NEW HOLLAND
PHOTO BY: Adriaan Louw  l  WEBSITE: www.newhollandband.co.za

YOUR SECOND ALBUM “EXPLODED VIEWS” REALLY HAD AN IMPACT ON THE SCENE AND ON RADIO AS WELL. ARE THERE PLANS FOR A THIRD RELEASE AND WHAT DIRECTIONS WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO GO MUSICALLY?

ODI: We plan to launch a third album next year and we have started preproduction. We want to take our time and settle into a sound or maybe even genre. We have been making music as we go by, writing in styles we felt like at that time, not worrying about genres. Our aim will be to create some constant element in our music.

GERDUS: We are finishing up a track that we plan to release within the next couple of weeks. This is a song that I am very excited about, it has a kwassa kwassa kwaito feel which is not characteristic of our style, but I can’t believe how truly it rings New Holland. We have started doing pre-production for the new album a while ago, we hope to release in March or April of next year. This time we are taking a lot more time with the album. Teejay and I are both sound engineers, and we do all the tracking at either my project studio or his studio, Coffee Stained Vinyl. The new album will be very catchy, and lots of fun. That is all that I can say for sure, the rest is still to be seen.

DO YOU FIND THAT THE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES THAT MAKE UP YOUR SOUND MAKES THE BAND MORE VERSATILE AND HAS CREATED OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO PERFORM WITH BANDS THAT YOU NEVER IMAGINED PERFORMING WITH?

ODI: I think it definitely made us more versatile. I find myself listening to music that I would have labelled as “uncool” in the past. I think I have realised that style and taste don’t matter when determining if a song is good or not. I still know what I like and what I dislike but I learn from all styles of music and it does influence me, sometimes unconsciously. I can’t remember performing with bands that I never imagined playing with, though. I’ve got quite the imagination.

GERDUS: I totally agree with this statement. We have a multitude of influences, from indie rock to classical, from house to kwaito, all our influences come together to create the entity that we are. We have some elements to our sound that translates through all cultures, which is something that we are thankful for. Our music has taken us to Afrikaans festivals such as KKNK, and on the other side of the spectrum to places such as Ballito for the Mr. Price Pro surfing competition. The places that we get to play vary, as do the people we play to, but the one consistency is the fact that people love dancing with us to our music. That is a very special thing.

YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC AS “PARTY ROCK ‘N ROLL”, BUT I GUESS A LOT OF WORK STILL GOES INTO WRITING A GOOD PARTY ROCK ‘N ROLL TUNE, OR DO YOU FIND THAT ONCE YOU ALL START WORKING TOGETHER THAT SONGS GET DONE REALLY EASILY?

ODI: Our first album was labelled “Party Rock ‘n Roll” by the media and we liked it. We are a bunch of fun – loving guys with little issues to be sad about. I guess this shows in the type of music we make. When it comes to the writing of the songs, it differs. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it’s frustrating and sometimes it is no work at all. Someone will pitch up with a guitar riff and we will build on it. We have found that sitting together to write lyrics can take some time.

GERDUS: Like with anything creative there are days that the creativity flows and days that you feel that you will never write a song again. Some songs come easier than others too, some ideas lend itself to straightforward translation whereas some songs ask for thinking outside the box, every case is unique. We have been writing songs together for so long that we really know each other creatively, so the process has become quite flowing. We know when to leave an idea for another day, or when to really try and push through with something.

HAVING A VOCALIST IN THE BAND THAT HAS A RECORDING STUDIO AS WELL MUST SAVE YOU GUYS A LOT OF MONEY WHEN IT COMES TO STUDIO TIME AND ALSO ALLOW YOU TO WORK ON NEW SONGS AS LONGS AS YOU WANT?

ODI: Yes it does. It is a huge advantage we have. It is exactly what we are doing at the moment; recording ideas for songs and putting together a structure that we will listen to in a month or two again. It really helps to get perspective like that.

GERDUS: Yes that is true. I also have a recording setup at my place, so we have two places that we can record and do pre-production for tracks. It allows one to invest lots of time in each track, and allows one to get very creative with the mixing. Also, with each song that Teejay and I produce and mix we hone our craft and become more accomplished engineers.

THE RECORDING STUDIO HAS GIVEN YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH OTHER BANDS AS WELL. THERE ARE PROBABLY ALWAYS THINGS THAT YOU CAN LEARN BY WORKING WITH OTHER MUSICIANS?

ODI: True. Teejay should answer this one, as he and Gerdus are currently recording and producing a band called Holiday Murray (which is fucken cool). Bands constantly influence each other and the industry.

GERDUS: That is very true. Currently Teejay and I are working on producing and recording this great folk rock band called Holiday Murray. The ideas these guys come up with, the way they write songs, the way they sing together, their whole essence is truly inspiring. It is a great privilege to work with such a group of individuals. The things we learn from them will ultimately reflect in the way we write music later on.

WILL YOU GUYS AT SOME POINT DO ANY SIDE PROJECTS OR IS THERE STILL A LOT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO WITH THIS BAND BEFORE WORKING ON SOMETHING ELSE?

ODI: No, side projects are definitely an option. I will not attempt it soon though because one band is enough at the moment. I am still studying, you see. Gerdus and Teejay will be doing an Afrikaans side project soon.

GERDUS: We will definitely be involved with some side projects in the near future. Teejay and I have started a production company together called G&T Productions; we are currently working on producing Holiday Murray and also a rap album for Neels Van Jaarsveld under the pseudonym The Enormous Dwarf. A sister company to G&T Productions is Vol Room Produksies, which is the Afrikaans wing, under this Teejay and I will soon be bringing out an Afrikaans acoustic album. New Holland is still very much going, we are bringing out a new single soon, making music videos and also writing and recording for the new album. The reality is that if you truly want to make a living as a musician you have to diversify to survive.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE SOCCER WORLD CUP AND WERE YOU GUYS ABLE TO MAKE A FEW BUCKS FROM IT AS WELL, OR WAS RENTING YOUR HOUSE TO FOREIGN TOURISTS NOT AN OPTION?

ODI: Ja, not an option, hey. I really enjoyed the vibe and made the most of a couple of Cape Town games. It sucks that it is over, but I do look forward to not having to book a table everywhere I want to go. We played two shows at fan parks. One was in the Velodrome after the Bafana – France game and the other was at the Waterfront before the England – Algeria game. They weren’t that great shows, hey. People don’t go to fan parks to watch bands, they go to watch soccer and drink draughts.

GERDUS: We managed to get booked for two world cup events. The one paid well, the other one not so much. The soccer world cup was generally a really great experience for me, I really enjoyed the vibe, and I think much was done to cater for some world cup exposure for musicians, everything except marketing. While there were great rigs with huge stages no marketing was done to let people know which bands played where. The result was us playing to an empty velodrome in Bellville, the same happened to the Dirty Skirts and Flash Republic.

DOES IT ALWAYS SEEM LIKE IF YOU ARE PLAYING OUTSIDE OF CAPE TOWN EVERYBODY WANTS YOU TO PLAY A CAPE TOWN SHOW AND THE OTHER WAY AROUND?

GERDUS: There is a great demand for us to play outside the Western Cape, something that we have not done as much of late. Luckily we are doing a nation wide tour in September between the 8th and the 19th. I’ve never heard anybody really wanting us to play a Cape Town show, the people here are much too nonchalant to actually ask. 

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM TOURING THE COUNTRY SO FAR THAT HAS MADE THE EXPERIENCE A LOT MORE FUN THE SECOND TIME AROUND?

ODI: Don’t eat Kauai when you are hung over and waiting for your flight home. Document as much as possible. One day you will be old and, at the pace we are going, properly not remember much. What happens in Durban doesn’t stay in Durban. No one is safe with networks like Facebook. Travel light and have the proper gear to protect your gear. Eat Vegetables. Stay in Back Packers. We have a beautiful country.

GERDUS: Friends are everywhere. It isn’t really as much something learned, as it is a privilege to have made as many friends as we have around the country. You immediately click into some other group’s dynamic and find yourself everybody’s friend by association. The best example of this for me was playing Splashy Fen this year, which was technically our first Durban show. As you should know this is where the City Bowl Mizers hail from, we have made good friends with them two years before on the MK Avontoer, and have hosted them once or twice in Cape Town. From the moment we arrived we partied with them, they hooked us up with tequilas and friends all round. In Durban, when you are friends with the Mizers, you are friends with everybody.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WON SOMETHING?

ODI: My second year at Varsity. Like an award. Does that count? Or must it be a prise. Because then, never. Stupid Lotto.

GERDUS: I think the only thing I won in my life was a Spiderman watch sent to me in the post by K-TV…needless to say this was a long time ago.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ANYTHING ELSE FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?

ODI: We have recorded a kwaito-inspired song that we will launch as a single in August. Later in August. Adrian Louw, Luca Vin and I will make a psychedelic music video for this, which will be on MK and the web. Our designer, Hanno Van Zyl will also design collectable cards for the Oppikoppi jol. Uuuuuuuum, I think that’s it.

GERDUS: We have a new single coming out soon which will be freely downloadable. We are touring to a town near you in September. We are going to tour the coast at the end of the year. We are busy working on a new album. We love you.

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL