Guy Buttery (born 26 November 1983) is a South African musician primarily known as a guitar player. Cited as ''“one of South Africa’s most influential artists over the past decade"'' by The Sunday Independent, Buttery's distinctive acoustic style is influenced by traditional South African culture, music and instrumentation. In live performances, Guy also uses an EBow and a looper to create "synth-like textures". He is influenced by artists such as Michael Hedges,

Steve Newman Steve, Steven or Stephen Newman may refer to: * Steven M. Newman (born 1954), listed in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the first man to walk solo around the world * Steve Newman (meteorologist), American broadcast meteorologist and edit ...

Madala Kunene Madala Kunene (born 3 April 1951) is a South African musician born in Kwa-Mashu, near Durban. Kunene started busking on Durban’s beach-front at the age of 7, making his first guitar out of a cooking oil tin and fish gut for the strings, soon b ...

, Tony Cox,

Tananas Tananas (pronounced ''tuh-naa-nuhs'') is a South African band formed in 1987. Originally it consisted of Mozambican Gito Baloi (bass and vocals), Ian Herman (drums and percussion) and Steve Newman (acoustic guitar). First recorded by the independ ...

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and

Ralph Towner Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn. Biography Towner was born i ...

. Guy has received numerous accolades for his recorded work as well as for his live performances. He has collaborated, toured, supported and recorded with dozens of artists including Dave Matthews, Jethro Tull, multiple

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winner and founder of

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, Kaki King,

Dan Patlansky Dan Patlansky is a South African blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Patlansky opened for Bruce Springsteen in 2014. He toured in the United Kingdom in 2015, 2016, and 2023. Discography Patlansky has released the following albums: * ''Stand ...

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, the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra,

, Jon Gomm,

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and many others.

History

Guy Buttery was born in a small coastal town outside of

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Buttery has found a way to play his unique style of guitar that is deeply South African while also speaking a global musical language. He studied Jazz at Kwa-Zulu Natal Technikon with Nibs van der Spuy and later on at the Durban School of Music, where he studied classical guitar with Leandros Stavrou for a brief period. At the age of 18, Guy Buttery’s debut album was nominated for ‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best Instrumental’ at the

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

(SAMA’s) making him the youngest nominee in the history of the event. Guy has since gone on to collect two SAMA’s in 2010 and again in 2014. He has also received numerous other major accolades including The

Standard Bank Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...

Ovation Award for his live performances at the National Arts Festival, and has been honoured with more of these prestigious awards than any other musician. In 2018, Guy received the highest accolade for a musician in South Africa and was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award. In almost 4 decades of honouring artist throughout the country, this was the first time since its inception that the award was presented to a musician outside of the classical realm. The following year, Guy toured across 5 continents and released a collaborative album, titled
Nāḍī
, with Indian born sitar player and vocalist, Kanada Narahari. The album was voted a "Top of the World" release by leading World Music publication

Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dre ...

. Guy has since been invited to perform his works with the 52-piece KZN Philharmonic Orchestra dubbed ''“Africa’s greatest ensemble”'' with his solo performance voted ''“Top Live Show”'' by

The Cape Times The ''Cape Times'' is an English-language morning newspaper owned by Independent News & Media SA and published in Cape Town, South Africa. the newspaper had a daily readership of 261 000 and a circulation of 34 523. By the fourth quarter of ...

and was selected by the public as one of South Africa’s Top Young Personalities by

The Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cultu ...

. With tours cancelled all around the world due to COVID-19, Buttery went into "studio mode" and released 5 albums in 2020. These releases consisted mostly of archival projects including two live releases (one wit
Derek Gripper
and another wit
Nibs van der Spuy
, a collaborative EP with marimba band and horn sectio
The Bandura Express Marimba Ensemble
a demos release featuring outtakes and unreleased recordings surrounding Guy's 2016 self-titled album and a remix album title
"Sonokota EP"
featuring producers from Wales, Berlin, Maputo, Cape Town and New York. In 2021 Buttery released yet another collaborative album, this time with traditional Indian classical musicians Mohd. Amjad Khan (

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

) and Mudassir Khan (

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

). Recorded in a singular session in India in a largely improvised setting,
One Morning in Gurgaon
continues Guy's love affair with the music of the subcontinent. The record received critical acclaim landing up on numerous album of the year lists including

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

New Sounds ''New Sounds'' was originally a 10" LP compiling previously released 78 rpm records on the Blue Note label. A CD reissue with the same name and cover appeared in 1991, but while using many of the same personnel, had only two tracks in common with ...

and

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

and also charted in the

World Music Charts Europe In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. The record was then picked up in Japan for a vinyl release in a curated album series by Qrates.

Guy Buttery's Discography

*
When I Grow Up...
''(2002) *
Songs from the Cane Fields
' (2005) *
Fox Hill Lane
' (2009) *
To Disappear in Place
' (2011) *
In the Shade of the Wild Fig
' [wit
Nibs van der Spuy
(2012) *
Live in KwaZulu
' (2013)
''Guy Buttery''
(2016)
Khaya Records 7" Series Vol. III
[with

] (2017) *
Nāḍī
' ith Kanada Narahari(2019) *Stam [film score] (2020) *
Live in Cape Town
' ith Derek Gripper(2020) *
Guy Buttery & The Bandura Express Marimba Ensemble
' ith Bandura(2020)
''The Farm Demos''
(2020)
''Live in Lisbon''
ith Nibs van der Spuy(2020)
''Sonokota EP''
ith Kanada Narahari(2020)
''Live from Another Time''
- A Concert Film Kaki King/nowiki>">Kaki_King.html" ;"title="eaturing Kaki King">Kaki King/nowiki> (2021) *
One Morning in Gurgaon
' [with Mohd. Amjad Khan & Mudassir Khan] (2021)
''Live in Dlinza Forest''
- A Concert Film ith Nibs van der Spuy(2021)
''In The Shadow of the Wild Fig''
- single ith Julian Redpath(2022) *'''56 — Live in Cape

Town
- single ith Derek Gripper(2023)

Guest Features & Compilation Appearances

* Nibs van der Spuy — Flower in the Rain (2002) — mandolin * Vusi Mahlasela (with Dave Matthews) — Guiding Star (Naledi Ya Tsela) (2006) — guitar, mandolin * Nibs van der Spuy — Beautiful Feet (2006) — guitar, sitar, mandolin * Cabins in the Forest — Spells for Bribes (2008) — sitar, saw * Luke Siedle — Our Stories (2008) — co-producer, mandolin, guitar * Nibs van der Spuy — A Bird in the Hand (2008) — mandolin, sitar * Julian Redpath — Shipwrecks EP (2009) — ebow, saw * Farryl Purkiss — Fruitbats & Crows (2009) — guitar * Dan Patlansky — Move My Soul (2009) — sitar, guitar, claps * Eland Gray — Contraption Distoria (2010) — ebow, guitar * Nibs van der Spuy — A House Across the River (2010) — sitar * Versions of Joanna — Joanna Newsom Tribute Album — Compilation (2010) — guitar, loops, ebow * Lilo — Lossless (2010) — ebow, saw * Andrew James & The Steady Tiger — Red in Tooth and Claw (2011) — guitar, mandolin * Home Grown Music — Vol. 1 — Compilation (2011) — koto, monochord * Eland Gray — Midnight Atlas (2012) — mbira * South African Music Awards — Vol. 1 — Compilation (2013) — guitar * Nibs van der Spuy — Crossing Borders, Driving North — Compilation (2013) — mandolin, guitar, sitar * Hinds Brothers — Ocean of Milk (2013) — sitar, tanpura * Eland Gray — My Memory's Death (2013) — sitar * Madala Kunene — 1959 (2015) — guitar, sitar, saw * Julian Redpath — Maiden Moonlight (2015) — co-producer, saw, synth-guitar * Splashy Fen — 25 — Compilation (2015) — mbira * Nibs van der Spuy — Natalia (2016) — guitar * Daniel Basckin — Archive (2017) — co-producer, sitar * Cape Town Folk ‘n Acoustic Music Festival — Live at Kirstenbosch — DVD Compilation (2018) — mbira, guitar * Songlines — Top Of The World 155 — Compilation (2020) — guitar, tanpura * Nibs van der Spuy — A Circle of Swallows — Compilation (2020) — mandolin, guitar, sitar * James Yorkston — other folk, remixed (2020) — electric guitar * Madala Kunene — Forest Jam Vol. III (2020) — guitar * Aidan Martin — Just Like Water (2020) — guitar * Radiant Tribe — The Heart Sutra (2020) — ebow * Shane Cooper — Small Songs For Big Times Vol.2 (2020) — swarmandal, tanpura, passerelle guitar * The Rough Guide To Spiritual India — Compilation (2022) — guitar, tanpura * Nibs van der Spuy — Maiden of the River (2022) — swarmandal, sitar

Awards and nominations

* 2003

SAMA Sama or SAMA may refer to: Places * Sama, Burkina Faso, a town in the Kouka Department, Banwa Province, Burkina Faso * Sama, China (Sanya), a city in Hainan, China * Sama, Chalus, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Sama, Nowshahr, a vil ...

'Best Instrumental' and 'Best Newcomer' Award Nominations for "''When I Grow Up..''." * 2006

'Best Instrumental Album' Nomination for "''Songs from the Cane Fields"'' * 2010

'Best Instrumental Album' Award Winner for "''Fox Hill Lane"'' * 2010 Ovation Award - 'Gold' for Best Music''' at the National Arts Festival * 2012

'Best Instrumental Album' Nomination for ''"To Disappear in Place"'' * 2012

'Best Instrumental Album' Nomination for ''"In The Shade of the Wild Fig"'' * 2012 Mail & Guardian Top Young South African - Voted by the public * 2014 Ovation Award - 'Silver' for Best Music''' at the National Arts Festival * 2014

'Best Classical and/or Instrumental Album' Award Winner for "''Live in KwaZulu"'' * 2016

'Best Instrumental Album' Nomination for "''Guy Buttery"'' * 2018

Young Artist Award for 'Music' (''South Africa's highest accolade for the Arts'') *2020 Songlines Magazine Voted "''Nāḍī''" a "Top of the World" release for the year *2021

'Best Instrumental Album' Nomination for ''"Live in Lisbon"'' *2021

'Best Instrumental Album' Nomination for ''"Live in Cape Town"'' *2021

charted at #10 for "''One Morning in Gurgaon''"

References

External links

Official websiteGuy Buttery, 7" Postcard VideoSAMA Music Awards Winners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttery, Guy Living people South African guitarists Male guitarists Acoustic guitarists 1983 births Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century guitarists 21st-century male musicians