Markus Wormstorm (born Markus Smit; 1981) is a South African

electronic musician ''Electronic Musician'' is a monthly magazine published by Future US featuring articles on synthesizers, music production and electronic musicians. History and profile ''Electronic Musician'' began as ''Polyphony'' magazine in 1975, publis ...

Biography

2000s

Smit moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 2001 where he began his career on the city's electronic music circuit. He graduated from the Pro Arte School of music, art and drama in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, where he created a number of theatrical writings and won school awards for music and literature. Wormstorm received classical piano training at the age of 12. After moving to Cape Town, Wormstorm formed collaborations with other musicians. The earliest of these was IDM producer Felix Laband. Together they created 'Killed by Dwarf', a series of experiments spawned from jam sessions which were never released. In late

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, Markus was invited by African Dope Records to submit music to their production music libraries. This resulted in a number of minor synchronisation licenses, which Markus quickly spent on hand-making copies of his "album", which he would hand out at gigs and to friends. This brought him to the attention of rapper/composer/protagonist/satirist Waddy Jones, front man of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

's hip-hop group Max Normal. Later frontman for the band

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008. The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers H ...

. When Jones disbanded Max Normal in early 2002, he and long-time DJ partner Sibot invited Markus collaborate on Waddy's

The Constructus Corporation The Constructus Corporation were a South African electronic music group. Formation of the band Following the breakup of Watkin Tudor Jones' project Max Normal in 2002, Jones moved from Johannesburg to Cape Town and began collaborating with DJ D ...

project, which resulted in the concept album / graphic novel ''The Ziggurat'' (ADOPECD009 African Dope Records 2002). In January

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, he along with Felix Laband decided to leave

to work on the Real Estate Agents. Meanwhile, a copy of Wormstorm's "demo" album had found its way into the hands of Alex Threadgold, owner of New York-based

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

/ IDM label Sound-Ink, which resulted in a 3-album deal for Markus, alongside stablemates M Sayeed of

Anti Pop Consortium Antipop Consortium is an American alternative hip hop group. The group formed in 1997, when Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid, and producer Earl Blaize met at a poetry slam in New York City. They are notable for their stream-of-consciousness lyrics ...

and

MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

. His first album for the label, ''Rachel the Bear'', was released in digital-only format in 2006. Together with Simon Ringrose (Sibot) and his brother Duncan Ringrose (long-time collaborator and manager of The Constructus Corporation and The Real Estate Agents), he formed the corporate sound design agency 'SAYTHANKYOU', which has won a number of Gold and Silver Loerie Awards for Composition and Sound Design. Markus's works have provided the soundtrack for ad campaigns for the likes of MetroFM (South Africa's biggest urban music radio station), VR Brandy,

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, B.O.E., South African Design Indaba,

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

and local mobile network

CellC Cell C Limited (stylised as Cell ©) is as a private mobile operator based in Sandstone, South Africa. It was founded in November 2001 by Lambert Moloi. As of August 2019, the Company’s current CEO is Douglas Craigie Stevenson Douglas may re ...

. In

December December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was or ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, African Dope Records, in association with management label Sshadoworkss, released Markus' self-titled debut South African album, bundled as part of the 3CD pack ''The Real Estate Agents'' (ADOPECD012 African Dope Records

). Wormstorm is also writer and music producer for the animation collective The Blackheart Gang, who create short film stories. The group shot their film '' The Tale of How'' (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

), which toured with

Resfest RESFEST (1996–2006) is a defunct American film festival. It was by the 2000s the most prominent digital film festival in North America. History RESFest was a leading global showcase of new digital filmmakers alongside England's Onedotzero ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and has won several animation awards including Chanel Plus – France. In

, together with vocalist and long-time collaborator

Spoek Mathambo Nthato Mokgata (born 14 May 1985), known by his stage name Spoek Mathambo, is a South African artist, producer, singer-songwriter and rapper. Mathambo rose to fame in the late 2000s with his fusion of a wide array of musical influences. He is kno ...

, Wormstorm launched a new collaborative music project called Sweat.X which they describe as "Afro-electro". Subsequent to an intensive networking effort on MySpace, Sweat.X signed a deal with the UK label, Citinite, in March

and toured Europe in June/July 2007.

2010s

In 2012 Markus created a boutique online music search engine geared towards commercial licensing. In 2013 he released a 12-track album, "Not, I but A friend". In 2013 Markus founded Honeymoon Studios, which consists of two full service studios based in Cape Town. In 2014 he starred in the documentary Future Sounds of Mzansi, as was interviewed as one of the pioneers of electronic music in South Africa. In that year he also created an online store aptly called The Wormstore. In that year he also created Honeymoon Podcasts. His studio created three episodes in collaboration with the Arthur C. Clark winning author

Lauren Beukes Lauren Beukes (born 5 June 1976) is a South African novelist, short story writer, journalist and television scriptwriter. Early life Lauren Beukes was born 5 June 1976. She grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She attended Roedean School in J ...

and political analyst, award-winning author and historian

Max du Preez Max du Preez (born 10 March 1951) is a South African author, columnist and documentary filmmaker and was the founding editor of ''Vrye Weekblad''. Vrye Weekblad Online or Vrye Weekblad II was launched on 5 April 2019 again with Max du Preez as ...

. In April

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Markus won a Safta Award for Best Achievement in Original Score for his work on the feature film

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

. Later that year he released a self-titled EP under the pseudonym of Akira on his own label Biblo Records for digital download.

Recognition

Markus Wormstorm features in the 2010 South African documentary, ''

The Creators ''The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination'' is a non-fiction work of cultural history by Daniel Boorstin published in 1992. It was preceded by ''The Discoverers'' and succeeded by ''The Seekers''. ''The Creators'' is put forward a ...

''. In the film, Markus and Sweat.X co-collaborator Spoek tour South Africa's Karoo, making music and exploring the disconnect with the impoverished local community.

Discography

*''Markus Wormstorm EP'' (Sound-Ink, June 2004) *''Rachel The Bear'' (Sound-Ink, 2006) *''Not I, But A Friend (M=Maximal, 2012) *''Figure in Field'' (M=Maximal, 2015)

Awards

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Bronze Loerie Advertising Award

Bronze Craft Clio Award USA

Special Distinction Award, Annecy International Film Festival France

Nominated for the Annecy Cristal, Annecy International Film Festival France 2007 Best Independent Film Award, Bradford International Film Festival 2007 Canal+ Award, Cleremont-Ferrand Film Festival France 2007 Excellence Award (Silver), Expose 3 2007 Grand Master Award (Gold), Expose 4 2007 Artistic Perfection Prize, International Festival of Animation, St Petersburg, Russia 2007 Grand Prix of Festival (Golden Peg Bear), Animanima 2007 Best Video Creation, Curtocircuito International Short Film Festival 2007 Third Prize, Backup Festival 2007 Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes France 2007 Honorary Mention, Woodstock Film Festival USA 2007 Animated Dreams Grand Prize “Wooden Wolf”, Russia 2014 Loeries Craft Award 2014 Loerie Awards Craft 2015 Safta Award for Best Achievement in Original Score 2015 Loerie Awards Craft Best Music 2016 Loerie Awards Craft Best Music 2017 Loerie Awards Craft Best Music 2017 Shortlist Cannes Lion, France 2018 Immortal Awards New York nomination USA 2018 Loerie Award 2018 CiclopeAfricaAward 2018 Ciclope Europe Award, Germany 2019 Ciclope Africa Award selection 2019 The Lost Botanist Annecy Festival Official VR selection, France 2019 biblo.tv's Shave to Remember project is shortlisted for a Cannes Award, France 2021 Nomination Best original Music. Cyclope Africa

Notes

References

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*

External links

Markuswormstorm.tv

Honeymoon Studios

Biblo Music Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wormstorm, Markus South African dance musicians South African musicians Living people 1981 births