Biography
Perhaps the most logical approach to a description of Yesterday's Pupil would be a chronological one. His is, essentially, a story of time. And how little of it there is. But, truthfully, there is barely anything logical about Pierre-Henri van Pletzen, known affectionately as Peach, and thus a description of who Yesterday's Pupil really is and what he has already achieved seems to change, literally, on a daily basis. Peach was born into a remarkably talented family and already wielded drumsticks like extended limbs of his own as a toddler. His high-school band, SHU, won acclaim as one of the finest alternative rock bands in South Africa, and it is worthwhile to note that after 8 beautiful years together, the other members of SHU formed and joined other such notable and progressive acts as Wrestlerish, kidofdoom and Sesling. SHU's first album, Ars Poetica, was voted album of the month and received a five star rating in Blunt magazine in 2006.
Yesterday's Pupil as a living, breathing musical entity was born somewhere near the peak of SHU's timeline, and new listeners were immediately struck by the smooth, haunting vocals, the incredibly diverse production skills and the depth of the song-writing displayed by "SHU's drummer/backing vocalist". What prodigious and unimaginable composer had been hiding behind the drum kit and making obscure jokes into the microphone at the unsuspecting audience for the past 8 years? By this time, Peach had completed a Music (Jazz) degree at the Tshwane University of Technology, specializing in Drums, Film music, Music Technology, Music as a Business and Music Appreciation, and was flourishing in all manner of production and recording in his very own Sleeproom Studios (which he founded in 2004). Yesterday's Pupil played his first live show in October 2007, and released his first full-length album (appropriately titled Errors of Enthusiasm) in 2008. Rogan Kelsey of Lapdust Audio Mastering called it "the most eccentric album" he had ever mastered (a superlatively impressive claim when considering Rogan's equally impressive list of clients). From that moment, a tidal wave of uncertain origin (although there are rumours that he started it himself) swelled and broke around Peach and cascaded him into a two-year mission of almost unbelievably diverse collaboration, performance and production in every corner and niche of the South African music scene, crowned with a scattering of international shows. Since 2007, Peach has worked on the following projects (amongst many others):
Producing Van Coke Kartel's "Skop Skiet en Donner" album (as well as playing drums on all the tracks); Collaboration with Tumi Molekane (from Tumi and the Volume) in production and live performances (playing drums, synth, guitar and bass guitar); Producing kidofdoom's album "my faith in war"; Releasing the Oorlog Frankenstein EP, best described as a "social experiment and musical project" between Yesterday's Pupil and Francois van Coke; Producing the wonderfully crafted track "Monition" on Isochronous' debut album; Producing and playing live music for "2-21", a play featuring Francois Van Coke and written by Hunter Kennedy and Willem Anker and directed by Fleur du Cap winner Jaco Bouwer. This play was chosen as the flagship production at 2009's KKNK and also did a run at Aardklop; Production on the forthcoming album and multiple live shows backing Jack Parow; Touring Poland with beat poet Ajax, playing 8 shows in 4 cities including Warsaw and Krakow; Performing at TMDG, the world's largest design conference held in Argentina, Mar del Plata, attended by thousands of people, and then playing some more shows in Buenos Aires; Touring end 2009 as session drummer for Die Heuwels Fantasties and Van Coke Kartel; Drumming for Joseph Clark's spectacular production The Music of Queen; Featuring as guest musician with Brothers of Thunder; Playing at the VICE magazine SA launch with NYPC; Playing an hour-long live concert on 5FM's Live @ Five; Selected to collaborate/produce a song and tour with UK noise pop band Johnny Foreigner at Red Bull Studios in Cape Town; Nominated for an MK Neon Award for the music video of his song "Lines and Colours" (which also reached the #2 spot on MK's TOP 10), directed by Louis Minnaar; Production on bittereinder's new "conscious Afrikaans rap" album featuring collaborations with Inge Beckmann, Louis Minnaar, Sev Statik (NY), Tim Beumers (Rotterdam), Ajax, Tumi Molekane and Jack Parow; Supporting act for Lark's nationwide reunion tour;
And to add to this magnificently daunting list of artists, Yesterday's Pupil has also shared the stage with the Black Eyed Peas, Shaggy, MaxNormal.TV, Die Antwoord, Fokofpolisiekar, Harris Tweed, Unit-R, The Narrow, Tonight We Die, Tidal Waves, New Loud Rockets, SweatX, the Plastics, Desmond and the Tutus, Bonga, Cassette, Blk Jacks, and The Beams, amongst countless others. He has performed at festivals like Oppikoppi, Woodstock, KKNK, Aardklop, Grahamstown Festival, Vortex, Volksbladfees, Cultivaria, the Afrykamera Film Festival (Poland), Inni Bos Fees and Rezonance.
Perhaps the most frightening thing about writing a biography for Yesterday's Pupil is the sheer transience of it all. This biography is guaranteed to be terribly outdated in a week from now as the unexpected phone calls and e-mails from distant shores continue to pour into the ever-evolving world of this super-gifted, humble, hard-working and incredibly versatile young musician. May his responses, educated by every yesterday he has lived through, continue to delight, shock, affirm, surprise, soothe, drive and harass us well into the future. Yesterday's Pupil's second solo album is planned for mid-2010.
