Smook Stoic, a poignant songwriter, is a new arrival to Cape Town. His laid-back style and melancholy songwriting reminds of the bygone era of heartfelt folk music, stone-walled jazz bars and, ultimately, simpler, yet more contemplative times. 

Long gone are the days of smoky jazz bars and contemplative crowds. Long gone are the days of Dylan, Rea, and soulful folk. Long gone are the musical voices bemoaning existential crises. For too long the poets and literary pioneers have been silent. Is this really the case? Perhaps a revival is due...

Music nowadays mostly pander to the all-too-human need to escape our thoughts and be rid, if only for an hour or two, of the existential pressures of life. I do things differently, and believe that we need to think long and hard about the influence of art in our lives.