03 November 2006
High-riding South African Afro-Fusion band, Freshlyground, has won the 2006 Best African Act at the 13th annual MTV Europe Music Awards.
The Awards took place in Copenhagen, Denmark on Thursday, 2 November 2006.
Freshlyground was formed in Cape Town in 2002. The band members hail from different countries in the SADC region, namely South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The band is made up of Zolani Mahola (lead vocals), Simon Attwell (flute, mbira, harmonica), Kyla Rose Smith (violin, vocals), Petert Cohen (drums), Julio Sigauque (acoustic guitar), Josh Hawks (bass guitar) and Aron Turest Swartz (keyboard, vocals, percussion), the magnificent seven are SAMRO members in their own right.
"We would like to express our heartfelt congratulations to Freshlyground on achieving the prestigious accolade. This has definitely provided an impetus in terms of putting African music on the map. Afterall, creativity and innovation are important values for SAMRO members and we are pleased to be associated with the band as we feel that they are unique." A statement from the organisation read.
The Best African Act category is in its second year in the show.It comprises five of Africa’s finest contemporary musicians. The 2005 award was won last year by Nigeria’s 2-FACE Idibia.
This year, Freshlyground eclipsed their African counterparts such as P-Square (Nigeria), Nameless (Kenya), Juma Nature (Tanzania) and Anselmo Ralph (Angola).
Another South African hopeful, Zamajobe, was one of nominees in 2005 in Lisbon, but the accolade eventually went to Innocent "2face" Ujah Idibia of Nigeria.
Launched in 1994, the MTV Europe Music Awards were established by MTV Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. The awards are presented annually and broadcast live on MTV Europe, MTV and most of the International MTV channels.
