Up close with Die Heuwels Fantasties
We spoke to bassist, Fred den Hartog, to find out more about Die Heuwels Fantasties' upcoming live DVD, third album and what 2013 has in store for this Afrikaans band.
Die Heuwels Fantasties is one of South Africa's best and most loved Afrikaans bands. With their unique blend of Afrikaans alternative pop, Die Heuwels Fantasties has quickly massed over 150 000 Facebook fans in a little over four years. We spoke to bassist, Fred den Hartog, to find out more about Die Heuwels Fantasties' upcoming live DVD, third album and what 2013 has in store for this Afrikaans band.
Watch Die Heuwels Fantasties brand new video Die Volkslied
Q: You guys are on your third album now; and every album that you have put out has had a very distinct sound to it. How do you feel your latest album compares to your older works?
Fred: It is a hybrid between our first two albums. We tried to recreate a naive energy on this album, which is really highlighted by the sounds that we chose in terms of synthesizers, guitars and drums.
Q: If you were to sum up your music in five words; what would those words be?
Fred: Feel-good, calculated, alternative pop.
Q: As a whole, this band was formed as an off-shoot of other popular alternative South African acts. Was the difference in genre between the other acts and DHF ever weird?
Fred: No. The DHF sound is an amalgamation of four friends who enjoy making music together.
Q: One of your most popular songs from the early days of the band was Leja. Who is Leja?
Fred: Leja is a fictional character that symbolises the purity and innocence of that longing feeling one has for someone - may it be a child, lover or friend.
Q: Who writes most of the music and lyrics for the band? Do you work separately or is it a group effort?
Fred: It is a group effort.Lyrics are written by Hunter [Kennedy] and Pierre [Greeff], and the music is written by everybody.
Q: Artwork wise, you guys are very eclectic. How much input do you have into the artwork that you put out there?
Fred: We have a lot of input in the artwork, and it is treated as a brief of sorts. Once the designer has been briefed on what we want for the design, there is constant feedback to and fro between us and the designer, until we have something we can all dig.
Q: You have a DVD coming out soon; would you like to tell us a bit more about that?
Fred: It was shot at the beautiful Paul Cluver wine farm in Elgin. It is not your standard live DVD, and contains a lot of beautiful footage of the surrounding areas.
Q: You have played shows at venues ranging from highschools to nighclubs. I have seen many ‘tannies’ singing along to your music at shows, while standing next to younger alternative kids. Who exactly is your target market?
Fred: We have never really had a specific target market in mind when producing music, so it is great to have fans across the age spectrum.
Q: Who is the prankster in the band?
Fred: Hunter Kennedy.
Q: What else are you planning for the rest of 2013 as a band?
Fred: We plan to play a lot of shows in and around South Africa and a European tour is in the works.
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