In the year of 2001 when I was a young kid in Primary school, a pliggie ,child of a teacher, and like most kids avoided everything that would make me seem more uncool. Yes everyone, there use to be a time when doing mainstream things made you popular. Any form of alternative movement with local, let alone Afrikaans, music was so far away and underground that it just seemed like a wasted pipe dream.
This all changed for me when my sister brought home a stack of CD’s and told me to give it a listen. Panning side to side through my headphones was unapologetic lyrics, catchy melodies and for the first time I had hope for the local “scene”. On this stack was a mix cd that had Karen Zoid’s Engel and “Afrikaner’s is plesierig”. Husky voice and overall “How many fucks were given? None” attitude immediately pulled me in. I wanted everyone to know Afrikaaners is plesierig. I wanted a sister from Potchefstroom.
Getting back to the present Karen Zoid has released a new album. Her full length and second English album “Drown out the Noise” dropped the 04th April 2015. The album features tracks like “Smile” with Francois van Coke and “Troublemaker” with Zolani Mahola from Freshly Ground. A live performance of “Tot die son uit kom” with Francois van Coke can also be found on the album. The track has made it to number 30 of the local iTunes chart alongside their co-written track off Van Coke’s solo album “Toe vind ek jou” at number 3.
The album itself shot to number 1 on its first day of release. “Drown out the noise” was also the first time Zoid got back in the studio and worked alongside Theo Crous( Springbok nude girls’ guitarist and bestie/on stage guest of Dave Grohl).
Zoid has brought a more mature sound to the album. “Times are hard. But that doesn’t mean that we must withdraw. We need to find our way back to ourselves. We must be able to be quiet before knowing what to say and what to do. And from there go wholeheartedly for what we want in life.” comments Zoid.
She is no-longer the blonde rebellious teen my ears met 10 years ago. She does acoustic shows, and has a TV show hosting musicians like Kurt Darren..
Her tone of voice on serious matters has gone from satirical to actual concern. This is clear when hearing the track “Justice, Justice” written in memory of Anene Booysen.
It’s been over 14 years and YES I miss the Karen Zoid I found on my carpet, but I get it. I have grown up and stopped having idealised opinions of people from Potch, and so has she.