The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg

The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg is the second album by South African band Beatenberg. It was self-produced [5] and released on 15 August 2014 on Universal Music Africa.[6] Thematically, the album captures thoughts of love and light-hearted subjects[7] The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg was recorded from June 2013 till March 2014 at Sunset Studios in Stellenbosch and vocalist Matthew Field's home studio.[8]

The Hanging Gardens
of Beatenberg
Studio album by
Beatenberg
Released15 August 2014 (2014-08-15)
RecordedJune 2013 – March 2014
StudioSunset Studios
Genre
Length1:05:00
LabelUniversal Africa
ProducerRoss Dorkin
Beatenberg chronology
Farm Photos
(2009)		 The Hanging Gardens
of Beatenberg
(2014)		 12 Views of Beatenberg
(2018)
Singles from
The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg
  1. "Echoes"
    Released: April 2012 [1]
  2. "Chelsea Blakemore"
    Released: 19 August 2013 [2]
  3. "Pluto (Remember You)"
    Released: November 2013 [3]
  4. "Rafael"
    Released: July 2014 [4]

The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg includes Beatenberg’s first hit single, “Chelsea Blakemore”, as well as follow-up singles "Pluto (Remember You)" and "Rafael (Beatenberg song)|Rafael".[2] The album and singles generally received positive reviews from critics. It peaked at number 2 on the South African iTunes chart[9] and was awarded the South African Music Awards prestigious Album of the Year for 2015.[10] At the end of 2015 the album was certified gold by Recording Industry of South Africa, for selling more than 15,000 copies in South Africa.[11][12]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
PLATFORM86/100[13]

The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg peaked at number 2 on the South African iTunes Charts,[9] following the success of their collaboration with DJ Clocks on his track "Pluto (Remember You)". The single became the longest running South African number-one single ever, with seventeen weeks on the local radio charts.[14]

In South Africa, the reviews were favourable. Andy Petersen of PLATFORM said, "it is anthemic and riveting".[13] The satirist Justin Nurse praised Beatenberg's second album, noting their influences and "familiarity that is so infectious".[15] SA Music Scene’s Vicky Jankiewicz praised it as a distinctive pop album with an “African flavour [in] their rhythms and beats".[16] HillyDilly critic Cole Ryan hailed it as “undoubtedly one of the best indie-pop [albums] presented [in 2014]"[17] The We-Are-Awesome blog wrote that it was a "Paul Simon-esque ballads [with] references to suburban nostalgia and an unashamed pop sensibility".[18] The award-winning BEARD.fm blog said "you can’t help but feel happy and picture people in old 1950’s outfits in a shebeen".[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Matthew Field except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Rafael"4:10
2."Beauty Like a Tightened Bow"3:26
3."Chelsea Blakemore"3:37
4."Pluto"5:52
5."Southern Suburbs"3:57
6."Scorpionfish"3:28
7."Ithaca"4:49
8."Cavendish Square"4:02
9."Facebook Apologia"3:41
10."Echoes"3:36
11."All About Me"3:09
12."Cape To Rio"4:17
13."The Prince of the Hanging Gardens"4:44
Total length:55:18
'Deluxe edition' bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Achievement"3:25
15."Thinking About You (cover; written by Frank Ocean)"4:33
16."Bend the Rules"4:14
Total length:01:05:00

Personnel
  • Matthew Field - vocals, guitar, piano
  • Ross Dorkin - bass guitar
  • Robin Brink - drums

References
  1. Swank, Allison (30 April 2012). "Audio: Beatenberg 'Echoes'". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  2. "New Track. Beatenberg - 'Chelsea Blackmore'". We Are Awesome. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  3. Klein, Alyssa (22 January 2014). "DJ Clock x Beatenberg 'Pluto (Remember You)'". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  4. Klein, Alyssa (31 July 2014). "Beatenberg's Tennis Anthem 'Rafael'". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  5. Monaheng, Tseliso (29 August 2014). "A Night with Beatenberg". Mahala. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  6. Shackleford, Graeme (19 August 2014). "Beatenberg look forward to album launch". Fourways Review. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  7. "The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg". GQ South Africa. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  8. "Beatenberg have launched anticipated album "The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg". Waking Life Magazine. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  9. "Beatenberg Band". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  10. Mkhwanazi, Katlego (20 April 2015). "Beatenberg steals the show at the Samas". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  11. Mdaka, Rifumo (3 December 2015). "Beatenberg's Hanging Gardens goes gold". FDBQ Music. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  12. Mosupi, Azizzar (4 December 2015). "Beatenberg strikes gold". Times Live. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  13. Petersen, Andy (11 August 2014). "Album Review: Beatenberg - The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg". PLATFORM. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  14. "'Edujazz' to feature Beatenberg". Cape Times. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  15. Nurse, Justin (9 September 2014). "The Prince of the Hanging Gardens". 2OceansVibe. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  16. Jankiewicz, Vicky (24 October 2014). "The Hanging Gardens Of Beatenberg – Review". SA Music Scene. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  17. Ryan, Cole (2014). "The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg Review". HillyDilly. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  18. "Interview with Beatenberg". We Are Awesome. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  19. "The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg [Review]". The Beard.fm. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
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