By Marley
A couple of years ago, 2019 to be specific, we met this young guy at Lowveld Oktoberfest after a friend recommended watching Coenie Naude. I found a teacher by day and musician by night whose love for South African music was deep from the start. Fast forward to 2026, we’re still keeping tabs on Coenie, and this story is getting more interesting.
Besides releasing an album, “Waarde” in 2022 and 3 singles in 2026, namely “In Jou Lig”, “Voel Jy My” and “Geraas”, with the last-mentioned taking him on a new journey. It was recently announced that Coenie was selected in the Top 10 for the FAK competition for songwriters called Skryf’it. This competition is big in the Afrikaans music industry, and it gives songwriters from across the country the chance to work with mentors like Ampie, Danie du Toit (Spoegwolf), Andriette Norman, William Wolf en John-Hendry Opperman.
In between his radio work, kids, life and the Skryf It competition, I managed to get Coenie to have a sit-down with us.
STM: The last time we sat down for an interview it was in 2020 – you have come a long way since then. How is Coenie Naudé doing in 2026?
CN: Man, 2020 feels like another lifetime! A lot has happened in six years. There have been some incredible highs, some very difficult seasons, and I think I know myself a lot better now than I did back then. I have two beautiful boys and got married in May of ’26.
Music has taken me onto stages I used to dream about, radio has become a massive part of my life, and I’ve been fortunate enough to build a career where I basically get to work with sound, music and people every day.
I think I’m still figuring life out like everybody else, but I’m grateful. I’m writing, I’m performing, I’m on radio, and I still get excited when I pick up a guitar. That’s a pretty good place to be.
STM: You recently released a new song, “Geraas”. Tell us a little more about the story of the song?
CN: “Geraas” is probably one of the most honest songs I’ve released. For me, it’s about everything that becomes noise in your head: people’s opinions, expectations, your own doubts, the things you carry around that nobody else necessarily sees. Basically, my ADHD in a song. Eventually there’s so much noise that you almost struggle to hear yourself anymore.
I wanted the song to have that tension in it. It’s personal, but at the same time I think everybody knows what their own version of “geraas” looks like. And musically, I wanted it to feel like me. Guitars, energy, emotion – a little rough around the edges rather than something.
STM: From your songbook, which is your favourite to perform live?
CN: At the moment, probably “Geraas” and “Voel Jy My”. There’s something about playing a song live where you can physically feel the energy change. Those songs give me that. I can attack it a little differently every night, and I don’t feel like I have to reproduce the recording perfectly.
But I’ll always have songs that mean something completely different to me personally. Sometimes your favourite song and your favourite song to perform aren’t necessarily the same thing.
STM: You got to open for a few big names in the last few years – Francois van Coke, Danie Reënwolf – but who would be the ultimate act to open for?
CN: The most difficult question… haha
I love artists who make a live show feel bigger than simply playing the songs correctly. There needs to be something happening between the artist, the music and the crowd. On a local level, I’ve never had the honour of opening for Fokofpoliesiekar. That would be incredible.
Internationally? Foo Fighters. (But that’s just me dreaming)
STM: It’s safe to say Hunter Kennedy is one of your favourite songwriters in South Africa. What stands out for you, as a fellow songwriter, about Hunter?
CN: Hunter has this incredible ability to write something that sounds almost ridiculously simple until you actually sit down and look at what he’s done. He understands language. He understands rhythm and he understands that you don’t need ten complicated sentences when one strange, beautiful line can say everything.
There’s also a fearlessness to his writing that I really admire. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable, sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s incredibly vulnerable, but it sounds human. As a songwriter, that’s what I chase as well. I’d much rather write one line that makes somebody feel something than twenty lines showing them how clever I can be.
STM: What is your day job now? Last time we spoke you were still a teacher, but we know you’ve moved on from that.
CN: Very different world now! I left teaching and moved into radio full-time. I’m currently at Radio Laeveld 100.5FM, where I present the afternoon drive show, Die Middag Game Drive, and behind the scenes I’m also the head of the technical and production side of the radio station.
So, strangely enough, all these different parts of my life- studying sound engineering, performing, working with people all eventually found their way into one career. And radio is one of those industries where no two days are remotely the same. Which suits me perfectly because I don’t think I’d survive behind a desk doing the same thing every day.
STM: What is your favourite thing about being a radio presenter?
CN: The connection. There’s something very strange and special about sitting behind a microphone and knowing there are people in cars, offices, homes and shops listening to that conversation. And radio is immediate. Someone can be having the worst day of their life, and maybe for three minutes you make them laugh. Or you play a song that takes somebody straight back to a memory they haven’t thought about in fifteen years. You don’t always get to see the effect you’re having, but you know those little moments are happening. That still fascinates me.
STM: What are your dreams/goals still as a musician?
CN: There are plenty. I still want to play more intimate shows, and also bigger stages. I want to release a body of work that I can look back on one day and genuinely be proud of. I want people to know the songs, not necessarily just know my name.
I’d also love to tour properly and take the music around South Africa. If I’m still writing songs, releasing music and playing to people twenty years from now, I’ll consider that a pretty successful music career.
STM: As a musician in the Lowveld, what do you think we need more of?
CN: Original music venues.
We have an unbelievable amount of talent in the Lowveld, but musicians need places where audiences actually come to discover music. There are plenty of opportunities to play covers, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but we need more stages where somebody can stand up and say, “This is a song I wrote,” and the audience actually wants to hear it. We also need artists supporting artists more. Go to each other’s shows. Share each other’s music. Collaborate. A music scene doesn’t magically appear.
The musicians, venues and audiences build it together.
STM: When Coenie can chill, what is your favourite thing to do? Netflix and chill?
CN: Haha, I am absolutely capable of doing nothing! Netflix, series, movies: definitely. But honestly, a lot of my downtime somehow ends up involving music anyway.
I’ll pick up a guitar with absolutely no intention of writing anything and then two hours later there’s a voice note on my phone called something ridiculous like “NEW SONG 47”. I also really enjoy just switching everything off and spending time with the people I love. My everyday life can get incredibly noisy, so I’ve started appreciating boring, quiet evenings much more than I used to.
STM: I know your sons are a huge inspiration to you. What do they think of Dad singing and playing guitar?
CN: They are my whole life. I don’t know what they think as they’re still young, but I hope that it teaches them not to be afraid to have a voice. Whether that voice gets used for music or in corporate one day, just having them say what they need to say when it needs to be said is so important. Their dad is kind of a people’s pleaser and I do not wish this for anyone!
STM: One last question: what is next for you musically?
CN: More music. Definitely.
“Geraas” feels less like a destination and more like the beginning of the next chapter for me. I am proud to be in the Final rounds of the FAK Skryf’it songwriting competition. I’m writing quite a lot at the moment, and I think I’m finally getting closer to understanding exactly what I want a Coenie Naudé song to sound like. I’m less interested in chasing what is currently popular and much more interested in making music that feels unmistakably mine. There are new songs I’m incredibly excited about, more live shows, and hopefully a few collaborations along the way. The goal now is simple: write better songs, play bigger shows, and keep going.
You can follow the FAK Skryf’it competition online and follow Coenie online to see how this Lowveld musician’s journey pans out.
