From Waka Waka to the MBA – Simon Attwell talks Freshlyground relaunch and his hope for SA’s future

Simon Attwell has always appreciated the business side of music. As a 12-year-old, he was playing his flute in restaurants, doing popular numbers from the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber. This classically-trained musician would go on to co-found and manage one of South Africa’s biggest musical acts – the band Freshlyground – which along with Shakira, created the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup theme song Waka Waka (It’s Time for Africa), which became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Freshlyground was disbanded in 2019 after lead singer Zolani Mahola started a solo career. “We were in a good space when Zolani left, we’d had discussed her departure and understood that she had her own journey,” recalls Simon who also played in the band. However, over the past few years, he had been receiving on average an enquiry a week from people interested in booking Freshlyground. “People still wanted to hear from the band,” he says. “Beyond the obvious commercial interest, there was also a desire from the rest of the band members to be in that space again.”

When the band was presented with an opportunity to take on a new lead singer, they were delighted to meet local singer Mbali Makhoba, a 19-year-old from Hout Bay who had done quite a bit of recording already.

With Mbali on board, the question is if the new Freshlyground will be the same as the old Freshlyground? Hopefully not, says Simon. “There will be some elements that are familiar, but we are being led by Mbali too,” he says. “Musically, we have always collaborated as a group, starting with riffs and ideas and seeing what that leads to. Mbali is fearless and has so many ideas and a vitality that is wonderful to work with.”

Freshlyground played its first gig on 16 November at the Armchair Theatre in Observatory, coincidentally the first venue the band ever played in. “So we are going back, coming full circle in a way,” says Simon.

It is the first of many circular journeys for Simon, who was born in South Africa, but raised in Zimbabwe. He trained as a classical flautist, playing in the Zimbabwean National Orchestra, before studying music in the UK. He came back to South Africa, eventually doing an Honours in English Literature. For a long time, he did not play an instrument but being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 21 made him take stock of his life, and he went back to his first love—music.

This was when Freshlyground was created with other band members Kyla-Rose Smith, Aron Turest-Swartz, Peter Cohen, Justin Tonkin, and Josh Hawks. It was once Zolani joined them, that Freshlyground fine-tuned their recognisable Afro-fusion sound that South Africans came to love, producing hit songs like “Doo Be Doo.” But the talented Simon has also had other irons in the fire.

During the hiatus with Freshlyground, he founded another group called Congo Cowboys, which has toured internationally and allowed him to explore the musical range of the banjo. He is also involved in other music management gigs like assisting running the Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts. As if this isn’t enough to keep him busy, Simon is a qualified mediator who enjoys solving corporate and commercial conflicts.

At first glance, the interest in mediation does not seem to have a lot in common with music, but Simon reveals that as manager for Freshlyground, he had to look at a lot of contracts and negotiate some tricky conversations. It led to a professional qualification in mediation. His approach is calm and almost collaborative—similar to how a band approaches the creation of new music or a song.

“Being an artist sometimes means inhabiting a lot of different roles, and these include positions like marketing, contracts and deal distribution,” he adds. It's perhaps appropriate therefore that the launch of Freshlyground coincides with his going back to university again, this time to study for an MBA at Henley Business School Africa. It was Johnny Clegg’s drummer, Barry van Zyl – who himself has an MBA from Henley and now teaches on the programme – got Simon interested in the idea over a chat on flight.

“He was telling me Henley’s new ventures around creativity and innovation, which sounded interesting.”

Simon doesn’t know where his MBA will take him yet. It may be to develop something in community upliftment through music or online mediation, or something completely different. What he does know, is that he is positive about the future for South Africa and keen to play his role in it.

“I think that with the Government of National Unity (GNU), there is now this sense of quiet optimism. I look around Cape Town and see all this construction and it feels like growth is happening everywhere.”

This is true for the music scene too, he says. “South Africans are an emotional bunch. We are always expressing ourselves through song and dance, whether it is to celebrate, mourn, or even protest. Music is a part of us and our music makes us proud to be South African.” He adds, “It is easy to feel overwhelmed when we think of the crime and the poverty and the unemployment. But music can lift our spirits and remind us of our unique African heritage and our ability to hear the music wherever we are.”