From gigs around Cape Town to festival stages like Up the Creek and most recently taking on Aandklas’ Battle of the Bands, we’re alright are quickly becoming a band to watch. But behind the growing list of appearances is a six-piece that is just as invested in finding its sound as it is in building the creative community around it.
Left to right: Anees Moucer, Cory Nefdt, Ziev Kazansky, Jesse Lees, Jack Beare and Benji Botha. Image credit: @vuyopolson (@polestudios), as featured in Verve Magazine.
I sat down with the band to talk about where We’re Alright came from, how six very different musicians found a sound together, what it takes to grow an emerging band in Cape Town, and why creating space for other artists has become such an important part of what they want to build.
Made up of Anees Moucer on saxophone, Benji Botha on drums, Cory Nefdt on lead guitar, Jack Beare on bass, Jesse Lees on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Ziev Kazansky on lead vocals, the six-piece is still finding its feet, but it is already showing just how much can happen when different musicians, ideas and personalities collide.
Six musicians, plenty of opinions
There is no single genre that quite captures what happens when the six musicians get together. Their music has a distinct fusion of sounds, pulling from rock, indie, funk, jazz, alternative and old-school songwriting, with each member adding their own musical perspective.
The result is a sound that can shift from one influence to the next without trying too hard to fit a particular mould. It has even earned them the nickname, according to some, “the Cape Town Steely Dan”.
What they are creating does not necessarily have to sound the same to everyone. In fact, the band itself says that their mix of influences means something different depending on who is listening.
“We can say there’s a list of genres that influence us, like rock, jazz, old songwriter stuff, funk, all those things definitely have an influence on it, but that means something different to everyone.”
Rather than forcing those influences into one neat description, We’re Alright have allowed their sound to develop as the members have grown together.
“The creative process is not just writing songs anymore. As we’re growing as a band, now we’re thinking more about production and arrangement.”
For them, a song is not necessarily finished just because it has been written. Rehearsals have become part of the writing process, with arrangements shifting, sections changing and ideas being tested until something clicks.
“We practice a song and it could change from practice to practice. It’s like, actually guys, I want this to be different. This isn’t working anymore.”
With six musicians bringing their own ideas into the room, the songs are constantly evolving. One person might hear something differently to another, or someone might have an idea that changes the direction of a section entirely. That back and forth has become part of how We’re Alright find their sound.
“Definitely conflict in practice.”
But more than anything, it is a reflection of how collaborative the band has become. They are not trying to make six musicians sound the same. They are figuring out what happens when all six bring something different to the table.
When two became six
Before there was We’re Alright, there was Jesse and Ziev making music together.
Their first song, I Think Not, came together from a particularly raw place, with Jesse initially writing it as an emotional release before reaching out to Ziev to help him bring it together.
“It’s very pure,” Ziev says. “When you have a first song you write together with someone, it’s so fresh and so pure and just purely full of the purpose of creating this thing.”
From there, the band grew organically, with each musician gradually finding their place.
For Jesse, that is one of the things he values most about the group.
“I feel so blessed that they push me to be better musicians every day because they are unbelievably talented and they eat, sleep, breathe music.”
For Ziev, performing is just as important as the music itself. Once a song is written, the challenge becomes figuring out how to give it to an audience and keep it feeling alive.
“How can I give that to the audience? How can I keep it fresh?”
It is a question that speaks to where the band is now. They are not simply trying to write better songs. They are learning how to become a better live band, how to connect with an audience and how to keep evolving.
Make space, then make more
Being an emerging band comes with plenty of excitement, but there is also a less glamorous side to building something from the ground up. There are venues to approach, audiences to build, content to make and opportunities to chase.
For we’re alright, one lesson has come through particularly strongly: being scared cannot be the thing that stops you.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” Jesse says.
That attitude has meant putting themselves in situations that can feel uncomfortable, from approaching strangers at festivals to walking around with stickers and telling people about the band.
At Up the Creek, Jesse remembers approaching around 100 people and asking them to come and watch we’re alright play.
“I was like, what if someone says no? Who cares?”
Those people had still heard the name. A few had actually shown up. And the band had put itself out there.
“If you’re afraid to put your foot in the door, then it’s going to be hard.”
There is, of course, a less comfortable side to that kind of persistence. Putting yourself out there does not always come with immediate validation.
“You put so much effort into something, so much care into something, and it’s not as gratifying as you hope it would be,” Ziev reflects.
That tension between putting everything into something and not knowing what will come back is part of being an emerging band. For we’re alright, learning to keep going anyway is part of the process.
It also means accepting that being in a band now extends far beyond the stage. Social media has become another part of the job, even when it can feel like a job in itself. Jesse handles much of we’re alright’s online presence, making comedy videos and street interviews and finding ways to let people see the personalities behind the music.
The goal, though, is not to manufacture a version of the band that does not exist.
“I think people are quite sensitive when things aren’t authentic.”
And while the online side can come with its own pressure, it has also created genuine connections. Some of the people Jesse has met while making content have become friends he still speaks to.
“I’ve made friends from those nights who I still speak to.”
For We’re Alright, putting yourself out there is not only about getting the next gig or growing an audience. It is about creating connections, finding your people and, eventually, creating the kind of space you once needed yourself.
They talk about the local music scene with genuine excitement, from the musicians they have met through gigs and festivals to the artists they want to work with in the future. They see the scene as something that can grow when people are willing to open doors for one another.
“If we make it, we want to bring people with us,” Jesse says.
And that sentiment feels particularly fitting for a band called we’re alright.
There is a kind of reassurance built into the name. It suggests that wherever you are, whatever is happening, you are going to be alright. It is not about having everything figured out. If anything, the band seems to embody the opposite: keep moving, keep creating, keep putting yourself out there and trust that you will find your way.
That same feeling runs through the way they approach the people around them. There is ambition, but it is coupled with curiosity and a genuine desire to build something bigger than themselves. They want to make space for their own music, but they also want that space to stretch far enough for other artists to step into it.
And one of the clearest expressions of that idea came from a project that started with a very practical need, but grew into something much bigger.
Enter No wood, no glass
The project started with a practical need. The band wanted professional live footage to use when applying for festivals and gigs, particularly with Jazz Fest in mind.
Christian Wing from Echo Records, who had recorded their EP, and filmmaker Rogan Legg became key collaborators on the project, bringing the recording, filming and creative sides of the idea together.
Then an opportunity presented itself.
Through a friend, they found a vintage family home in Constantia that was about to be sold and eventually demolished. When the band saw the sprawling old house, surrounded by trees and looking out towards the mountain, they immediately started imagining what they could do with it.
The idea was to turn the house into a temporary canvas, bringing together musicians, filmmakers and visual artists before the building disappeared.
An open call went out to visual artists, with an invitation to treat the walls of the soon-to-disappear house as a free canvas.
There were, however, two rules.
The family asked the artists to preserve the wood throughout the house. The band added another: preserve the glass. A large window was central to how they imagined the performance being filmed, so that needed to remain untouched too.
No wood. No glass.
And suddenly the project had its name.
The artists were also told exactly what the opportunity was. The band could not pay them, but they could create freely in the house, knowing their work would become part of a music video before the building was demolished.
Rather than simply sitting in the background, the artwork became part of the story. Jesse, Rogan and Christian spent hours planning the video shot by shot, turning the house, the paintings and the performances into parts of the same story.
The band performed three songs, Right on Time, Nightmares and Land or Sea. The visual art became part of how the music was presented, with the camera moving towards artworks referencing the track that comes next, while what had been painted across the house carried the viewer from one performance into another.
“We want to tell a story, essentially,” the band says.
What could have been a straightforward live session became an art piece in its own right, bringing the music, the house and the work of the artists into the same story.
That collaborative element was particularly important to the band. The open call gave other creatives a canvas and a platform, while the final video ensured that work would still be seen long after the house itself disappeared.
“This is a huge part of our identity,” Jesse says. “Collaboration. I want to work with these major artists. We want the South African music scene to grow with us.”
There is something fitting about the project taking place in a space that was always temporary. The house was going to disappear, but for a brief moment it became a place where different artists could come together, make work and leave something behind.
And the project will have a life beyond the house too. The three live recordings are set to arrive on streaming platforms later this month.
In that sense, No wood, no glass captures what we’re alright seem to be building beyond the music itself. They are not only trying to find a bigger stage for their own songs. They are trying to make the stage bigger.
Then the momentum starts
And slowly, those small efforts have started adding up.
The debut EP, I Think Not, gave we’re alright a major milestone, turning the songs they had been developing together into something they could properly put into the world. Their appearance on Expresso brought the music to another audience.
Most recently, they came third in Aandklas’ Battle of the Bands.
For the band, the competition was as much about seeing what was happening around them as it was about their own performance. Shows and competitions like Aandklas give the band a chance to be in a room with other musicians at a similar stage, and seeing what they are creating is part of what keeps We’re Alright inspired.
“There’s just such good musicians at the same level with us,” Ziev and Jesse say. “It’s encouraging.”
The competition also gave them something practical to take away. Being graded on their performance meant they could look beyond the result and consider what actually makes a strong live set, from how the songs flow into one another to the transitions, pacing and restraint that can turn a good performance into a great one.
Rather than simply walking away with a placing, they could take those lessons back into rehearsal and keep working on the details.
That seems to be an important part of we’re alright’s momentum. They are growing, but they are doing it alongside a wider community of musicians who are also figuring things out, putting themselves out there and creating their own opportunities.
Keep changing
The momentum is exciting, but we’re alright are also thinking about what growth should actually look like.
They want bigger gigs, bigger opportunities and for artists to be properly valued for the work that goes into creating. Much of what they earn currently goes straight back into the band, and they hope to eventually be able to make a living from their music.
At the same time, they do not want growth to turn them into something they no longer recognise.
“The last thing that I want to not change is that we always change,” Jesse says.
Their older songs are history, capturing different moments and emotions as the band has evolved. The challenge now is to keep moving without losing the reason they started.
“This is our baby.”
So, what’s next?
For now, we’re alright have plenty to look forward to. They are heading to Festival of Friends, with hopes of putting together a Garden Route tour of their own and continuing to build on the momentum they have created.
Beyond that, there are plenty of stages they would love to find themselves on. The River Stage at Up the Creek is high on the list, as are events like Two Oceans After Dark, which give local bands a chance to share a stage, find new audiences and grow alongside one another.
And that seems to be the bigger picture for we’re alright. They want to keep playing, keep experimenting and keep meeting people along the way, while creating more opportunities for the artists around them too.
The story is still unfolding, but the band is already showing that you do not necessarily have to wait for someone to give you a space.
Sometimes, you just have to make one.
