forth over the net, until finally the mastered version reached South Africa in late September.
‘I think that the production speaks for itself,’ says Baxter. ‘We have managed to treat each of the songs individually and so each one stands out.”