SA PROMO reviewed Zinkplaat’s ‘Mooi Besoedeling’ CD in the January 2010 issue. Sue Northam spoke to them to find out more about their third album and its innovative packaging as well as asking about the letter ‘B’ and their plans for 2010.

Mooi Besoedeling is Afrikaans for ‘pretty pollution’.

What was the thinking behind the name of the latest album? 

Mooi Besoedeling is one of the first songs that we wrote for this album. We think that humanity is a kind of beautiful pollution on this planet and as a band we relate to the concept of being beautiful yet ugly at the same time. We are critical about things but always hopeful. It's about potential and hope, desperation and sadness.

What has the response been to the silver 'scratch card' album cover?

The CD cover is posted on blogs and packaging sites by designers all over the world! We told our designers, Fanakalo that we want something that has never been done and they did exactly that. It is unique and interactive and fits well with the Mooi Besoedeling concept.

Do you have English fans or do you market yourself to mostly Afrikaans audiences?

We were the only Afrikaans band invited to 2007's Splashy Fen and we had a ball and the support was really great. Here and there we get a couple of souties diggin' the vibe! We don't really market ourselves to any audience. 

Why do all the band members have first names beginning with B - Basson Laubscher, Bertie Coetzee, Beitel van der Merwe en Beer Adriaanse?

It just happened like that, we thought about changing our name to Blinkplaat, but Z just had a better feel to it.

Tell me about your overseas tours

We played at the Immergroen Festival in 2009. We had other dates lined up in London and Amsterdam, but because of problems with visas we had to cancel them. The response was awesome at the festival and the crowd was awesome, even though the festival had some hiccups with line-ups and visa problems. We also toured London in 2006 with Valiant Swart and we are busy with plans to return in 2010 with Mooi Besoedeling.

What are your plans for 2010?

We are busy planning a tour to the UK and Europe. We will bring out two or three music videos and tour everywhere. We are planning a collaboration with Tidal Waves for the Stellenbosch Woordfees and loads of other festivals all around South Africa and hopefully Southern Africa. We will bring out our new album before the end of 2010.