The Almost Perfect Podcast

Nate Levinrad is a comedian and one half of the That's Not Funny team putting on gigs in Cape Town. He also occasionally dabbles in music journalism, although he picked the worst time to get into that industry. Nate calls himself a "loud Jew " who advocates for a free Palestine. In this episode, we get into growing up Jewish in a small town, how his parents inspired his political activism, and how...

2024 Comics Choice Newcomer Callum Hitchcock has had an unconventional career in the three years he's been doing comedy. In his first five gigs he opened for Khanyisa Bunu, put on a gig where he made more money than some headliners, and did a one-man show at the National Arts Festival. Turns out being from PE was a blessing in disguise. In this episode, we hear about his journey starting comedy in...

Comedian and podcaster Simmi Areff is the go-to-guy when it comes to podcasting in South Africa. These days he's the co-host of the hilarious Badvice podcast and founder of the All Ears podcast network, although he started out hosting Lesser Known Somebodies and built his CV as a producer through POC Podcasts. We get into the business of podcasting, how to network as a misanthrope, and why he beli...

Gareth Wilson has spent his entire life either on stage or behind the scenes of South African music. From starting a band with his brother to eventually working with artist like Emtee as A&R for Virgin Music South Africa, Gareth shares a winding tale that has seen him take on almost every role available in the music industry. We hear about his booking philosophy for Oppikoppi, the good, the ba...

Managing Director of Goliath and Goliath, Kate Goliath, gets serious about comedy with us. We learn what it takes to work behind the scenes with the biggest names in SA comedy, how Kate's mom gave birth to Goliath & Goliath (both literally and figuratively), and why lockdown forced them to expand beyond live comedy. Enjoy. Keep up with Kate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kategoliath/...

Comedian and writer Lindy Johnson joins us for a hilarious chat about learning to give a fuck again. We get into "eternal naps", writing for roasts, and, uh, whether or not being a gynaecologist is a dream job for men. Follow Lindy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindyyay/ Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/almostperfect Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Angela de Klerk is a musician. She started singing for Japan and I as a teenager after a successful night of karaoke and hasn't looked back. Since then, she's been a part of the folk-punk collective Rambling Bones and the jazz duo West of the Moon. Oh, and she just got back from a European tour with The Shabs. Unfortunately, being a life-long musician in South Africa isn't exactly a re...

Keagan Bennewith is a musician and event organiser. He's the bassist for Poster Boy and one of the guys behind Reverberate. If you're part of the Durban alt scene, you've definitely seen Poster Boy play as they performed about 100 shows in their first year together. You've also probably been to a Reverberate gig as they filled in the gap left after COVID and have put on some of Dur...

Akhil Maharaj is a comedian. He's sardonic, awkward, and depressive, which makes him a perfect fit for the Not Quite Right Comedy crew. He also drives to Durban from Richards Bay almost every Wednesday for our open mic, which is an unreal level of commitment to the craft. In this episode, we chat about Akhil's love of Norm Macdonald, how he used Reddit to find a vape in India, and his expe...

Catherine Grenfell is a DJ, and executive producer at Audio Militia. You probably know her from her 15 years in radio as a producer and presenter at 5FM. Life these days is quite different from the chaos of her youth, with water shots, pottery, and yoga replacing the hangovers, junk food, and saying "yes" to everything. In this episode, we chat about transitioning from life in the public...

Aaron Peters is a cultural curator. That's a fancy way of saying he does a whole lot behind the scenes of Cape Town's music community. Aaron has been a pivotal force behind CT's music scene for most of his adult life. He started out as a manager, booking agent, and promoter, leading to him working at Black Major, before starting up The Other Records and The Other Radio. He's also r...

Spoek Mathambo/Nthato Mokgata is a musician and filmmaker. He's a master of collaboration, with roots tracing all the way back to the seminal The Fantastic Kill with Watkin Tudor Jones and Sibot, which lead to projects like Sweat. X, Playdoe, Moleke Mbembe, Fantasma, Batuk, and his most recent collaborations with Laliboi. I'm definitely leaving some stuff out, and that's not even to me...

Kamaney is a comedian. Growing up, Kamaney didn't know stand-up comedy was an option for her. The only funny women she saw were on sitcoms, so she set out on that path by studying Drama at UKZN. She hated it, but she got a masters degree to not disappoint her mother. Thankfully, it eventually lead to her doing stand-up comedy, which she'll explain on the podcast. In this episode we get int...

Vincent Joseph is a comedian and cinematographer. He's also part of the Not Quite Right team, so we've been spending a lot of time together this year. Whether behind the camera or on the stage, Vinnie is infectiously enthusiastic. In this episode we laugh at a lot of dark shit. We also hear about the struggles of starting comedy just before the pandemic, how he got into cinematography desp...

Ambrose Uren is a comedian although he grew up spinning on his head as a b-boy. It turns out the two artforms have quite a few similarities. We reflect on a youth spent breakdancing, the 11 year journey to being a full-time comedian, and what he learned from doing 4 shows a day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Keep up with Ambrose on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambroseuren/ Bob's Ins...

Candice Chirwa is the Minister of Menstruation. While not an official government position, Candice is more productive in enacting change than most politicians. Through her NGO, QRATE, Candice educates the youth on menstrual health, and campaigns against period poverty. In this episode, we hear how Candice utilised her academic background to become an activist, and how she's used the power of s...

Liam Whitcher is a filmmaker and comedian. He comes from the Robert Rodriguez school of filmmaking (even though he studied at UCT) in that he's a rebel with a very small crew, and not much budget, but still manages to create feature films that win awards and get picked up by film festivals. We share early memories of watching films we were far too young for, we find out what Liam's mom lea...

Robby Collins is a comedian and actor. One of the most well-known and well-loved acts in SA comedy, Robby has recently been focusing his efforts on breaking into America through consistent trips to New York. When he's not in New York or travelling around SA for gigs, Robby calls Durban home once again. In this episode, we hear why he's returned home to Durban, how the pandemic made him re-...

Andy Mkosi is a musician, photographer, filmmaker and cultural practitioner. She's someone who is obsessed with documenting the world around her through a multitude of mediums, and has been instrumental in adding to South Africa's cultural archives. We chat about her upcoming live album, the nuances of access as a documentary photographer, and the balance between documenting a moment and l...

Henk van der Schyf is a booker, promoter, venue owner, restaurateur, and there are probably quite a few titles I'm leaving out. Point is: the man keeps busy. He's been hella instrumental behind the scenes of SA's music scene, first through the legendary Hotbox Studios (They never recorded a single song but knew how to throw a party) and now through festivals like Park Acoustics and Mie...

Sonny Phiri aka Sonny the Jobber is a YouTuber and wrestler. If you're a member of the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) you've probably come across Sonny's videos on YouTube. He's racked up over a million views just by sharing his passion for wrestling, although that success is a double-edged sword. We get into how he found his niche, creator burnout, copyright strikes, and why h...

Sophie Joans is an actor, playwriter, comedian, and clown. Her debut solo play 'Île' (Baxter Theatre, 2-6 May) has earned awards and much critical acclaim. As an independent producer of her own work though, putting on an award-winning play still comes with its difficulties. We get into the struggles and triumphs Sophie has experienced taking 'Île' across the country. We also hear h...

Zama Dlamini is an artist, designer, and DJ. Her colourful creations adorn clothing across the country and her eclectic track selections get booties popping and dropping. We chat about her love of cartoons, the new Jackie Extreme album, and writing poetry from the perspective of a snake. Well, that and how she maintains her childlike wonder and joy. Enjoy.  Keep up with Zama on Instagram: htt...

Justin McGee aka Sweatface is a photographer. If you were a joller in the 2000s and early 2010s, Justin probably smashed his flash in your face at some point. The man was ubiquitous in party scenes throughout the country. We hear about the come up and come down of earning your reputation as a party photographer who likes the party a bit too much. Justin shares some of the sketchy situations always...

Mo Vawda is a comedian and statistician. When he's not making people laugh on stage or online he's lecturing the youth about stats. We get into the intricacies of being a Muslim comedian in a scene of degenerates, we hear how his father's passing lead to him starting comedy, and we share tales of terrible gigs. Enjoy. Keep up with Mo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mo.vawda/ Check out Shop...