Freshlyground are back!
One of South Africa’s most loved groups returns with a new single, Blck Girls, and a new album, Can’t Stop. We caught up with sultry-voiced frontwoman Zolani Mahola
BY NICI DE WET Congrats on the new album! Why did you call it Can’t Stop? Well, because after 16 years and seven albums Freshlyground still can’t stop making music! Tell us about the inspiration behind Blck Girls. The song is about being true to who you are and disregarding the box you might be placed in because of your culture, race, economic class or sex- ual orientation. Growing up I was told I dressed in the wrong clothes; that I had to comb my hair; that I was too fat, then too thin. These things were said by well-meaning people who were trying to get me to be a good “normal” black South African girl. It’s taken me a long time to realise those concerns were about their own fears and insecurities. What can fans expect from the album? We’ll always sound like Freshlyground but we like to play around with genres. There may be some songs that are more “pop” than the last record. We also brought in Karen Zoid and Oliver Mtukudzi on it. You worked with renowned Swedish producer Tore Johansson. How did that come about? We approached Tore after listening to work he’s done with Franz Ferdinand and the Cardigans. He loved our rough tracks and came out to Cape Town for a few months. We recorded much of the album at the Academy of Sound Engineering in Woodstock [in the Mother City]. Where can fans find you? We have live sessions they can access on our Facebook and Instagram pages, both @freshlygroundsa. They can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.