Coenie de Villiers (Coenraad Grabe de Villiers), born 11 October 1956, is a South African singer-songwriter, pianist, pop artist who sings in his mother tongue,

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

. If any comparison was required, Coenie's music is best compared to the pop/rock of Herbert Groenemeyer (German language) or

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

(US English language).

Early life

Born in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, South Africa, Coenie was educated at

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...

majoring in media studies where he later on lectured in the Communications faculty. He has always viewed his musical career as his second vocation. He is also a classically trained pianist.

1980s

During the late 1980s, Coenie spent a few years in self-imposed exile in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Coenie has also performed in New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom Coenie lived on the island of Cyprus during the eighties and nineties. He wrote, recorded and produced the album ''Amper Alleen'' in Cyprus and in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. ''Amper Alleen'' was the second SA album to be released on CD. Coenie and his family returned to South Africa after the release of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and the unbanning of the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

. He released ''Hartland'', an album which included a vocal performance by

Lesley Rae Dowling Lesley Rae Dowling is a South African singer-songwriter. Music Lesley Rae Dowling was discovered in Stellenbosch in 1980 by artist manager Paddy Lee Thorpe. She released her first single (''The Spaniard / Grips of Emotion'') and album (''Lesley ...

. Coenie signed with

Mountain Records Mountain Records is a record label started in Cape Town, South Africa in 1980 by Patrick Lee-Thorp. The record label produces mostly South African music and is known as the home of Cape Jazz recordings, having issued a number of albums by such nam ...

in 1983, and recorded his debut album, ''Skoppensboer'', working with producer, Patrick Lee-Thorp and engineer, Kevin Shirley, in the same year. He subsequently recorded 4 albums for the label many of which won industry awards. In addition he contributed to label compilations of his work. Since leaving Mountain Records he has recorded a number of one off projects for different labels.

Personal life

He is Manager of a Marketing Company in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

and has also spent time as a radio DJ, TV presenter and advertising executive. He is currently a presenter for the TV show "Kwêla" on

DStv Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple audio, ...

's KykNET channel.

Discography

* ''Skoppensboer (

beginning 2003, rereleased)'' * ''Die Reisiger'' * ''Kruispaaie'' * ''Amper Alleen (Cyprus)'' * ''Hartland'' * ''Karoo Nagte (1990)'' * ''Liefdesversies'' * ''Ek Wens'' * ''Hooglied'' * ''Solo'' * ''Zen'' * ''Handgemaak (unplugged)(SAMA Award, Huisgenoot TEMPO Award)'' * ''Weerlig oor die See (2008)'' * ''Dekade (2009)'' * ''Hart van Glas (2011)'' * ''Emoji'' * ''Pure Coenie'' * ' ' Coenie 2.2"

References

External links

the sixth sense Coenie De Villiers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villiers, Coenie De 1956 births Living people 20th-century South African male singers University of the Free State alumni People from Bloemfontein