Kirky van Kirkwood, an exciting new voice in the Afrikaans Music Scene, releases her catchy debut single: 'Wie sê `n vrou kan nie boer nie.'

By Underground Press

Published Saturday, 21 May 2022 06:56

Kirky van Kirkwood (Christine Swart) and her family farms with citrus in Kirkwood. She says: “I have always wanted to be outdoors, on the farm and in nature. As a kid, I used to be a bit of a tomboy. Activities like fishing and motorcycling were at the top of my list those years. I also enjoyed writing songs and making music from an early age. At one point, I persuaded some school friends to start a band. It didn’t last long, but it sure did ignite my big dream to be a singer.”

After matric Kirky studied to become a teacher in Wellington. She realized, after completing her studies, that this is not what she actually wanted to do. Her time in Wellington was important, though, in how it shaped her path toward her music career. It is here where she started making more music with friends around fires and at special events. She says: “The smiles and happiness on everyone's faces while hearing their favourite songs gave me such a warm feeling of joy. I then started dreaming again about the possibility of a singing career…”

Back home Kirky started working as a manager on a neighbouring citrus farm. Three years later, the COVID-19 lockdown happened. She found this time of isolation to be incredibly rewarding. “It gave me time to be more creative and this inspired me to the point where I resigned from my work. I did not have a clear vision yet as to how things will be rolling out, but I knew that I wanted to seek a path of fulfilment rather than duty.

So, I took a leap of faith.

Step 1 was to write songs. Songs about my 27 years on earth so far: the good the bad and the ugly. Six months later I had a whole bunch of new songs. Step 2 was to reach out to someone in the music industry to help me fine-tune and record my songs. I was incredibly excited when the renowned musician, Loki Rothman agreed to be on board.

We started working almost right away. It took quite a while to get to the song that had the right feel for my debut track. Loki and I had many conversations about my life and my viewpoints and in one of these sessions, he came up with the line: 'Wie sê `n vrou kan nie boer nie.' (Who says a woman cannot be a Farmer.) That was it!

This song means so much more to me than just the literal meaning. Yes, for me it`s to the point, but I feel that it is relevant to all women in some way. Who says a woman can`t be a School Principal or head up a multi-million-dollar business or change their own flat tyres? Believe in yourself and in your capabilities as a woman.”

The video for 'Wie sê `n vrou kan nie boer nie' was filmed by Jaco Nothnagel from Go2 Content and his team at the farm Habata near Robertson. Kirky says: with the video we wanted to show that a woman can fill many shoes in society. She can work hard on the farm and dress up to host a dinner all on the same day. Jaco and his team exceeded my expectations. The shoot was a fabulous day – and memorable too as my first time in front of a rolling camera. I cannot wait to share the song and video with everyone!”