INTRODUCING: THE ASCENSION
We meet the women of The Ascension, aka DJ and producer Charisse C and interdisciplinary artist and vocalist Koek Sista. Bonding over a shared passion for Southern African electronic music and the desire to push it beyond its current boundaries, DJ Charisse C connected with the performer Koek Sista during the pandemic and since they’ve gone from strength to strength, with their creative coalition, they’ve conquered, performing at some of the best london locations, with their explosive viral Boiler Room debut leading to a string of performances from the V&A to Fabric, Tate Modern to KOKO, Somerset House to the Southbank Centre.
We discuss how they established their partnership, newest track “I Said what I Said” & the up-coming EP release!
Interview — Sophie Emmett
Hi Charisse C and Koek Sista, how are you both today?
Super excited for our second single I Said What I Said to be out in the world!
You’ve been working together under The Ascension for the last two years, how did your partnership come about?
We met online, and then in real life during the lockdown. I (Charisse C) had been playing Koek Sista’s music on my Abantu radio show, and had interviewed her best friend DBN Gogo. Koek Sista was moving to the UK, and reached out to me, we connected and instantly clicked. Our conversations about life and music eventually led to us exploring this live performance idea at Pirate Studios and then rehearsing for our first live performance (the Boiler Room) three months later.
“I Said What I Said” marks your second single release together, the lyrics are telling a story of vulnerability in relationships, when it comes to song- writing is this a collaborative experience?
SIt’s different for every song; for “I Said What I Said”, Koek Sista came into the studio with something to get off her chest and wrote the hook while producer ZVRI was clicking through some of the beats he wanted us to work on; vocalist DemiMa then added the isiZulu verse in a sort of response to what Koek Sista was saying, and the song was pretty much solid. We’ll bounce off one another in a session, sharpen bits, add bits, and help each other to build the story.
You’ve been working together under The Ascension for the last two years, how did your partnership come about?
We met online, and then in real life during the lockdown. I (Charisse C) had been playing Koek Sista’s music on my Abantu radio show, and had interviewed her best friend DBN Gogo. Koek Sista was moving to the UK, and reached out to me, we connected and instantly clicked. Our conversations about life and music eventually led to us exploring this live performance idea at Pirate Studios and then rehearsing for our first live performance (the Boiler Room) three months later.
Along with the single, you’ve announced the October release of your first EP together, are you able to sum up the mood of it, in 3 words?
Transcendental, Heartfelt, Bass-Heavy
Transcendental, Heartfelt, Bass-Heavy
Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.
Whats been the most rewarding aspect of working together so far?
There are so many things that have been rewarding…even life-changing about working together. One thing we immediately found in each other was creative reflection–the ability to look at another woman and see parts of yourself already fleshed out and also see parts of yourself you wanted to be. I think we’ve opened up a world for each other, that we were somehow both dreaming about in different parts of the world. Being able to have sisterhood and friendship in a working partnership is a sweet deal as it means there will always, ALWAYS be room for every aspect of who we are as people and not just as musicians and creatives.
