#MusicExchange: Wendy Oldfield is back with new single, upcoming album
“Home” is a rootsy exploration that finds Oldfield in a contemplative mood pondering matters of the soul further reinforced by Oldfield’s unmistakable voice, and feel.
“The lyrics inquire the listener to ask what home means to them: ‘Is it a place within, the walls in which we live within, is it the earth we’re sharing?’ It’s all and everything; it’s ‘home’. Recognising a place that you call home makes it home; it’s where you put your hands in the soil and your writing on the wall,” says Oldfield.
“Home” is produced by Matthew Fink and features Martin Schofield of WonderBoom fame.
Readers should remember Oldfield as the lead vocalist of SweatBand. In 1983, Oldfield helped form Sweatband. The band released two albums. The group's biggest hit was "This Boy", which reached number 15 on the official South African top 20 in September 1986.
In 1988, five years after the formation of the band, she left the group and started her own solo career in the music industry.
Oldfield first rose to fame with the release of her debut solo album, Beautiful World. This album won her the 1992 Oktave award for Best Female Vocalist. Her song "Miracle" was nominated for Song of the Year.
Her song "Acid Rain" charted twice on South African radio, first in the original studio version and then in an "Acid Remix”.
For a short while, she was involved with the band Mondetta (1999–2001), before releasing her fifth album Holy Water. At the ninth official South African Music Awards, she received a nomination for the Best of Adult Contemporary Award.
I chatted to Oldfield last week.
The new decade means:
Scaling down. Being free to move with opportunities available and continue to make more music.
Fame is about:
I see fame as a currency to be used and spent well. Don’t waste it, lose it or hold on to it. Be generous.
I don't do:
Backtracks; margarine; bad coffee.
What does music mean to you?
A deep sense of recognition, a joy from the outside in and the inside out.
My music is about:
Whatever is fermenting in my thought cupboard and decides to come out my mouth; social commentary mixed with earth stuff and our peculiar world observations.
I would love to co-write with:
Andrew Bird; Bongesizwe; Dave Mathews; Jose Field; Thapelo Khomo; Kate Bush; Lucinda Williams.
What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?
Writing songs and performing them. collaborating with inspiring humans. Sleeping late if I choose to.
The song you must do in every show:
The song I must do for the audience is “Acid Rain”.
Any funny moments on stage:
Too many! I was in the middle of a song on a low stage at a venue and someone asked me if I knew where the loos were. Losing a drummer in the middle of a song, finding him out on the ground - overzealous on the band tab.
My style icon:
Modesty Blaise
What is your most treasured possession?
My Marc Maingard guitar and my tree painting.
It’s your round, what are you drinking?
Tequila.
Dream gig to do:
Right now - anywhere that would have me! Future - Tuscany Hills.
What makes you stand out?
I’m still alive and performing. I’d like to think after this long I have developed a Wendy sound. My silver hair.
Nicknames:
Wendells; WendyO.
If you were not a musician, what would you do?
Act.
Pick five words to describe yourself?
Hilarious, kind, curious, out-of-the-box, fast-moving centre.
Five favourite SA albums of all time:
Mmalo-We - Bayete
Trains to Taung - Paul Hanmer
Diamond of the Day - Robin Auld
Sunny Skies - James Phillips and The Lurchers
iimini - Bongeziwe Mabandla
What song changed your life?
“This Boy” - Sweatband
Who do you love?
Mostly everybody.
What is your favourite word?
Joh
Favourite fashion garment:
My Camper Boxer boots.
Give us some real proper slang and what it means
I smaak their tunes, they’re lankiff. - I love their music, it’s very good.
What do you complain about most often?
MTN, don’t start me.
What is your fear?
Losing a loved one.
On stage, I tend to:
Disappear into a zone.
Where would you like to be right now?
Exactly where I am.
Do you do charity work and, if you do, what do you do?
I do. I have a few animal and earth causes that I know and trust.
Wishes and dreams:
Wishes, happiness for my children. Dreams, a few more albums.
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