Download to read offline
FOKOF
- 1. LIFESTYLELIFESTYLE City itizenSaturdaySaturday 23 July2016 18 FOKOFPOLISIEKAR: NEW VINYL TO CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF SWANESANG ʂʂ The kings of al- ternative rock will headline OppiKoppi this year. Adriaan Roets I t’s been ten years since Fokofpolisiekar released Swanesang, their last full- length album. It’s bizarre to think that a decade after its release the band hasn’t lost their relevance or the power to shake South Africans out of their com- fort zone. The band is celebrating their stake in music history with a spe- cial Swanesang tour until August. The tour also celebrates the re- lease of the Swanesang vinyl and culminates in a special set at the Main Stage of OppiKoppi. Over the years Fokofpolisiekar have emerged as OppiKoppi stal- warts, so it’s no surprise that they’re ending the first leg of the tour in the holy grail of music. We asked band members Hunter Kennedy (HK), Francois van Coke (FVC), Wynand Myburgh, (WM), Johnny de Ridder (JDR) and Jaco Venter (JV) 10 questions in cele- bration of 10 years of Swanesang. Fokofpolisiekar is closing the Main Stage at OppiKoppi this year. What was the first Op- piKoppi you played like in com- parison? WM: I think our biggest mistake was arriving at the festival on the Thursday and we only played at 1am on the Sunday morning. We were OppiKoppi virgins and it was a rough few days. This will be our eighth Koppi. We had the privilege to headline seven of them. Have you felt any pressure or even guilt about not producing new music under the Fokof- polisiekar banner? HK: Pressure, definitely. I have come to expect a lot from our group. The last thing I want to do is to put something out that we are not happy with. Guilt? Not at all. I’m proud of the songs we’ve released since Antibiotika. Your best survival tip for Op- piKoppi? FVC: Pace yourself. I have made the mistake to go hard on the first night of Koppi many times. Why celebrate the release of the Swanesang vinyl with a tour? WM: Swanesang was our last full length release to date and I think a great compilation of tracks. It was an intense three years (2003 to 2006) and everything happened so fast. We released two EPs and one full-length before Swanesang came out. The musical progres- sion was quick and the pace we were operating at was intense. I think Swanesang captured all of that. How long did it take to produce Swanesang? FVC: I can’t remember how long it took to write the album, but it was done in two parts. The album was recorded in two sessions, about a month at a time. The lowest low was just before the first stu- dio session of Swanesang. Snake (Jaco Venter) jumped out of the moving bus and broke his arm. Justin Kruger stepped in and re- corded the drums for the first ses- sion. The media outburst around the “wallet incident” (where My- burgh wrote Fok God (F**k God) on Bobby van Jaarsveld’s wallet) was around the same time. It was a scary time with death threats and cancelled shows. Are you still able to take the stage with minimal rehearsal like the old days? TEN YEARS ON. Jaco Venter, Francois van Coke, Johnny de Ridder, Hunter Kennedy and Wynand Myburgh. Picture: Jaco S Venter Then and now JV: Fortunately/unfortunately Fokof isn’t known as a band that rehearses a lot. Once in a while Wynand changes up the setlist and lets us know if there is an oldie that we haven’t played in a while. The band has released its name- sake beer, who manages that? HK: Almost all of the stuff is Wynand’s baby. He is the driver of the well-oiled machine. He, of course, runs any plans past us, but by that time it’s already a well- formed strategy. Snake (Venter) helps out with the selling of the beer. I help out by drinking it. You keep attracting crowds even without dropping new material in years. How? JDR: I’d say it’s a combination of “right place, right time” and hard work in our forming years. I also think we offer something very specific to our fans, which they might struggle to find elsewhere. I’m sure some fans had to take a break from us, but let’s hope the fatigue never kicks in for the rest. The musical landscape changed a lot in 10 years, how do you adapt? JV: It has changed quite a bit on the surface but the same princi- ples remain. For instance, when social media came out there was a sweet period when you could in- form all your fans what you were up to and you didn’t have to pay for your reach, but now it’s back to paying for posters/flyers, whether online or just putting them up in the real world. We’ve learned to constantly have content you could create shows around – doccies, books, beers, singles ... Do you feel the same excite- ment when returning to old ma- terial? JDR: Most of the fokof tracks has become part of our DNA and it’s always fun to play them, especial- ly when the crowd helps out. Catch up with the band and their involvement in other projects on their website or order your own copy of Swanesang at fokofpolisiekar.co.za info CatchtheSwanesang tourhere: ɳɳ Today: Mystic Boer, Bloemfon- tein ɳɳ August 5: The Assembly, Cape Town ɳɳ August 6: OppiKoppi, Northam