Louise du Toit

A Creative Existence

The South African artist, Louise du Toit, is an award-winning musician, singer, composer, arranger, lyricist, writer, actress and painter. Apart from her solo career as a performer, she is the singer of the international groups, "Aineshana" and "Fuego de Lunar", the latter with which she has given more than 4500 performances the past 15 years. Her latest music projects are the forming of a new swing group with five vocalists and six musicians, titled "The Sha-Sha Sisters and the Dukes", as well as the creation of "Granadilla Groove", a new dancing band for live performances in Greece in cooperation with Christos Koulouridis and four other artists. As a recording artist, her own songs are being broadcast by radio stations all over the world and several have been released as music videos.

Louise is also very active in the field of animal defense, using her music and art to spread a worldwide message of peace and environmental and wildlife preservation, working towards the well-being of all living creatures on earth. She recently founded "UGAWEProductions", consisting of an artistic team working to create videos in defense of animals and the environment. This website contains her most recent music and artistic releases, videos, paintings and biographies, as well as news and upcoming performance dates and links to her other web pages.

Fuego de Lunar

FUEGO DE LUNAR: Louise du Toit and Christos Koulouridis are the main members of this concert group, with Dimitra Kondou joining them regularly and different artists being added from time to time.

Like every year, their Summer Concert Season for 2014 will start in April and last until October, with regular performances at different venues every week. The band interchanges between various repertoire programs, also presenting an unplugged night with acoustic instruments. "Fuego de Lunar" performs at many private and other events during the whole year.

Louise du Toit and Christos Koulouridis are also part of the vibrant 8-member "Porta Reale Band", with which they perform once a week at the magnificent Grecotel Corfu Imperial. In addition to this, they participate in many other events and projects with music artists from various countries and nationalities, crossing borders with their many musical skills and performance experience.

The Sha-Sha Sisters and The Dukes

THE SHA-SHA SISTERS AND THE DUKES: Five vocalists and six instrumentalists form this exciting new group, formed by Louise.

Dimitra Kontou, Aggeliki Mamona, Elena Ristova and Stamatis Koulouridis have joined her to complete the vocal quintet, of which the voice arrangements and musical direction are done by Louise.

Band members are Christos Koulouridis on guitar, Lefteris Atsopardis on trumpet, Paul Kontos on clarinet, Nikos Kaisaris on trombone, Thanasis Gongas on drums and Yiannis Koutagiar on contrabass.

The group started their performances during the European winter season of 2013-2014, with charming songs from the 30's and 40's era, on the 25th of October at "I Mixani tou Xronou" in Corfu, Greece. On the 4th of May, they launched their Summer Concert Season for 2014, currently performing every Sunday at the beautiful Grand Mediterraneo in Corfu, for the whole duration of the European summer season. Their concert schedule will be regularly announced here on this website.

Granadilla Groove

GRANADILLA GROOVE: This new dancing band was formed when Christos Koulouridis and Louise du Toit, the main members of the well-known Greece-based band "Fuego de Lunar", decided to create a new seven-member group with a high-energy repertoire, covering lots of different genres and encouraging concertgoers to dance. With two female vocalists, one male vocalist and four musicians, the band promises to provide their audiences with many beautiful, unforgettable music experiences.

Members are Louise du Toit, Elena Ristova and Stamatis Koulouridis on vocals; Christos Koulouridis on electric guitar; Nikos Sagias on keyboards; Giannis Koutagiar on electric bass and Thanasis Gongas on drums.

"Granadilla Groove" is currently performing every Friday at the luxury Marbella Beach Hotel on the magic island of Corfu, for the whole duration of the European summer season, while aiming to continue with their performances during the following winter season. Their concert schedule will be regularly announced here on this website.

Summer Concert Schedule 2014

The nightly concert schedule for JULY for "Fuego de Lunar", "Granadilla Groove", "The Sha-Sha Sisters and the Dukes" and the "Porta Reale Band" is the following:

WEEK ONE:
Monday 30 June: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Tuesday 1 July: "Fuego de Lunar" with the Porta Reale Band @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Wednesday 2 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Marbella, Corfu
Thursday 3 July:  "Fuego de Lunar" @ Kontokali Bay Resort and Spa, Corfu
Friday 4 July: "Granadilla Groove" @ Marbella, Corfu
Saturday 5 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Grecotel Daphnilla Bay, Corfu
Sunday 6 July: "The Sha-Sha Sisters and the Dukes" @ Grand Mediterraneo, Ermones, Corfu

WEEK TWO:
Monday 7 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Tuesday 8 July: "Fuego de Lunar" with the Porta Reale Band @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Wednesday 9 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Marbella, Corfu
Thursday 10 July:  "Fuego de Lunar" @ Kontokali Bay Resort and Spa, Corfu
Friday 11 July: "Granadilla Groove" @ Marbella, Corfu
Saturday 12 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Grecotel Daphnilla Bay, Corfu
Sunday 13 July: "The Sha-Sha Sisters and the Dukes" @ Grand Mediterraneo, Ermones, Corfu

WEEK THREE:
Monday 14 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Tuesday 15 July: "Fuego de Lunar" with the Porta Reale Band @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Wednesday 16 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Marbella, Corfu
Thursday 17 July:  "Fuego de Lunar" @ Kontokali Bay Resort and Spa, Corfu
Friday 18 July: "Granadilla Groove" @ Marbella, Corfu
Saturday 19 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Grecotel Daphnilla Bay, Corfu
Sunday 20 July: "The Sha-Sha Sisters and the Dukes" @ Grand Mediterraneo, Ermones, Corfu

WEEK FOUR:
Monday 21 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Tuesday 22 July: "Fuego de Lunar" with the Porta Reale Band @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Wednesday 23 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Marbella, Corfu
Thursday 24 July:  "Fuego de Lunar" @ Kontokali Bay Resort and Spa, Corfu
Friday 25 July: "Granadilla Groove" @ Marbella, Corfu
Saturday 26 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Grecotel Daphnilla Bay, Corfu
Sunday 27 July: "The Sha-Sha Sisters and the Dukes" @ Grand Mediterraneo, Ermones, Corfu
Monday 28 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Tuesday 29 July: "Fuego de Lunar" with the Porta Reale Band @ Corfu Imperial, Greece
Wednesday 30 July: "Fuego de Lunar" @ Marbella, Corfu
Thursday 31 July:  "Fuego de Lunar" @ Kontokali Bay Resort and Spa, Corfu

Videos

The latest video release of Louise is a PSA which she made for "Tina's K-9 Rescue and Animal Sanctuary", located in Sparta, Wisconsin. This shelter has a no-kill policy and it was founded with the purpose of helping stray dogs and cats. Another video, "The Pledge", was released in April 2014. Coming up, is "Children of the Universe", as part of a special campaign in support of animal rights.

Two videos for Fuego de Lunar were released in 2012. The first one has the same title as the group and it contains a song written by Louise, as well as a lot of information about the group. Click HERE to watch the video.

The second video, titled "Fuego de Lunar - Maria Elena", is a tiny trip down Memory Lane, with a beautiful song written by the Mexican composer and actor, Lorenzo Barcelata, and performed by Fuego de Lunar. Click here to listen to it.

Albums and Songs

"Just Love", "Ode to Magnificence" and "Heart of Australia" are now available on CDBaby, iTunes and many other music sites. Click here to download these three album releases.

"I Will Love You" is a new acoustic song of the artist. It was inspired by the courage and strength of Aristea and later dedicated to the late Anna Bellin, a passionate animal activist who tragically passed away early in 2014. Recorded with piano and vocals only, it can be listened to HERE.

Musicals and Theater

"Kick the Clock" is the new musical of Louise, set in the 1940's. Having finished the script and compositions, the artist is currently working on completing the orchestral arrangements of the songs and instrumentals.

She has also completed the script and compositions of a second musical, titled "Pecafeca", about an artistic community of South African penguins living on Robben Island, and is now working on the music scores. Click here to read about her other musicals.

More news about her involvement in the theater is that she will be the musical director, as well as the co-composer, of "Beware the Jabberwock", collaborating with well-known playwright-director Mike Healey and actor-director John Dryden. The play will be presented in December 2014 by ETC, the "English Theater Corfu" group of Greece, founded by Mike and John and aiming to stage and promote English theater productions on the island. Louise will also participate in the play as an actress and singer.

Drawings and Paintings

A collection of several vividly colorful paintings with a distinctive African theme is gradually being completed by Louise. Click here to see more of her paintings and to read about her art exhibitions.

Charts

Louise has been holding the number one position on the Reverbnation Indie Charts for Athens for several months.Visit her profile on Reverbnation here.

Her latest albums, "Ode to Magnificence" and "Just Love" consecutively reached the number one and two positions on the CDBaby top selling list for Greece soon after their releases in March this year. The albums are available for downloading here.

Shortly after joining the list of 200 as a new entry since its release, the club mix of Aineshana's "Come to me", with vocals and lyrics by Louise, was listed as one of the top 100 songs in Bulgaria, in between well-known groups and artists like the Black-Eyed Peas, Kelly Rowland and Metallica. Read more about Aineshana here.

Her IMRadio site reached the number one position in 2009 as "the very most popular profile page". Louise was a Featured Artist on the IMRadio Home Page for several weeks and she was also the voice behind the welcome greeting of the radio station. Visit her IMRadio profile here.

Buzz

Colin Edwards (February 2014): "Thank you Louise for sending me this wonderful song and such a beautifully crafted set of supporting images. Your work is thoughtful, has depth and has the power to transport me to a different level of consciousness and sensitivity. What a wonderful way to start my day!"

Susan Williams (March 2012): "Ms. Louise du Toit is a rare gem, with a beautiful voice and many talents to reach others with the plight of animals in need. She shines a light on the cruelty of animal abuse, with her wonderful and thoughtful music."

Zen Relaxation (February 2012): "Your unconditional love and passion for animals is touching, as is the captivating sound of your voice and great music, as well as the artistic genius in your video creations. Thanks for touching my spirit..."

Roger Winteraeken about "Heart of Australia" (March 2012): ..."this is it, very beautiful music,very beautiful voice, the best singer..."

Suzanne Evans about "Ode to Magnificence" (March 2012): "An extraordinary album of twelve beautiful ethereal songs all depicting the challenges of many of our endangered species...Louise's voice is magnificent and with feeling that just sings to your heart."

Stores

Products with prints of Louise's hand painted colorful African artworks are available here.

Products with images that she created for her musical projects are available here.

Contributions

"Heart of Australia" was the first video which Louise created as one of her artistic vehicles with which to raise awareness about different animals around the globe.

The video focuses on supporting the well-being and salvation of the wild horses of Australia, the Brumbies. Click here to watch the video and to visit her YouTube channel.

"Heart of Australia" was also recently released as a CD single, of which the income of the sales will be donated to support the Brumbies. Read more about it here.