After a very successful 10 years with the Afrikaans band Zinkplaat, Basson Laubscher has finally released his first album with his band Basson Laubscher & the Violent Free Peace. During his first show of the US Woordfees, Laubscher got the crowd at De Akker dancing on tables and aims to do the same with his two upcoming shows.
Basson Laubscher & the Violent Free Peace started off as a fun project, and according to Laubscher, the idea of producing albums was not necessarily what the aim was.
“I basically just wanted an outlet to play Blues,” Laubscher says. “When we first started booking shows, Fred den Hartog was still playing drums for us.”
Den Hartog is especially famous for his role as guitar player in Die Heuwels Fantasties and according to Laubscher it was also thanks to him that the band got their name.
“We were sitting outside Fred’s mother’s house one day when he said ‘die wrede vrede’ (the cruel peace)”, Laubscher tells. “At first I thought it was really cool, but then I realized we wanted to be an English band.”
It was not long after this conversation that the band decided to name the band The Violent Free Peace.
Basson Laubscher & the Violent Free Peace recently released their debut album ‘Testify’. PHOTO: Provided
The sound of his new album Testify is a mixture of blues and rock ‘n roll. According to Laubscher the name of the album came to him when he realised that blues originated in churches.
“I also feel that alternative music needs to be ‘preached’ seeing that it is so difficult to get your music out there,” Laubscher says.
“Radio does not support you, labels do not support you. So, you kind of feel like a wandering preacher. It comes down to the cliché of ‘one man with a guitar against the world’,” he adds.
Laubscher describes the music on his new album as very natural and says that he tries to keep the balance between a natural musician and the stereotypical frontman personality to get the crowd moving.
“Keeping the balance is still something I am working on,” he says. “But I do feel that I am already about 80% there.”
He also says that people tend to not believe him when he says it is easier to perform in front of a crowd of 200 000 people compared to any small show.
“If you have a lot of people together for a festival, the communal spirit is already so high because they are waiting for something to happen,” he says. “Having to play in front of 50 people who sit there critically watching you, is a lot harder.”
Basson Laubscher & the Violent Free Peace have made an appearance at the Up The Creek Festival and according to Laubscher he would love to perform at more festivals.
Basson Laubscher is now a solo artist and performs blues and rock ‘n roll music with his band, Basson Laubscher & the Violent Free Peace. PHOTO: Louise Pieterse
Laubscher kicked of his US Woordfees shows on a high note on Saturday 3 March, where he got the crowd at De Akker singing along whilst covering the famous Juno soundtrack “All I Want Is You”, by Barry Louis Polisar.
Joining him for this cover was Dr. Schalk van der Merwe, bass guitar player and lecturer at Stellenbosch University, violinist Wilken Calitz and Ruben Swart on the cajón.
After being used to playing in a four-man-band for a decade, it is amazing to see how Laubscher still manages to pull in the crowd as a solo artist with a new look and sound. According to Laubscher his years of playing guitar for Zinkplaat ensured this musical maturity.
“It was with Zinkplaat that I discovered my trade and how to write songs,” Laubscher says. “Zinkplaat also taught me a lot about working with other people.”
He does, however, describe the transition to a solo artist as challenging.
“Not only is the pressure more, but it is also challenging to become comfortable with the frontman role,” he adds.
Laubscher will be performing at Bloekomhoek on 8 March and will be ending of his Woordfees shows at De Akker on 9 March.
5 Things to know about Basson Laubscher:
- He would love to perform at the American music festival, Mountain Jam.
- He describes himself as being somewhat of an introvert.
- Releasing his first solo album is one of the biggest achievements of his musical career.
- He wanted to become a pilot when he was younger.
- He loves country music.