What do you get when you blend fields of gold, vanilla tea, unfading love, strawberry juice and dew drops? Magic. These are life’s little gems that contribute to the melodic sounds of Nuka, an extraordinary up-and-coming Cape Town band.

What Does ‘Nuka’ Mean?

Well, according to good old Wikipedia, Nuka can mean any of the following:

• The Japanese word for ‘rice bran’
• A character from Astro Boy
• A Dutch word for ‘young cow’
• A river
• A wolf pack
• Water spirit
• Ceramic glaze

We knew Nuka couldn’t have been thinking about a wolf pack and a young cow grazing at a river, eating rice bran and chilling with the character from Astro Boy when they named their band. So we asked Nadia, the band’s lead vocalist and manager, to shed some light on the name. According to this petite lady with the powerful pipes, Nuka is the name she chose with her band’s distinctive sound and map-worthy journey in mind. We better tell Wikipedia to add that one to the list

How Many Nuka-ites Make up the Band?

Currently, Nuka has five talented members. Russel Fox is the percussion king, David Raath is the bass man, Frank Furniss is the fast fingers on lead guitar, Anna Donald is the viola and strings princess, and last but certainly not least is Nadia Kruger – the lead vocalist and guitarist.

How did Nuka Come into Being?

Nuka is Nadia Kruger’s brainchild. This Capetonian girl was born with creative energy flowing through her veins, and she’s finally found an outlet where she can express this creativity in its truest form. With institutional voice and music education under her belt and an upbringing which saw her exposed to artists like Nana Mouskouri, Frida Bokarra, Maria Callas (the opera diva), Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Simon and Garfunkel, and Cosby Stills and Nash – Nadia is no stranger to good music.

Now influenced by classic and contemporary bands and artists like Sting, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Civil Twilight and White Lies, Nadia and her band are able to draw from these sources as they pour their creative energies into their original songs.

Where has Nuka Performed?

Cape Town is definitely Nuka’s home turf, as they’ve been filling various venues with their inspiring tunes since 2010. No stranger to places like The Barnyard Theatre, The Waiting Room and Zula Café, Nuka are comfortable performers who are passionate about what they do. To stay up to date with their where they are playing, find Nuka on Facebook here.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see Nuka play live at Life Café on Sunday evening, the 30th of October 2011. Entrance is free, and our pizza special will be running all night – any two large gourmet pizzas for just R79.