Frans Karoo kicks off 2023 with the release of his fourth single ‘Jou Lewe’ and he announces the title and release date of his debut solo Afrikaans album.
Frans has already released ‘O God’, ‘Die Breils’ and ‘Towerkop’ as tracks from his debut album, which will be released Wednesday, January 25th. The album is entitled ‘Braambos Radio’ and together with the announcement of the album, a 4th single ‘Jou Lewe’ has been released. The ‘Braambos Radio’ album is also now available to pre-save with all 4 tracks available on it.
Watch the lyric video for ‘Jou Lewe’
Frans explains what ‘Jou Lewe‘ is all about, saying “On the one hand, ‘Jou Lewe‘ is semi-biographical. It’s about my end. Different ways death came knocking on my door – guess what situations it was… On the other hand, ‘Jou Lewe‘ is about you. And your death. A theme that most people are afraid of and don’t like to talk about. We live in a country where one is confronted with death on a daily basis. Or your own or a friend or a family member. You can’t escape it. The Samurai meditated on their deaths every day. Each day focused, visualized and mediated in a different way death came to retrieve them. To most people, the meditation doesn’t sound like a fun game. It’s actually very liberating. Detach oneself from fear. Make one as light as a feather. I do this every now and then when I’m standing close to a case and can’t tell the tree apart from the bark. It works every time. The secret to the meaning of ‘Jou Lewe‘ is locked up in the last phrase of the last verse: ‘wat gaan jy doen as jy ‘n 2de kans kry’. In a nutshell, ‘Jou Lewe‘ is about gratitude.”
Why did Frans call his debut album ‘Braambos Radio’ and what does the album title mean to him?
“‘Braambos Radio’ refers first and foremost to the burning braambos in the old testament in the bible. That story in the beginning of Exodus about the bush that caught fire (but didn’t burn) and talks to Moses. According to the bible, it was YHWH (the Aryan Indians speak of Great Mystery when referring to ‘God’, I like it) that appeared to Moses with an important message or two. According to other interpretations, the burning braambos experience was a vision/hallucination that Moses saw because he smoked DMT. Either way, it’s an enigmatic, mystical, and psychedelic story that I love. ‘Braambos Radio’ is enigmatic, mystical and psychedelic stories broadcast from my landscape. Like the mirage on the horizon, things aren’t always as they promise to be. And the darkness of the Karoo night is more illuminated than sold. ‘Braambos Radio’ are stories from my landscape that I myself don’t always quite know what is truth or what is fiction. What is ‘hallucination’ or what is ‘reality’?”
Pre-Save ‘Braambos Radio’ album HERE
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