On The Couch with Freshly Ground...




For a decade now Freshly Ground has been bringing a fresh, eclectic sound to both local and international audiences alike.  They will be headlining the Old Mutual Music at the Lake concert this Sunday and, ahead of the show, Zolani Mahola chatted to the Weekly Gazette - Glenwood about the incredible journey that's made freshly Ground into the seven-player masterpiece that it is today.




BW:  How did you all get together and get to know one another and, from there, how did you all come to decide to form a band?
ZM:  We all met in cape Town, very randomly and not with the intention of forming a band. We started jamming and just found that we really enjoyed making music together. That was towards 2002.


BW:  How has your music evolved over time?
ZM:  We've grown a lot musically but, more than that, as people. When you spend over a decade with a group of other people you learn so much about them and about yourself. It's a really unique experience.


BW:  What about being in the music industry has been the biggest challenge for you?
ZM:  Staying together! It's a challenge but it's a challenge worth taking on and sticking out. The other thing that's challenging is when an audience doesn't receive your music the way that you'd hoped they would, when you do an album and expect people to react to it in a certain way and they don't.


BW:  Have you guys have any bad experiences performing, while the band was coming up, and establishing itself?
We entered Battle of the Bands and we got through to the nationals in Joburg, we were really excited but the judges were quite harsh and didn't receive us all that well. Nonetheless, one of the judges told us that we needed to simplify our sound and we appreciated that and just took that as motivation.


BW:  Would you say that Freshly Ground's sound falls into any one, specific category?
ZM:  I think we have our own sound but we do borrow from a number of different genres. We mix and match a lot.


BW:  Do you write your own songs? If so, what inspires you to write and are there any topics that particularly grab your attention or that you shy away from?
ZM:  Yes, we do write our own songs. We're inspired by everything and anything that's, well, inspiring!


BW:  What is the process of writing like?
ZM:  We write when and as we feel the urge and we archive the material, basically, and then, when it's time, select the best numbers for an album.


BW:   What is the process of recording like?
ZM:  Well, we just finished recording our latest album actually and it was quite a different experience! We used a lot of pre-recorded stuff for this album, which we haven't done before.


BW:  Can you tell us what the name of the new album is?
ZM:   We haven't decided on a name yet, we may just end up calling it Freshly Ground.


BW:  What are your thoughts on performing live as opposed to recording?
ZM:  They're just different experiences, each with their own merits.


BW:  As trained musicians and artists, what is music to you? What about it makes you want to get up every day and play?
ZM:  I just don't know what else I'd do!


BW:  You're also an actress, what is it about music that led you to drop that and focus on the music itself?
ZM:  I just made a decision to focus on one thing for a while but I am planning on getting back into acting in the next couple of years.


BW:  What are your thoughts on SA music, do you think we have the potential to give the international markets a run for their money?
ZM:  I think that there are some incredible things coming out of SA. I think that people are becoming increasingly interested in South African music and, I mean, there is more local music playing on the airwaves than ever before. I think that the rest of the world knows that we're here and that we are making music, which is definitely a good thing.


BW:  FInally, what can people expect from your show this weekend at Botanic Gardens?
ZM:  We haven't performed in Durban for a while and we're  really excited! Durbanites always make a great audience and we'll be performing some of the stuff of of our new album as well. People can basically expect for us, as per usual, to give 100 % this weekend!

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