The Narrow
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| The Narrow | |
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 The Jonah Tour (Dec 2007)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | South Africa |
| Genre(s) | Nu metal |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Label(s) | The Narrow Alter Ego (Distribution) |
| Members | |
| Hanu de Jong Emile de Jong Lias Deon Jow |
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The Narrow began in 2002, as a reaction against musical mediocrity and to create a unique and original sound, an idea spawned by Emile (Guitars), Jow (Bass Guitar), Sid (Guitars) and Lias (Drummer). Lacking a vocalist at this stage it made sense to bring in the versatile vocal talents of Hanu to bring his touch being able to sing in a smooth and melodic way and to go hard and heavy when need be, it was this versatility the band was looking for. Hanu and Emile de Jong, were lead vocalist and lead guitarist respectively for South African rock band “Not My Dog” and it was an obvious choice to continue this collaboration in a band that was soon to change the face of rock music in South Africa. Since forming The Narrow, the band very quickly developed their own sound and identity whilst retaining the best elements of their roots. The band received massive support for their debut Self Conscious, which spawned no fewer than 4 chart topping singles all over South Africa! The album was voted best rock album and was nominated for a SAMA (South African Music Award). Countless reviews, articles and interviews in the SA Media have echoed this sentiment. Due to the popularity of ‘Self Conscious’,The Narrow decided to give the album a face lift in September 2005, it made sense to include tracks that were initially left off the first release. The re-release has now been re-mastered with new artwork, two extra bonus tracks and two music videos of their hits The Banded and Push Up The Level.
In June 2003 whilst ‘Self Conscious’ was at its peak, slowly bringing the band out of cult status and into the rock arena, guitarist ‘Sid’ had to leave the band for personal reasons and was replaced by Deon Kruger who was already known in South Africa as an experienced session guitarist. Deon’s influence can be felt with the next album Travellers giving his own feel and edge to this now established Pretoria band.
The latest album Travellers, released in September 2004 is a milestone in South African rock with a harder sound yet maintaining a melodic structure. By this time ‘The Narrow’ had become one of South Africa's premier rock bands already having a large following growing by the day.
The release of the album Travellers exceeded all expectations and due to the extra tracks that were released on an EP called Split and the success of the single The Living Daylights, their band decided to release a special edition of the album with a total of 20 tracks including the new single Crash Through and the track that has made The Narrow a household name called Lonely Lonely.
Having gained a reputation as a live band with serious energy and professionalism – headlining almost every major festival, the band went off to Europe in August 2005 to play alongside the likes of Korn and Marilyn Manson at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium. Needless to say the festival was a huge success for the band as they blew away the Europeans with their electrifying live performance.
A lot of the success of The Narrow is due to their awesome live performances around the country and are currently the most sought after live rock act locally headlining every show they perform. Live performances such as at the TUKS Rag festival were always coupled with vigorous energy and pure heavy - rock and roll. Due to the band’s obvious talent, various negotiations are now taking place to secure the best international deal, the future is anything but narrow for these talented artists from Pretoria. This may truly be one of the best bands in South Africa.
[edit] Band members
[edit] Discography
- 2003 Self Conscious
- 2004 Travellers
- 2004 Split
- 2005 Travellers Special edition
- 2006 Sharing The Turbulence
