Freshlyground

Freshlyground
Background information
Origin	Cape Town, South Africa
Genres	Folk Afropop Jazz Indie rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Sony BMG Africa Freeground Records
Associated acts	Shakira, Zolani Mahola, Kyla-Rose Smith
Website	freshlyground.com
Members	Zolani Mahola Simon Attwell Peter Cohen Kyla-Rose Smith Julio Sigauque Josh Hawks Seredeal "Shaggy" Scheepers

Freshlyground is a South African Afro-fusion band that formed in Cape Town in 2002. The band members variously hail from South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Freshlyground's musical style blends elements of traditional South African music (such as kwela and African folk music), blues, jazz, and features of indie rock.

Freshlyground released their debut album, Jika Jika, in early 2003. The commercial success of this album ultimately kick-started their career and re-affirmed their reputation as a fresh and vibrant young face in South African music. The much-needed exposure from the album resulted in an invitation for the band to perform at both the Harare International Festival of the Arts and the Robben Island African Festival. This album was remixed by Keith Farquharson, remastered by Chris Athens and re-released in 2008. They are best known for their performance Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) sung with Shakira which received worldwide recognition. The music video - featuring the group - also received over 1.14 billion views on YouTube.

Early in 2004, Freshlyground participated in the opening of Parliament of South Africa by performing before President Thabo Mbeki in an event organised as a celebration of ten years of democracy in South Africa.

At the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), Freshlyground performed with Zimbabwean musician Oliver Mtukudzi.

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