A Nick Cave affair rehearsals: Andra, James Smith and Conrad Jamneck (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
A Nick Cave affair will be performed at the PJ Olivier Arts Centre, Stellenbosch, on 21 November 2025
Musicians:
Piano and vocals: James Smith
Cello: Anjulie Nock
Piano/vocals: Jake Gunn
And a special guest appearance by Andra
Artistic and sound director: Conrad Jamneck
Tickets: Quicket
A Nick Cave affair: A conversation with Conrad Jamneck
Dear Conrad
You are a much-loved figure in the South African music industry: as a sought-after sound engineer, you have worked with South African greats at music festivals like Oppikoppi and Strab, and we can thank you today for being the man behind the sound desk at the Daisy Jones, a venue with arguably the best live music sound design in the country. But, being a creative person and performer yourself, you are also known for your vision – potential abounds through your eyes – and the manner in which you empower musicians by building a resilient music community. One could say you are a dreamer who never sleeps, because you work tirelessly to bring these ideas to life – whether it be through concert line-ups or encouraging musicians into bold but attainable new directions and collaborations.
A Nick Cave affair is an example of such artistic vision, but in this case, it is also your personal story and revolves around a decades-long relationship with Nick Cave’s music and songwriting and a mentorship of sorts. You are the artistic director and producer, and have developed a soundscape alongside the artists you have handpicked. Let’s unpack this.
Conrad Jamneck, artistic director and producer of A Nick Cave affair. The once-off concert will be held at the PJ Olivier Art Centre in Stellenbosch on 21 November 2025 (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
When did Nick Cave first enter your life, and how has this “relationship” with the artist evolved?
Nick Cave came to me the first time in 1994/1995 (through) the Let love in album. I went to a club called Fridge or Zeplins, in the centre of Pretoria, and it played; I immediately realised something resonated, something that’s different – almost like the first time I heard Sinéad O’ Connor (especially Lion and the cobra) and I immediately knew that it was going to be a relationship, something way more than a friendship. Only later, I realised with Nick Cave that it would be an affair. I related in ways that I hadn’t related to any other kind of music in my life at that point. The closest was Sinéad O’ Connor. Since then, Nick Cave has been a part of so many things: mystery, misery, frequencies, sound – physically, mentally. There are so many different aspects. He is intriguing – in what I need to know and what I don’t need to know. If that explains it. In other words, it’s a Nick Cave affair in a million different ways, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
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Nick Cave has been a part of so many things: mystery, misery, frequencies, sound – physically, mentally. There are so many different aspects. He is intriguing – in what I need to know and what I don’t need to know.
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I’m going to be blunt: a friend reacted to the premise of the show, saying Nick Cave is too holy to touch; one simply can’t go there. The reverence and esteem you have for this artist, however, mean that you don’t approach this lightly. How would you respond to a statement like that?
I respect his opinion sincerely, because he could have been approached by using the words “it’s too difficult; the music is too intricate”. It’s like attempting a Rage Against the Machine or Miles Davis tribute. This is not a tribute. This is admitting that I am in an affair with Nick Cave, and I’m basically saying, “Everybody, this is it. Now you know, and it’s out there.” The songs are done in such a way that it’s not a typical tribute in the sense that I’m doing a tribute to somebody and playing the songs as close to the originals as possible, so that everybody can have a great time and go home and listen to the CD. Rather, it’s interpretations of the songs played in the way it makes the artists (performing A Nick Cave affair) and me feel – the way it makes us feel, the way I felt the first time I heard those songs. It’s not a tribute: it is an interpretation of what Nick Cave brings out in me and what he finds in me that no other artist can discover. And that is why I have the courage to go to a point where it’s near-holy – for me. Not holy in the sense of “don’t go there”.
Jake Gunn (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
Each musician (brings their honesty) to the production. Jake Gunn is such an honest performer; he sings the songs in an honest way, because he doesn’t try to be something else when he sings the songs. That’s why Jake Gunn is there. And Anjulie Nock is a person who is incredibly good at playing what she feels – with Nick Cave, that is essential. She knows how to make the cello be an emotion and not just an instrument. James Smith – his whole fibre, his whole being, his whole soul – everything is connected through his fingers onto whichever instrument he is playing at that moment. And with him on piano, synthesiser and organ, his vocals are true emotions that he manages to get out. That is very rare. And then, of course, there is Andra, who makes a special appearance. Andra can take anything and make it her own. And with Andra, as with Jake, Anjulie and James, they mean every word when they are singing something – and singing it the hundredth time as if they are listening to it for the first time.
Your friend is right – it is holy, and I understand and respect that. And I’m not there to make it a tribute where people walk out and say, “Oh, man, that sounds exactly like Nick Cave.” That’s not the point. So, your friend is 100% correct, and I hope my explanation to him is worth it. I’m approaching it from a very, very holy perspective.
James Smith (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
The song choices tell your own story. Could you elaborate? Feel free to share or not share what is in Conrad’s Nick Cave songbook.
I never sat down and wrote down 10 songs and decided that’s what we’re going to do. That had to happen, logically, at some point, but the songs came to us very organically during rehearsals: songs that I had in my mind that formed the relationship(s), songs that I can clearly remember the first time I heard them, songs I needed – I always make the joke about (returning) after being away. Let’s say you were away at a festival, and you’re tired and you want to get home, and you think of your favourite take-away, and you drive and you’re given extra power or energy, because you’re on your way to your favourite meal. These songs give me that “something” – I want to get home; I want to lie down on my bed and put on my headphones and disappear into the song. So, the songs in the show are part of who I am, why I listen to Nick Cave and why I don’t just listen but get inspired, or bewildered, or threatened, or sometimes feel free, or sometimes feel “this could kill me” (okay, that sounds pretty hectic, but you know what I want to say). The musicians in the show logically had a say in recommended songs, and of course I just believed right from the beginning that they needed to be songs they also want to sing and perform, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.
Andra (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
From a sound engineer’s perspective, what are the sensibilities in Nick Cave’s music and songwriting that command your attention?
Being a sound engineer for the last 30-plus years has logically had an impact on the show. During rehearsals, I would hear something or make a decision on the way a song is going to be played – what instrument will be used, what sound will be used – simply around the thought or the fact that I already know what it’s going to sound like in the venue. Many decisions were made with the musicians that way, because I can imagine how it will sound. In other words, when it comes to music that Nick Cave does, a lot of the stuff that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds do can get very harsh, crushing, very abstract, with crazy noises and cracking barks and trees falling. But those same songs can be turned into spacious, beautiful songs that are completely different to the original – because that’s how good the songs are.
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What is important to me, as a sound engineer, is that sometimes you have to engineer the silence and not the sounds. It’s almost like telling a lighting engineer to engineer where the darkness is going to be and not the light.
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What is important to me, as a sound engineer, is that sometimes you have to engineer the silence and not the sounds. It’s almost like telling a lighting engineer to engineer where the darkness is going to be and not the light. So, that’s how I approach it; it’s very delicate, and there’s very little actual physical sound equipment in the venue – although I do have a surprise or two with the sound set-up: it’s a fun thing, called quadrophonic sound.
Conrad Jamneck (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
You said you found the perfect venue. How long were you looking, and was it this particular find that shaped this project into a tangible possibility?
I was looking for a very special venue, in the sense of something that would contribute to the feel of what we’re trying to do. Something that’s different, but that also acoustically suits the sound of the show. So, I asked Mr Gustav Franszen if he was aware of a cool venue, and he mentioned the PJ Olivier Art Centre in the centre of Stellenbosch. I made an appointment, and I wasn’t even two steps into the room and I knew that this was it. It’s a beautiful room.
You shared footage and images of the rehearsals at the Daisy Jones. It’s clear that magic awaits. What has the experience been like?
It’s been surreal. There’s the business side of things that logically needs to be in place. You can have a dream, but you need to sell a couple of tickets to make this dream come true. And with it being such a niche market, and one that’s being targeted, you have to plan. The experience, in my mind – working closely “with” Nick Cave on a project like this – is a dreamworld; my mind always sort of swivels around asking, “Would Nick Cave approve?” Would he like it; would he find it too corny? That’s been part of the process: what would Nick Cave do?
Andra and Conrad (front) listening in on the rehearsals for A Nick Cave affair, with Jake Gunn and James Smith on stage (photo: Marlon du Plooy)
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More information on A Nick Cave affair
On this singular evening, we gather beneath the low lights to worship at the altar of shadow and song on 21 November 2025. Doors open at 6:30 pm, when the world outside still breathes. The performance will begin at 7:32 pm, an hour fixed by heartbeat.
For R300 per soul, you will be seated theatre-style inside the PJ Olivier Art Centre in Stellenbosch – close, reverent, electric. Outside, a courtyard awaits: a quiet place to share a drink, to whisper among the vines, to linger before the plunge.
Bring your own offerings: wine, bread, small comforts; there is no bar, no restaurant, only the night and this communion.