Born on 20 February 1966 to parents of a 2nd World War decorated fighter pilot and a classically trained pianist mother, the diverse musical seeds were sown at an early age. Sharing a room with an older brother, Nibs went to sleep with the songs from, 'Beatles for sale' and the Rolling Stones, 'Aftermath'. These alongside his mother's classical piano repertoire and his dad's 30's and 40's Big Band records had a profound impact on his musical development. Nibs first picked up the guitar at age 14 and learnt chord shapes and progressions from a Lennon/McCartney songbook. His early signs as a songwriter and composer were broadened with the influence of such bands as the Allman Brothers Band and the Dixie Dregs.In the late 80's, after completing two years national service, Nibs moved to Durban, Kwa-Zulu, Natal, where he studied and lectured music at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Whilst a student he formed his first two bands, 'Little Nomads' and 'Plagal Cadence', then in 1994 signed to the SHEER label with his newly formed band, Landscape Prayers.

In 2006, Nibs signed to the 2FEET label with the release of his 3rd solo album, ‘Beautiful Feet'. This has seen him been released in the UK, Australia, Japan, USA, France and Germany. Since its release, it has received rave reviews in every country, from the London Guardian to the Sydney Herald, and in May 2007, was album of the month in 4 major German publications. This has been accompanied by intensive touring across the globe with a highlight being the prestigious East Coast Blues & Roots festival in Byron Bay, Australia. Here Nibs shared the stage with such luminaries as Ben Harper, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Bela Fleck and Piers Faccini. Besides his own solo career, Nibs got to record a beautiful duo album, 'Sweet-Thorn'(2004) with Mozambican, Gito Baloi and 'Hadeda'(2004) with drummer extraordinaire, Barry van Zyl, from Johnny Clegg's band. He has also got to perform and record with folk Legend, Shawn Phillips and Italian band, the Modena City Ramblers. Mostly touring as a soloist, Nibs also plays across the globe with his young virtuoso guitarist/multi instrumentalist friend Guy Buttery and the incredible violist, Brendan Jury.

REVIEWS:

“ It's a small gem of an album that quietly seeped your skin. Even the couple of instrumentals are paragons of clear, concise songwriting. This fully rounded disc is one for the quiet hours and is a real charmer.”

The Dominian (New Zealand) 4Stars

“Forget your pre-conceived ideas of South African music.

If you like a bit of Nick Drake or Richard Thompson, with

A little GRACELAND, search out this album and give it a go.

You will be very pleasantly surprised.”

4/5 Birmingham Post

“ This gentle, thoughtful set mixes quiet, sturdy melodies with low-key vocals and influences, from British folk baroque to a dash of India and reggae.

There is even a drifting, piano and viola-backed treatment of Nick Drake's Road. Instrumental Juksei bursts with township vitality, but for the most part the mood is low-key, tuneful melancholia, with several songs paying tribute to his friend, the late Gito Baloi, a Mozambican singer who can be heard on the gentle, bluesy bonus track Mountain Wind.”

The Guardian – London

“Beautiful Feet is a showcase of Nibs’ skills as a musician and lyricist. Some songs will give you goose bumps and make you want to cry – others will warm your blood with their subtle Latin rhythms. Do yourself a favour, buy this album. It really is special.”

Rebecca Khan SL Magazine

“…an album of disarming beauty.”

www.fly.co.uk

“ Forget every prejudice or stereotype that you may have of African music – this is Nick Drake meets ‘Graceland’, with echoes of Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, the Chieftains, the country of Brazil and Robert Nestor. It really is that special”

. www.latinvibe.co.uk

"the album as a whole is really brilliant. It’s rich and warm, filled with genuine sentiments and honesty, all brilliantly delivered in a masterful way by a truly gifted musician"

Matthew Christensen (5 out of 5) www.mio.co.za

“An extraordinary album where the singing recalls very early Cat

Stevens. (ie. Mona Bone Jakon), where the musicianship of both van

der Spuy and young guitarist Guy Buttery is reminiscent of Davey

Graham and Bert Jansch, where there are moments of pure, idyllic

1960's innocence and where the lyrics are full of peace and love and

hope for the harmony of the world. This is the third album of van

der Spuy, a South African. He might be about 40 years too late to

catch the first hippie wave, but the sound he makes and the

sentiments he expresses are still remarkably beautiful, touching and

gloriously optimistic.”

Bruce Elder

The Sydney Morning Herald

“Nibs van der Spuy, what a cool name, sings his spin on South African music just beautifully. His album, Beautiful Feet, is graceful, sometimes poignant, sometimes quiet, always rich with meaning and laden with soft notes that are hard hitting. His music is spiritually rich, of a traditional South African theme, with English words and a hollowly echoing, resounding voice. He sings soft soothing South African music, yet no songs on the album surpass the title track, and “Beautiful Feet” is an irresistibly gentle ballad in which the mundane seems pleasant.”

Anna Kosmanovski

Mediasearch Australia

"Van Der Spuy masterfully evokes the sense-soaked experience of living in

South Africa's Kwa-Zulu Natal province in particular, and South Africa in

general, on his latest release that once again confirms his status as a

songwriter and performer of substance. But even though songs like 'Hiding in

the Sugar Cane', and 'Jukskei' locate Van Der Spuy on African soil, this is

folk music at its most far-reaching - the set of songs on 'Beautiful Feet'

will float easily into the lives of a global audience, drawn in by the

distinct acoustic melodies, sparse production, subtle influences (African

roots, Eastern) and emotion-laden stories. Certainly, this is a terrific

recording that no fan of music at its most unaffected should miss out on."

Diane Coetzer -
Billboard

“ Naturalness is the trademark of these 13 folk-orientated

and Reggae-like tracks. It is hard to name highlights as the songs on "Beautiful Feet" appear as a unity. "Hiding In The Sugar Cane" stands out with the use of a luscious viola. At no time can you expect Nibs van der Spuy to raise his voice loudly and broadcast his spiritual lyrics, but the guitar will always play the main role behind which the artist can perfectly hide. A few minutes

of enjoying the music is enough to brighten the day a bit and to forget sorrows and fears for some time.”

Heftig, Stimme, Y Musik, Germany

“ Nibs van der Spuy is something like the South African Ben Harper.He made a name for himself with his band Landscape Prayers. As an instrumentalist he effortlessly mixes, Blues, Reggae, Folk, Pop and a bit of Indian music. What forms the bulk of these songs is the gentle voice which reminds of Ben Harper. Musically, van der Spuy acts almost reserved to put his virtuosic playing in the centre, but rather the song. So what distinguishes the album, is its rather relaxed, peaceful atmosphere and exciting musical display.”

Amazon, Web, Tontrager, Germany

“ It will be a shame not to know Nibs van der Spuy on his great album, “Beautiful Feet”. One will discover a brilliant acoustic/slide guitarist with a restrained voice who writes soft and warm songs, as well as instrumentals that partly refer to British Folk Roots (like Richard Thompson) or acoustic songs of the Allman Brothers Band. He sings with Nick Drake’s soft melancholy seriousness and Cat Steven’s pop – like sensitivity. These collection of songs represent a natural sound culture that leaves every instrument its authentic timbre in a homogeneous sound, and pictures details clearly. It is an ideal combination of artistic inspiration and musical brilliance.”

Audio Live, Germany

“I just discovered: Nibs van der Spuy, a South African guitar player and singer. His CD "Beautiful Feet" has just been released in Germany and was presented on Bayern 2 radio on Pentecost Monday. I was driving, on my way back from an old friend's wedding, everyone in the car was a little sleepy and it was raining cats and dogs on the motorway. And then this wonderful music came from the car stereo, a rough, but endearing voice, a filigree acoustic guitar, which sometimes sounds like folk, or jazz and always wonderfully playful, and the whole world plays along on ethnic instruments of all kinds: "Nibs who? What's the spelling? Spy? Nipps? A few days later, I discovered via allmusic.com how the new and better Jack Johnson is spelled correctly, and: amazon sells the CD already. Now I'm sitting at home and listen to an album, of which today I am already sure that it'll accompany me for a long time. As if an old friend has returned and plays the guitar while it's raining...". 5 stars

Amazon, Germany

Customer Review