In case you did not know, PurpleCry is a dual-fronted alternative rock band hailing from Cape Town, South Africa. In their onset the group predominately performed as an acoustic act, yet over the years they have managed to hone a more progressive and fuller sound.
They’ve mastered the act of locking a firm connection to audiences as an outfit comprising of Licia du Plessis’ incredible vocal talent and Marcel van der Westhuizen’s skillful guitar playing. The duo is certainly no stranger to the stage either. They’ve amassed a considerable amount of gigging experience since their inception, implementing various techniques of layering and experimentation during each live act in order to create bold and dynamic sounds.
Their influential artists range from Panic At The Disco and Biffy Clyro to Jeff Buckley, thereby structuring a certain versatility within the group’s song-writing itself. Through the combination of refined vocal harmonies and intricately driven guitar phrases PurpleCry accumulates a clear balance between an air of vulnerability and intensity, which marks each of their live performances.
They consider their music a small fraction of light to oppose the dark and often misguided opinion of the alternative rock genre and scene within South Africa. Through their personalised lyrics they seek to retain this light as an inspiring sense of hope or joy that listeners may engage with amidst individually trying and unsettling circumstances.
They recently released a new single entitled “Odyssey”, have it listen to it below:
I recently had a quick chat to Licia from PurpleCry via e-mail, this is what she had to say:
Where does the name “PurpleCry” come from?
PurpleCry is an oxymoron I thought perfectly describes the reason we started making music. I (Licia) before I even met Marcel was looking for a name to describe my solo project and I stumbled upon these two words. “Purple” stands for creativity and peacefulness, while “Cry” stands for screaming or crying out. It is my way of spreading a positive message in a sometimes very dark industry without pushing my views down anyones throat.
What is your song “Odyssey” about?
Odyssey was written over a very long period but from the moment Marcel wrote the first words I was in love with it. It’s all about our journey as musicians so far and it symbolizes our readiness for the future.
How would you describe your music to someone who has not heard you before?
Our music is very emotionally driven. Think Jeff Buckley meets Karnivool or Chevelle (they are some of our favourite bands haha)!
What are you currently working on?
Currently we are working on new music and honing our sound. We are constantly learning new music and trying to listen to all sorts of music to hopefully not get stuck in a genre-rut. We are also looking at shooting some live videos, so as to reach a bigger international audience.
What are your plans for 2017?
We are trying to get our name out there by booking as many shows as we can because that’s the best part! As well as trying to book a few festivals. Our main focus apart from shows here is to book shows overseas, so basically we are just trying to broaden our audience as well as finding out where our sound truly belongs.
I’d like to thank Licia and PurpleCry for this interview and I wish them all of the best with their future musical endeavors.
Watch this space for regular updates in the Music News categories on SA Music Zone.
To stay in the loop with all things SA Music, Subscribe to our newsletter.
Looking for something to do? Check out our Upcoming Events section or the SA Gig Guide.
Want to explore the SA Music Scene? Check out our Artist/Band/Group Profiles section.
Want to discover fresh music? Follow our editor's 2025 playlist on Spotify.
