Guy Buttery

As you drive about 13 miles north of Durban, the largest city in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, you pass a lush fertile belt where the rich green shades of the sugar cane meet the turquoise of the Indian Ocean. This is where on the 26th November 1983, guitarist and composer Guy Buttery was born and raised in a small coastal town along the North Coast. This is a place of enchantment, freedom, promise and where the creative spirit takes charge.

Besides being introduced to music at an early age through his mother who plays the piano and his older brothers who played guitar, the muse naturally took hold of Guy when he was ten. It wasn’t out of peer pressure, but out of the necessity to liberate the creative whirlwind which was ever prevalent during those early years. Just think about it. As rich as the soil for his feet to stand on, you had local Zulu tribesmen, playing their brand of music known as Maskanda on finger-picked oil drum guitars. They are South Africa’s blues men, or wandering storytellers, which hollered their song into a young Buttery’s heart. Across the valley, the sounds of tabla and sitar could be heard from one of the many Indian Hindu temples bringing a diversity of colour, spirit and enlightenment into such an enquiring mind.

Back in the Buttery household, the sounds of The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Dylan and Bob Marley made their way into the teenager’s songbook. Practicing hours every day on his older brothers ‘hand me down’ Sae Han guitar, these icons opened doorways and liberated Guy’s spirit. During these formative years, he got an understanding of rock and folk harmonies, almost serving an apprenticeship for greater things to come. When the guitar was put down, the inspiration was continually diverted and fed through the physical. Exploring the lush cane fields and living in the coastal forests, building secret tree houses and surfing the warm Indian Ocean currents only added to the deep well of inspiration. Many a profound event happened during these times.

After hearing John Paul Jones’ mandolin on Zeppelin’s, “Battle of Evermore”, Guy acquired a mandolin, and with the influence of Ravi Shankar being so close to home, purchased a sitar from one of the local Indian music shops. At the age of 13, Buttery was introduced to classical harmony through his first guitar teacher, Leandros Stavrou. The quest for new musical boundaries was inevitable, and through friend, guitar teacher and present collaborator, Nibs van der Spuy, Guy was introduced to fingerstylist extraordinaire, Michael Hedges. This only ignited the flame even bigger. Guy then went on to study Jazz at the Kwa-Zulu Natal Technikon and later on, at the Durban School of Music to reunite with Leandros Stavrou, to further his classical training. Soon after, the boundaries were pushed even wider by hearing the music of Oregon, Ralph Towner, Steve Reich, Egberto Gismonti and John Coltrane to name a few.

After opening a concert in early 2001 for well known Mozambican musician Gito Baloi and Nibs van der Spuy, both musicians were dumb struck at the virtuosity coming from the fingers of the 17 year old. Not being able to ignore this enormous talent, it was not long before Buttery sealed a deal with South African World/Jazz label, Sheer Sound. His debut album “When I Grow Up…” was released in late 2002 to great critical acclaim. Comprising of highly original self written acoustic fingerstyle compositions, Guy Buttery was the youngest nominee in the history of the SAMA’s (South African Music Awards) of the same year. He was nominated in both ‘Best Instrumental Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Newcomer for 2002’, at the tender age of 18. After creating such a unique hybrid fingerstyle technique, using both hands on the fret board, creating polyphonic, percussive and harmonic textures, it wasn’t long before he caught the attention of a loyal cult following. This in turn translated into being invited to all the prestigious music festivals throughout Southern Africa. The tapestry of sounds and stylistic influences coming from his guitar, never seem to be exhausted. Just when you think the journey is over, he will start playing a beautiful rendition of one of his favourite South African composers. Be it Vusi Mahlasela, Tony Cox or Steve Newman, Buttery never loses sight of where he comes from and the rich local influences all around him.

Exciting times lie ahead for this local giant. 2005 saw the release of his follow up album, “Songs from the Cane Fields” which was once again nominated at the SAMA’s for ‘Best Instrumental Album’. The music speaks of an unbounded freedom, where the landscape meets the Indian Ocean. The inspiration clearly speaks of anguish, from days gone by, the unleashed joy of new beginnings and spirit of travel along ancient African footpaths. The album is an ode to his rich surroundings, yet ironically, will be the creative spring-board that ultimately catapults him to far away nations, so all can share in such a rich talent. The period following his sophomore release, interspersed with exotic travel destinations and new found instruments, were times for branching out of the solo field into various interesting and historical collaborations. Having completed numerous tours around South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Australia and the U.K., Guy has performed, supported, recorded and toured with many African greats as well as many artists on the International field such as Vusi Mahlasela, Missy Higgins, The Violent Femmes, Madala Kunene, Greg Georgiades, Brendan Jury, Landscape Prayers, Nibs vd Spuy, Kesivan Naidoo, Farryl Purkiss, Shawn Phillips, Valiant Swart and Steve Newman, to a name a few.

As you listen to the creative genius of music-making whirlwind Guy Buttery, you can’t escape the feeling that this extraordinary musician has a mind of a prophet and the musical prowess of a Guru.