In life there are times where we stumble across something that makes us sit back and say, Wow! That is pretty cool. In 2004 a friend of mine had such a moment. He was in South Africa and came back with a CD of a band that he had seen and as he put it, "Dunny, you have to listen to these guys. mark my words they are going to be BIG. They will play in front of the world someday!" he said. Well, he was right, they played with Shakira literally in front of the world last year. The band of which I am speaking is the South African Afro Pop band Freshlyground. I will admit to copying their CD from him but only because I had no idea how to get my own copy. I did finally break down and buy my own from their website this year. It was well worth it!
So, Freshlyground. What a breath of fresh air in a stagnant music industry. Maybe it is because they are from half way around the world, maybe it is because they have such diverse talents within their band, or maybe it is because they have taken control over what they want to present to their fans. Whatever it is it simply works. It did take some getting used to that they do sing in their native tongue on some of their songs and since I don't speak their language I have no idea what it is they are talking about but I can say, in those instances everything still just works and since everyone in the band is a seriously talented musician so you will find yourself wrapped up in their intoxicatingly smooth groove. Much of their music is sung in English but English, Afroasiatic, Nilo Saharan, Austronesian, French or whatever they choose to sing in it is worth listening to.
While Zolani is the lead singer and the face of the band, every piece of the band is crucial to their success. Kyla Rose plays violin and when combined with Simon Attwell on the flute and sax the stage is set for some of the most lush and vibrant musical passages you will ever hear in pop music of any kind. Those three in and of themselves would make me want to buy a ticket to one of their shows but lest we leave out guitarist Shaggy Sheepers and keyboardist Julio "Gugs" Sigauque we would not have some of the most impressive intertwined guitar and keyboard work I have ever heard. These two simply make good music great music. Seeing these 5 on stage would be worth every penny of the cost of admission but, then we would leave out one of the most impressive rhythm sections I have heard in the last 25 or 30 years. Josh Hawks is without question one of the best bass players I have ever listened to. The funny thing is, when you listen to Freshlyground you don't really realize how good he is because he stays within the song but listen very closely to the low rumble that is Josh Hawks and you will start to get an idea that this is a man that has mastered his craft. I would compare him to Stanley Jordan or Abe Laboriel or even Charlie Biddle. I know they are all very different bassists but Josh is in that kind of league. Listening to him transitioning through his notes so smoothly and effortlessly is like watching a F1 race car driver shift gears at 200 miles per hour in tight traffic. One mistake and everything falls apart really quickly. The bump and thump of the band is Peter Cohen. As a drummer myself I always notice the drums in every song first. As good a bassist as Josh Hawks is, Peter Cohen is that kind of drummer too. There are 4 drummers that I hold up as the pinnacle of their craft. The late Jeff Porcaro and the late Carlos Vega, Steve Gadd and Jim Keltner. Those four drummers have set the standard for perfection. Well, I have to add a fifth. Peter Cohen should be in that group. He possesses impeccable time, full and complete mastery over his drum kit and is so incredibly creative when coming up with new grooves. He can combine some of the coolest afro grooves with common rudiments to create a pulse for a song that you won't expect. Just when you think that you have figured out the groove, Peter has the ability to switch to a whole other level of pulse. You never really know what he is going to come up with. That to me is the mark of a truly special drummer. He is technically one of the best I have ever heard but sometimes technical drummers come across as robotic, you could never say that about him. I mentioned Zolani but let me tell you about her. She is not just one of the best female vocalists of the past 20 years in pop music but one of the best vocalists period. Her voice is strong but still very feminine. She can pull you in on a song like Father Please where you can literally the pain in her voice singing about a father leaving and then get you up and dancing and having a good time with a song like Fire is Low. Her voice can soar into ranges that can stop a show or take it down a notch that turns a song over to the band. Zolani could sing the phone book to me and I would pay to see her do it.
Freshlyground has released four CDs and all are very good. I think that it must be getting just about time for a greatest hits because they have become a hit making machine. 2003 brought us Jika Jika. I really like Train Love, Ocean Floor, Castles in The Sky and Mali. 2004 added my favorite of their CDs, Nomvula. This is one of those CDs that I can put on and let play. Every song is really good. I Am the Man, Nomvula, Vanish, I'd Like, Doo be Doo, Human Angels and Mowbray Kaap are all songs that tell stories and to be honest, FG will tell a story whether you like it or not. Some of what they have to say may make some people squirm a little. They are great story tellers though. Love this CD. In 2007 they released Ma'Cheri. While they have always been exceptional musicians, this CD seems to take their talent to another level. The first song on the CD is the title track and it adds a great sounding brass section. What a great way to kick off the party! In addition to the title track it adds several great songs to what is a fantastic body of work. Desire is a really great song about relationships. I have to say, Pot Belly is one seriously great song. It should be the anthem for everyone that isn't a size 0 and starving themselves to get smaller. You should head over to You Tube to watch the video. You will enjoy it. I love this song on so many levels. Baby Tonight is probably one of my 3 favorite FG songs. I love the groove in this song. Can't understand it but I still love it. Had Pink Confetti been released in the US I can't help that it would have been a hit. It has everything that the US radio market loves. A nice beat, catchy lyrics, and a really nice chorus with a hook. I like this song a lot too. Zulu Lounge takes me back like 25 years or so. I feel like I should be wearing a turtle neck smoking a pipe while talking to my friends Buffy and Biff. I guess the best way to describe this song is just that it is so dang smooth. This brings us to their most current CD, Radio Africa. I really like this one a lot. It has everything. Love songs, political songs, pop songs, rock songs, soul songs and all that crammed into one CD. They could not have picked a better song than Moto to start off with. It is exactly what I would picture as a South African sound. the Fire is Low is the next song. You can't escape this songs hook. I challenge you to try to get away from its infectious beat. This song is one of the best relationship songs I think that I have ever heard. You can't help but be pulled into all of the layers of this song. The 3rd song, the Dream of Love is another one of those songs that comes with a message but they are so adept at mixing great lyrics with fantastic musicianship that you get walloped by the message without even realizing it. Babe In Silence is such a powerful song. I would encourage you to take a hard listen to this song. Chicken to Change takes on political turmoil in Africa in a way that is funny and lighthearted. Listening to the song in the CD does not do it justice though you simply have to watch the video on You Tube. I got such a good laugh out of that video, you will too. Reminds me of Land of Genesis' video Land of Confusion back in the 80s. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu playing dominos is priceless. Love the puppets! I guess what most people that think they know Freshlyground think is their music is the work they did with Shakira for the Fifa World Cup. Waka Waka took the world by storm and it does show their versatility but please, please, please don't base what you know of Freshlyground on that song. It was a fun and with the added star power of Shakira FG did get some much needed exposure around the world but to get a really good idea of what they are I really hope that you would take a listen to them playing their music.
Finding Freshlyground music is not the easiest thing to do. You would think that being a Sony recording artist it would be easy to walk into an HH Gregg or Best Buy and pick up a CD. Nope, best way is to download it from their website at www.freshlyground.com. You should also take a look at their videos on You Tube, they have their own channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/freshlygroundsa. Here is the best news though. They are getting ready to embark on a North American tour. They will be traipsing across the US and Canada in June and July so the best way to hear them is to see them live. I am looking forward to their show at the Black Cat in Washington DC on July 2nd.
I hope that Freshlyground is well received here in the US. Their music is a fresh departure from the over produced, teen driven, angst rock, and entitlement pop that we are stuck with in the US. Perhaps if more bands like this were available to listeners in the states, people may actually want to buy music again.
Freshlyground Playlist:
Train Love
Ocean Floor
Castles in The Sky
Mali.
Nomvula
Vanish
I'd Like
Doo be Doo
Human Angels
Mowbray Kaap
Ma'Cheri
Desire
Pot Belly
Baby Tonight
Pink Confetti
Zulu Lounge
Moto
Fire is Low
Dream of Love
Babe In Silence
Chicken to Change
For those on facebook, why not check out their page and friend them so you can keep up with what is going on. http://www.facebook.com/freshlygroundsa
For those on facebook, why not check out their page and friend them so you can keep up with what is going on. http://www.facebook.com/freshlygroundsa
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