Freshlyground are a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Afro-fusion Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

band that formed in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 2002. The band members have different backgrounds, including

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. Freshlyground's musical style blends elements of traditional South African music (such as

kwela Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music h ...

and African

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and features of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

. They are best known for their performance "

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", also known as "Waka Waka (Esto es África)" in Spanish, is a song by Colombian singer Shakira, featuring the South African band Freshlyground. Written, composed, and produced by Shakira and John Hill, it was r ...

" with Colombian singer

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, which received worldwide recognition. The music video – featuring the group – also received over 3 billion views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Band members

Zolani Mahola Zolani Mahola (born 19 July 1981) is a South African singer, actress, storyteller and world-renowned inspiration speaker, now also known under the stage name The One Who Sings. She is most famously known as lead singer of the internationally-ac ...

(2002–2019) –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

*Simon Attwell (2002–present) –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and band management *Peter Cohen (2002–present) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Julio "Gugs" Sigauque (2002–present) –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(steel-string acoustic guitar) *Chris "Bakkies" Bakalanga (2016–present) – lead guitar *

Kyla-Rose Smith Kyla-Rose Smith (born 10 September 1982) is a South African violinist, singer, and dancer, she performs with the Afropop musical ensemble Freshlyground, and with Kolo Novo Movie Band, a large ensemble that performs fusion music based on the music ...

(2003–2016) –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and vocals *Josh Hawks (2002–present) – bass, backing vocals *Shaggy Scheepers (2008–present) –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Aron Turest-Swartz (2002–2009) –

History

''Jika Jika'' (2003)

Freshlyground released their debut album, ''Jika Jika'', in early 2003. The commercial success of this album ultimately kick-started their career and re-affirmed their reputation as a fresh and vibrant young face in South African music. The commercial success of this album launched their career through their reputation as a vibrant South African band. The exposure from this album resulted in an invitation for the band to perform at both the

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

International Festival of the Arts and the

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

African Festival. This album was remixed by Keith Farquharson, remastered by Chris Athens and re-released in 2008.

''Nomvula'' (2004–2006)

In 2004, Freshlyground participated in the opening of

Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seve ...

by perfoganised as a celebration of ten years of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

. At the

International Festival of the Arts ( HIFA), Freshlyground performed with

an musician

Oliver Mtukudzi Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi (22 September 1952 – 23 January 2019) was a Zimbabwean musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern Africa Region. Career Mtukudzi grew up in Highfield, a ...

. The band went on to perform alongside local legend

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

, as well as

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

and

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's r ...

at the North Sea Jazz Festival, held during April in

. July also marked a break from the recording studio for the band, who had been working hard on their then unreleased album ''Nomvula''. The band took this time to perform at the Villa Celimontana Festival in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Finally, in late 2004, Freshlyground released their very successful album, ''Nomvula''. Although the uptake of the album was initially slow, it eventually went on to achieve

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

status locally. Initial success was largely due to the catchy, feel-good, lyrics of ''Doo Be Doo'', which enjoyed significant play on local radio, it was also covered in

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

by singer

Gita Gutawa Aluna Sagita Gutawa (born 11 August 1993), better known as Gita Gutawa, is an Indonesian soprano, actress, and lyricist songwriter. She is also the daughter of composer Erwin Gutawa. Although she originally studied piano, Gutawa later switche ...

. Follow-up hits included ''I'd like'' and the signature track ''Nomvula'', the former achieving unprecedented success on radio charts such as the 5FM Top 40, where it remained at No. 1 for several weeks.

''Ma'Cheri'' (2007)

The album ''Ma'Cheri'' was released on 3 September 2007. The album was again produced by JB Arthur and Victor Masondo, engineered by David Langemann and was recorded in

. The first single is called ''Pot Belly'' followed by ''Fired Up'' and ''Desire''.

''Radio Africa'' (2010)

Freshlyground's album ''Radio Africa'' was released in May 2010, and as part of the album release, they released a collaborative music video with the ''ZANews'' puppeteers. A satirical track about Robert Mugabe (Chicken to Change) has received coverage in the British media.

Cape Town Stadium Soccer Festival

On 23 January 2010, Freshlyground performed at the official inauguration game at the new

Cape Town Stadium The Cape Town Stadium ( af, Kaapstad-stadion; xh, Inkundla yezemidlalo yaseKapa) is an association football (soccer) and rugby union stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, that was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. During the planning stage, it wa ...

, where local Cape Town football clubs

Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and m ...

and Santos played each other in a match decided on penalties.

2010 FIFA World Cup

A song by Colombian pop star

and Freshlyground was the official song of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. The song, titled "

", is based on " Zangalewa", a popular

Makossa Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a ...

African soldiers' song by

Golden Sounds Golden Sounds, later known as Zangaléwa, was a makossa group from Cameroon, formed in 1984 by active members of Cameroon's presidential guard: Jean Paul Zé Bella, Dooh Belley, Luc Eyebe and Emile Kojidie. The group is most famous for its song, ...

. "Zangalewa" was a hit single in Colombia in 1987. Shakira and Freshlyground performed the song at the pre-tournament kick-off concert in Soweto on 10 June. The following July, the band also took part in the official handing-over ceremony, which took place in

''The Legend'' (2013)

"This album captures the emotion, the passion and the energy of our live performances", explains violinist Kyla-Rose Smith adding, "our live concerts have always been at the bedrock of our popularity", she says.

Honours

In 2005, Freshlyground was nominated for three

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

for their 2004 album, ''Nomvula''. Although they won no SAMAs that year, in 2008 the

Recording Industry of South Africa Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) is a trade association representing the interests of major and independent record labels of South Africa. Located in Randburg, RISA is responsible for running the annual South African Music Awards (SAMA ...

awarded them the coveted Best Duo or Group SAMA. In the same year, their 2007 album ''Ma' Cheri'' won the prestigious Album of the Year SAMA, as well as Best Adult Contemporary Album: English, and Best Engineer. At the 2006

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

in Copenhagen, Freshlyground became the first South African musical act to receive honours from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, when they received the

MTV Europe Music Award for Best African Act The following is a list of the MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Award winners and nominees for Best African Act. Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold. 2000s The award was retired in favour of the MTV Af ...

. At the 2008

Channel O Music Video Awards Channel O Africa Music Video Awards, once known as Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, are Pan-African music awards organised by South Africa -based Channel O television channel. The awards were first held in 2003 under the name Reel Music Video A ...

, the band received the "Best Africa, Southern" accolade for their single "Pot Belly". In 2008 the band was awarded the South African Music Awards for their album "Macheri."

Discography

Albums

''Jika Jika'' (2003)

# "Train Love" (4:12) # "Ocean Floor" (3:15) # "Rain" (5:07) # "Castles in the Sky" (3:20) # "Feels Like Sunday" (3:40) # "Mbira No. 2" (2:18) # "Zipho Phezulu" (3:06) # "Mali" (4:07) # "Castles in the Sky" (3:36) # "Mowbray Kaap" (6:04) # "Nomvula" (7:27)

''Nomvula'' (2004)

(#ITA 96) # "I am the man" (4:57) # "Nomvula" (4:46) # "Manyana" (5:13) # "Vanish" (5:20) # "Zithande" (4:40) # "I'd like" (6:25) # "Doo Be Doo" (5:14) # "Things Have Changed" (4:17) # "Buttercup" (5:37) # "Human Angels" (6:25) # "Father Please" (4:03) # "Mowbray Kaap" (6:03) # "Touch in the Night" (2:44) # "Doo Be Doo (Remix)" (European bonus track)

''Ma' Cheri'' (2007)

# "Ma' Cheri" (4:31) # "Desire" (4:13) # "Pot Belly" (4:15) # "Ask Me" (4:26) # "Baby Tonight" (4:51) # "Fired Up" (4:11) # "Gogorilla" (4:18) # "Arms of Steel" (4:32) # "Pink Confetti" (3:47) # "Zulu Lounge" (5:52) # "Ivana" (4:18) # "Umalume" (5:15) # "Crimson Smile" (3:36) # "Manikiniki" (6:30) # "Air Hostess" (bonus track) (4:09)

''Radio Africa'' (2010)

# "Moto" (3:39) # "Fire Is Low" (4:02) # "The Dream of Love" (3:29) # "Big Man feat. Les Nubians" (3:47) # "Baba" (3:16) # "Baby in Silence" (3:40) # "Would You Mind" (3:08) # "Vula Amehlo" (3:51) # "Chicken to Change" (4:20) # "Working Class" (4:01) # "Whaliphalaligazi" (4:22) # "Waka Waka (Afro Fab Mix)" (3:24) onus Track# "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (5:23) onus Track# "Big Man (Beefcake Mix)" (3:31) onus Track

''Take Me to the Dance'' (2012)

# "Chain Gang" (3:35) # "Everything" (3:55) # "Nomthandazo" (4:08) # "Not Too Late for Love" (3:59) # "Take Me to the Dance" (4:06) # "The Man Moves" (3:20) # "Won't Let Go" (4:14) # "Mina Nobhiza" (5:35) # "Dancing Baby" (0:56) # "The Message" (5:16) # "Leave a Light On" (3:50) # "Shake It (Julst Like You Wanna)" (3:57) # "You Would Love" (4:49) # "Party Time" (3:22) # "Everybody Must Get Stoned" (bonus track) (0:36)

''The Legend'' (2013)

# "Izihlangu" (4:55) # "Africa Unite" (4:03) # "Shake It" (3:50) # "Refugee" (3:54) # "Take Me to the Dance oxsta Remix (4:39) # "Beautiful Boy" (4:00) # "Everything" (3:54) # "How Low Can Yu Go" (3:21) # "Yeah Yeah" (4:12) # "Rain ive at Guild Theater, East London (6:27) # "Doo Be Doo ive at Guild Theater, East London (6:36) # "Rain ive at Guild Theater, East London (7:00) # "Waka Waka ive at Centenary Hall, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth (5:57)

As featured artists

* "

"
(2010 FIFA World Cup single by

)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Folk music groups Musical groups from Cape Town South African musical groups Wrasse Records artists MTV Europe Music Award winners