Peach Van Pletzen

PRODUCER / MUSICIAN – YESTERDAY’S PUPIL / BITTEREINDER

Evolutionary processes happen over generations, giving rise to diversity at levels of biological organisation. In the case of Pierre-Henri van Pletzen, these processes happen in a matter of a few years. To illustrate:

Pierre-Henri became P.H, which became Peach. And so it starts. The drummer and back-up vocalist for his high school band SHU, who won acclaim as one of SA’s finest alternative rock bands, emerged from his cave behind the drum kit to perform his first live show as Yesterday’s Pupil in 2007, striking listeners with smooth, haunting vocals, diverse production skills and depth of songwriting, leaving them wondering “where are the rest of the people making these sounds?”

In 2008, YP released his first album Errors of Enthusiasm, and it was like the discovery of fire. For the next 2 years, Peach was hurled around the South African and international music scene like a new toy, collaborating, performing and producing with the likes of Van Coke Kartel, Tumi Molekane, Kidofdoom, Isochronous (ISO), Die Heuwels Fantasties, Joseph Clark, Johnny Foreigner, Jack Parow, Inge Beckman, touring Poland with Ajax, performing at the world’s largest design conference held in Argentina, shared the stage with Black Eyed Peas, Shaggy, Alicia Keys, performed at Oppikoppi, Woodstock, the Soccer World Cup opening Ceremony. We’ll stop now. We’re getting dizzy too. Three years later, he released album number two online, in five parts.

Peach skipped a few ages of man and is now one third of the award winning Bittereinder, the dinkdansmasjien and one of the freshest bands erupting from the creative volcano that is Pretoria.

Yesterday’s Pupil. Today’s Prodigy. We don’t know what’s coming tomorrow, but as long as this guy’s around, the future of SA music looks peachy.