Guitarist dishes up new sounds for old songs

Tony Cox is finally doing a cover album

Tony Cox reckons that padkosis one thing all South Africans have in common. "Everybody knows what you're talking about," he says.

And it is this fond familiarity with the term that prompted the three-time South African Music Awards (Sama) winner, master of the finger-picking style of guitar playing and 30-year veteran of the local live circuit to name his new album Padkos.

He is also embarking on a Padkos national tour, so named because, thanks to his many trips to gigs around the country, he associates that staple of the open road with music - both his own and others.

"On the road, car packed to the rafters with gear; on my way out to yet another destination, another show - there was always padkos and there was always music," he says.

"I listened broadly to everything South Africa had to offer and I loved so many of the tunes, as do most of my fellow Seffricans."

Spurred on by these memories and inspired to try something different, Cox began "reclaiming" a number of favourite local pieces.

The result is Padkos the album and Padkos the tour.

"Look, I've always taken pride in the fact that I have fed myself and my family on the proceeds of original music," says Cox, whose dense, layered compositions can be heard on both solo and collaborative albums. "But people were asking me to play certain covers, and I thought to try something radically different and have some fun with it."

So he has taken songs such as Burnout by Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, Manenberg by Dollar Brand (now Abdullah Ibrahim) and Jabulani by PJ Powers and adapted them to suit his unique, intricately arranged finger-picking style. The result has surprised Cox himself, who did not realise quite how much he would enjoy the process.

"There were actually so many songs to choose from, but in the end I went with two criteria. I had to have known the song before - it had to have some kind of historical connection - and it had to speak to me."

He doesn't want to give away too much about the material, but admits it is quite diverse, with a song like Bright Blue's Weeping alongside the traditional Sarie Marais .

What they do have in common is that they are mostly vocal works that have now been arranged for instruments.

The difference is that this is a Cox cover album - and the tour precedes the recording. When he arrives in Joburg at the beginning of February, Cox will immediately hit the studio with producers Victor Masondo and Joe Arthur at the helm.

So why has Cox decided to reverse the usual process of musicians touring to promote an album they have already released?

"I wanted to give the songs time to live and breath on the live circuit before laying them down," he explains.

"People can pre-order the album at my gigs or on my website and then get the CD in March when it will be completed."

Although the album is predominantly a solo outing, Cox suspects that a number of his colleagues and friends may "pull in for a jam" in the recording studio and add a bit of magic.

He also suspects that this album may do better than the compositions he has written himself. And this is despite the fact that his original work has been highly acclaimed.

"In any other country in the world, somebody who had won the equivalent of three Samas would be getting a lot of exposure and backing," says Cox.

"But that doesn't really happen here.

"Most people here know more about Beyoncé than about me or many other local original artists.

"And a lot of it comes down to marketing and support."

Cox may have a bit of residual anger around this - "I was an idealistic youth and I used to rail against the system" - but he reckons he is more mellow these days.

"I've got my treasures: my family. And I have what some very rich people do not have: I have love in my life.

"I'm just looking forward to having some fun with this tour and getting down in the studio."

And just as a matter of interest: What is his favourite padkos?

"A toasted cheese, egg and tomato sandwich, preferably from the Wimpy," he responds promptly. "And slap chips - always slap chips. They keep you awake on the road."