Carrying nothing but his guitar, a sleeping bag and some hand luggage, Cuan Korsten landed at London Gatwick Airport on the 15th March ’06. Having dreamed of a trip to the UK since the age of 17, he felt both excited and daunted at the prospect of realising it. Korsten had spent the previous year recording, mixing and producing his band’s debut album “Your Today” in his hometown of Knysna, South Africa. Subsequent to its release in 2005, Korsten came to England in the hope of creating some performance opportunities for his band, Kordaze, as well as meeting and performing with other musicians. As he stepped off the plane however, he could not possibly know just how quickly these fantasies would become reality.

Korsten was born in what he describes as the “rustic yet semi-sophisticated” town of Butterworth in the Transkei. South Africa’s political climate was a turbulent environment to grow up in and this saw him exposed to many dangers from an early age. “I don’t think I really knew how to process things at that time”, he says, “I saw things a child shouldn’t see”. Little did he know that songwriting would present him with the perfect form of therapy. When he was 14, the family moved to Knysna, a place just east of Cape Town. Shortly after, a family friend – believing he was under instruction from God – gave Korsten a Martin D35s guitar, which, unbeknownst to the giver, was Cuan Korsten’s dream 6-string. Initially, Korsten could not bring himself to do anything more than clean the gift. Eventually, after some encouragement from his father, he began to play it. Korsten cites this particular event as a major catalyst in his decision to pursue a career in music.

Korsten’s musical journey began on the piano, which he pursued with gusto until he discovered the guitar. Aged 12, this became his instrument of choice and his family put up with hours of guitar practice and reruns of Eric Clapton’s famous “Unplugged” performance. Fortunately, he managed to acquire some skill and the noise began to resemble music. His hard work paid off when he won the “Guitarist of the Year Award” for the Knysna/Plett eisteddfod in 1997. This growth as a guitarist, along with becoming proficient on a few other instruments, saw him begin to channel his ability into the more specified field of songwriting. Korsten found this to be the best way of expressing his own personal thoughts and feelings, whilst simultaneously making a difference to someone else. He began writing songs which dealt specifically with the things he witnessed those close to him go through. An excellent example of this is the title track on “Your Today”, which was written after he observed his younger sister dealing with some difficulties in her life. The song is thoughtful yet uplifting, and sings of hope for those who may feel they have none. It was around the time of recording the album that Korsten began to take measures to bring his dream of going to the UK into fruition. Finally, in March ’06, he boarded the plane to England.

Within a few months of his arrival, Korsten played his first gig in London to a crowd of 600, opening for South African stand-up comic, Barry Hilton. By this stage, he had also done an interview with London-based radio station, Radio SA. He began carrying his Martin along to various Open Mic Nights in Dorset, on the south coast of England, where he was residing. Here he would captivate the audiences with his delicate, heartfelt songs, honest stories and irresistible South African charm. He was soon flooded with invitations to play at local venues leading to extensive and successful gigging on his part. Feeling encouraged by the consistently positive reception, Korsten went on to enter the Dorset Unsigned Music Awards, where he reached the finals and even received a standing ovation. Towards the end of his stay, he performed at the Bournemouth Live Festival, which was a huge success. As he gigged he quickly met and befriended other musicians, many of whom he went on to gig with, and one of whom requested that Korsten produce his first album – a project which he is currently working on.

Unfortunately, Korsten’s two-year work permit expired forcing him to return to South Africa, though not before an extremely successful stint in the UK, where he hopes to return to at the nearest possible opportunity. In the meantime, he is the process of writing and recording his next album, as well as working on various projects with other musicians. The follow-up to “Your Today” is set to be an even bigger success than the first – which sold copies as far afield as China and Australia – and is eagerly anticipated by Cuan Korsten’s fans and friends.

Written by Mali Korsten (Acoustic Folk, Down-tempo Rock Artist)