zybrandt anders

zybrandt

#MusicExchange: Rapid-fire Q&A with Afrikaans singer Zybrandt

Good news for Cape Town fans: Zybrandt will be introducing his debut Afrikaans EP, ‘Sneeu en Satyn’, with a show at Die Boer on Saturday.

zybrandt anders

zybrandt

Zybrandt, who has been involved with three bands since the 90s — VelveDownonthefirst and December Lanterns, released his debut Afrikaans single and video, titled Anders in February 2021.

Anders reached various top positions on radio charts nationwide with his second single, Kamoefleer, emphasising Zybrandt`s skills as a vocalist. His third single, Vlerke Neer, was released in October to pave the way for a five-track EP Sneeu en Satyn.

‘Sneeu en Satyn’: Zybrandt at Die Boer

Zybrandt will be introducing Sneeu en Satyn with a show at Die Boer in Durbanville on Saturday 20 November. 

Tickets are R150 and can be booked here.

ALSO READ: #MusicExchange: Rapid-fire Q&A with Joan Armatrading

Q&A with Zybrandt 

The new decade means?

Chance for everything to change again.

Fame is about?

Being in a position to influence and inspire.

Retirement will happen when?

I completely lose my voice, hearing and use of my hands.

I don’t do?

Oats pap.

What does music mean to you?

It’s a means to release the emotions and voices in my head.

My music is about?

Complex emotions in a very basic life that are mostly ignored or seen as trivial, but everybody needs to live through in some shape or form.

I would love to co-write with… 

Eddie Vedder, Adam Duritz, Imogine Heap, Lucy Kruger, Hunter Kennedy, Francois van Coke, ……

Where do you go for inspiration to create?

Recently went to a wooden cabin in the mountains with no people, electricity or signal of any kind for a few days to reset my mind. Found a new type of inspiration in the silence. But mostly in getting out there and living life. Restaurants, camping. 

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

Live shows when the sound is just right and the crowd is feeling it too.

The song you must do in every show?

Vlerke Neer

Any funny moments on stage?

I once did this insane jump in a crazy part of a song not realising that there was a beam that ran over the stage right above my head. Just heard the crowd go “ooooh” after the beam connected with my forehead.

I had to hold on to the mic stand for the rest of the show and also made up lyrics for the rest of the set, but I finished the show even with the huge bump on my head. Was funny afterwards…

My heroes?

My dad.

My style icon 

Fred den Hartog

Which living person do you admire most and why?


My three-year-old. He’s still able to see beauty in life’s simple things.

What is your most treasured possession?

Not sure if kids count: Zain and Zybrandt.

But other than that, probably a little pocket knife that my grandmother gave me. It belonged to my great grandmother and when she passed my grandmother told me that my great-grandmother wanted me to have it. 

It’s your round what are you drinking?

What’s on tap?

Dream gig to do?

Wembley Stadium.

What makes you stand out?

I’ve been doing music and writing songs for a very long time.

I’ve only now started writing in Afrikaans. I feel the fact that I never really listened to Afrikaans music and never wrote in Afrikaans helps me to approach it from a different angle. 

Nicknames?

Trucker

If you were not a musician what would you do?

Would love to have been a fighter pilot.

Who would play you in a Hollywood blockbuster and why?

Chris O’Dowd because he’s awesome. 

Pick five words to describe yourself?

Simple, mellow, introvert, fair and open.

Five favourite SA  albums?

Thieve – Extra Ordinary
Velve – Selling Skin
December Lanterns – No Cure for Winter
Battery9 – Strop
The Narrow – Travellers

Greatest movie ever made?

The Crow

What books are you reading?

Raising Boys

What song  changed your life? 

Roxette’s The Look

Who do you love?

My family 

What is your favourite word?

Dagbreek (“day break”)

Favourite fashion garment 

DC shoes

Top of your bucket list?

Playing a show in another country.

Your greatest achievement?

Still breathing.

What do you complain about most often?

Life and the strange mentality of the human being. 

What is your fear?

That I lose track of what is most important in life. 

Happiness is?

An inflatable swimming pool next to a braai in the backyard with my family.

On stage I tend to?

Drift off to another world.

The best life lesson you have been taught?

 Too much of anything is wrong, even love.

Do you get worked up whilst watching a sports game on TV?

I use to. Too much. So, I decided that it’s best not to watch too much sports.

Where would you like to be right now?

In a tour van on our way to the next town/gig.

Do you do charity work and if you do, what do you do?

Like most people, not nearly as much as I should be doing, but I like to support Butterfly Palliative Home. They provide end-of-life care to babies and young children with life-limiting conditions who have been orphaned or abandoned. I’m lucky enough to know a lot of great people, but these guys are superheroes.

Wishes and dreams?

Wish that I can always be there for the people close to me when they need me. And dream that I can have a sustainable music career for the rest of my days.