
Front Row with Cistamatic
Just the other week–I tweeted that very soon the best alternative rock and indie bands in the world will come from South Africa–and our next FRM guests are exemplary of this exact statement.
The proof is in the pudding and Cistamatic are forcefeeding it to us at this point; recently releasing their latest EP 'Live at Motel Studios' and taking the Cape Town underground alt scene by storm over the past few years.


Expanding from a single-person act into a three-piece band is what Cistamatic deemed to be the correct for the evolution of the band and I cannot agree more as they have now honed the perfect balance of what a South African-based international act could sound like. My favourite project of theirs is their 2023 'Now That's What I Call Cistamatic'–honourable mentions to the song 'The Man'. Their sound feels like New age post-punk music slashed with bravado. A whole lot of remnants of Amyl and The Sniffers mixed with Siouxsie and the Banshees.
As intrigued as I was by this unique blend of sound, I asked the band during our virtual back and forth what their musical influences individually were. Their answers? Bands such as Joy Division, Pixies, Abba, Pink Floyd, Foo Fighters–something which perfectly illuminated the personality of Cistamatic to me.
Now sit back and enjoy this ensuing interview with the band as we discuss all things Cistamatic & more.

Would you mind introducing yourself and including a short description of what you do?
CIS: Gabbi Leroux–guitar/vox
Ethan Pelser–bass/vox
James Turner–drums
All three of us work are passionate punks who work in the music industry.
Gabbi works primarily in events and education–with various hustles from guitar lessons to putting together regular underground shows for various South African bands and creating progressive spaces where counterculture can thrive. They also like making collage posters, catching small frogs in the forest and wacking on against the technopatriarchy.
Ethan works at an Audio Institute as an intern, and plays in other bands. He mentions: "I grew up in a creative family, playing music 24/7 with my family, and I will most likely be doing it till the end of time." Plays in another band, Kayla The Crow, and works on solo material when spare time reveals itself.
James works in sound engineering, is probably the most experienced in bringing a stage to life sonically. Hailing from Durban originally–he's played in other bands in the past but finds his musical home in Cistamatic.

How did Cistamatic begin? Who forms part of the band?
CIS: It began with Gabbi, as a solo project, but later in 2022 was expanded into a 3-piece. A large portion of Gabbis original material was revised and reworked into a punk/metal outfit. Since the first album in 2023 (recorded and produced by themselves)–Cistamatic has become one organism pushing the boundaries of lyrical commentary and queer revelation.

Now I wanna talk more about the EP specifically. As I type this, I am listening to 'Tiny Boxes' from your project 'Now That's What I Call Cistamatic'–incredible song by the way. How has the reception been towards your music?
CIS: Tiny Boxes was definitely the first song we all worked on in the album, it holds a special place in our band lore. Only a few people have come to us and said Tiny Boxes is their favourite, but the few that do are the exact type of people we want to hang out with and jam out with. It might not have had commercial success but it did serve its time being our intro to the band's roots.
Ethan: The breakdown at the end was and always will be the most fun I have playing a song.
Gabbi: I think this song is a good representation of what we’re trying to say as a band–its joking but also scathingly pointing out casual inequalities and microagressions. I think that’s part of the reason we have amassed so many femme and them fans–our music is taking this stuff seriously while also being defiant and a bit silly. I guess it’s refreshing when the majority of rock music is about ego and getting wasted and being cool. I think that’s really boring and not relatable anymore.

I absolutely adore the lead vocalist. The lyrics are also whimsical and somewhat majestical—reminds me of Siouxsie and the Banshees! Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations when it comes to your unique Cistamatic sound?
CIS: Everyone compares Gabbi to Amyl and The Sniffers, but we’ve really tried to carve our own independent sound as a band–though there’s like a venn diagram waiting to be made somewhere of the influences we all have.
Ethan: Joy Division, Brian Eno, Jonny Greenwood
Gabbi: Pj Harvey, Courtney Love, Abba, Pixies
James: Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Pink Floyd
Please can you tell me more about your process of putting a record together; lyrics & all.
CIS: Our current process involves Gabbi handling most of the lyric department–they have an incredible sharp intellect in structuring and throwing phrases over instrumentals. Ethan fills in more on the musical side of things in the new upcoming album, having written most of the riffs, chord progressions and collaborating with Gabbi to make the song tick. It does ebb and flow, sometimes Gabbi has a song written and finished, and sometimes Ethan has one to throw in. James largely glues the ideas together, deciding the tempos, dynamics, and often states when he thinks a song goes on too long haha.

How has it been performing your music live in different spots in Johannesburg & Cape Town? Do you guys enjoy the live performance element for your music? It certainly seems like you do!
CIS: Cape Town was a beautiful start to a wonderful thing. We cultivate a certain energy practicing together that–when it gets reciprocated from the crowd–is literally the best high. Evol has often been the place that fit us and our energy the best. Johannesburg was a different energy, maybe from the fact that we were a "touring band"–it just felt like Joburg understood who we were and what we were going for more easily. I think its also a more value-based musical community–whereas in Cape Town the musical community feels more divided by aesthetic and class. Big shout out to Smoking Kills for popping our tour cherry; and big shoutout to all of the cool bands we met–21 Children, Sextape, Lefokolodi, Zondo Commission–you guys fuck.

What is Cistamatic looking forward to most in 2025?
CIS: We have our live sessions EP released on the 24th of January, and a new album coming by the end of the summer, and we're making plans for music videos!
Our first show with Internet Girl seems to be quite a killer way to start a year, with our next Gauteng tour coming early March before we hit Mieliepop on the 14th.
We have a lot of projects/shows we want to do but all is still in the workshop, but you will definitely catch us at the next Punk Prom in November.
Is there any advice which the band has picked up within its tenure which you could impart to any emerging musicians?
Ethan: Personally I would say, whatever it is you want to do, do it now. Don't wait for the right opportunity. Make your own opportunities. Even if it means making music with your phone. We want to start while we're ahead, but starting while you're behind can prepare you for what lies ahead.
Gabbi: Don't let anyone tell you your ideas are dumb, just try your best to get them out somewhere. No one starts making masterpieces, but your ideas and execution do get better as you make more things, as you play more and practice more–I think self criticism and worrying about how you want to be percieved can make your creativity close up like a clam. Just noodle around, write silly songs, and dont worry to much about whether your being ‘good’or not. And find some people to jam with, and make sure they’re people you feel safe with to be silly and non judgemental.

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