Wynand Myburgh, the bass guitarist for alternative rock band Fokofpolisiekar, is thrilled that after 21 years, the group is stronger than ever.
Also known as Polisiekar or FPK due to the obscenity in the name, the Cape Town band comprises lead vocalist Francois van Coke, rhythm guitarist Hunter Kennedy, lead guitarist Johnny De Ridder and acoustic drummer Justin Kruger.
They have all been together since the band formed in 2003, with drummer Jaco Venter joining them in recent years.
Myburgh, who is also known as Valkie Van Coke, has described their 21-year journey as “a blast, a blessing and a privilege.”
“This is exactly what we all wanted to do and we are doing it,” he added in a recent interview.
The band was formed in April 2003, initially as a joke to shock the mostly conservative Afrikaans community with its name and also as an Afrikaans alternative band.
They released their first EP, “As Jy Met Vuur Speel Sal Jy Brand”, later that year. It featured the song, “Hemel op die Platteland”, which made history when it became the first Afrikaans song to be officially playlisted on 5FM.
The band dropped their first complete album, “Lugsteuring”, in 2004 and the next year, they released the EP, “Monoloog In Stereo.”
They followed it up with the “Brand Suid-Afrika” EP in 2006 before Fokofpolisiekar took a break from March 2007.
Many of its members went on to pursue their own musical ventures, with Van Coke performing acoustic sets under his own name in the second half of 2007, alongside Laudo Liebenberg, before they both set out on their own new bands.
Myburgh and Coke then started the Van Coke Kartel with Kruger and released their self-titled debut album in December 2007, with the follow-up album “Waaksaam & Wakker”, being released in September 2008.
In September 2009, the band reunited, with the members also pursuing other ventures.
As they commemorated their milestone 21st anniversary this year, Fokofpolisiekar celebrated and hosted a special show in Pretoria last month. The concert included performances by Jack Parow, Internet Girl, Zaan Sonnekus and Elle E.
“We started these birthday celebration parties in 2019 when Fokof turned 16 and we have done one every year since,” he said.
“Even through the Covid years, we did a livestream for our 17th birthday and two 500 pax shows at Loftus Park in Pretoria in 2021 when we turned 18.”
Reflecting on his time with the group, Myburgh said that he is proud that the group’s founding members are still together.
“There have been so many highlights but us still playing together is definitely one of them.”
“We are all feeling good and we have the wisdom and experience that comes with age.”
“We still get to go on the road, create music and perform together. Fokofpolisiekar is by now a well-oiled machine and we all enjoy it.”
Myburgh is also thrilled that they managed to remain relevant over the past two decades.
“The biggest challenge is to stay relevant in some way. We are lucky that we don’t have to worry about bad vibes between members and all of that but to be able to keep on doing this, we need to be relevant.”
He also urged fans to keep listening to their music and attending their concerts.
“At this stage we can go on forever if we have the support and maybe we will even keep going if we don’t have the support because this project is special to all of us.”
“It has always been a selfish project because we do it firstly for ourselves. We write music that we want to hear and we use the band as a personal outlet.”
Meanwhile, Myburgh also enjoyed working on Fokofpolisiekar’s 2023 full length album, “Dans Deur Die Donker.”
He is looking forward to performing at Calabash South Africa in Cape Town in January where the likes of Green Day and The Offspring will be the headline acts.
“That is going to be huge and we are stoked beyond words,” he admitted.
On what the secret to the group's success is and what he thinks sets them apart from other musicians, Myburgh explained: “We are all super down to earth and there is no bloated egos.”
“I think it comes from our musical background. Before Fokofpolisiekar, we were all into punk rock and a music scene where the bands and the audience were one.”
He added: “We took that attitude and a serious DIY energy with us when we started Fokofpolisiekar.”
“It was created on a solid foundation with one very simple goal - how do we get to do this forever.”
“I don’t know if there is anything really that sets us apart, we are just Fokof and we do what we do and we love doing it.”