What happened to our favourite South African dictator/artist? Was he assassinated? 

Gazelle (stage name for Xander Ferreira) became one of the country’s most recognised musicians with his leopard skin hat and a cultural cocktail of collaborators and creations. Celebrated for his flamboyant stage persona and enigmatic performances, he took to the stage around the globe. His musical journey has seen him collaborate with international artists like Peaches, St Lucia, Findlay Brown and The Bloody Beetroots.

After Gazelle’s success, Xander moved to New York, where he embarked on a journey to create what he calls “a reverse version of Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’”, fusing African sounds with a variety of American musical styles under his own name. Before his musical career he had established himself within the visual arts world where the character of Gazelle was born as part of a performance art piece. His work explored the socio-political mechanisms behind African dictators and various icons of power through theatrical satire.

During the past decade Xander has established himself solidly in the music scene of New York. Gazelle was invited to be part of the remake of Glen O’Brien’s cult TV show, TV Party, and The Happy Show. His DJ act became a staple of downtown nightlife and soon poured towards the West Coast and south across the border into Mexico.

After a six-year hiatus Gazelle is making a comeback with Xander recording a new album in Southern Africa during the first half of 2020. It is in collaboration with artists such as Bouwer Bosch, Die Heuwels Fantasties, Nonku Phiri, Jack Parow and Penny Penny, and is planned to be released from September 2020. Xander’s passion is to build bridges between people with culture as an empowerment tool, sharing the message that we have much more in common as humans than the differences which separate us.