PLATTELANDERS, written and produced by Muller Brandt and Michael van der Walt, was created when the news platform was looking for a theme song for their radio drama of the same name.

"The sound had to be uniquely Afrikaans, but also appeal to a broader audience," says Susan Lombaard, CEO of MAROELA MEDIA. "[It is] tongue-in-cheek, positive and cheerful."

"Michael and Muller are both very talented musicians who like working together. Their sound is truly unique to the Afrikaans culture and they have a good sense of humour. That's why they were the perfect artists for the job and they certainly do not disappoint," adds Lombaard.

The singers say that they tried to create a typical picture of how things would go in a small farming community, in the hope that everyone who has lived in (or visited) a small town, at some point, would be able to relate.

The end result is a catchy upbeat dance number that, with the use of various instruments such as the harmonica, manages to perfectly capture the typical Afrikaans community. According to MAROELA MEDIA, it also reminds us that although life happens and news is not always positive, tragedy often has the ability to bring us closer together.

"It is a great honour and privilege for us to be part of this project," says Brandt and van der Walt. "We really love the people at MAROELA MEDIA and what they stand for, because we also share their love for Afrikaans, people and the Lord."

"We both work hard at advancing our music careers, and hopefully the launch of the song will help us to establish ourselves as songwriters. Writing more songs is one of our main objectives and we are currently working on some new ideas," they add.

PLATTELANDERS was released to radio on Thursday, 3 October. It is also the theme song of MAROELA MEDIA’s new digital initiative, Maroela-fontein, which will be launched at the end of the year and it will encourage readers to become a part of this digital town.

"Afrikaans is much more than a language," Lombaard says. "It's a culture that millions of people in our country identify with. With PLATTELANDERS, we wanted to create a picture of who we are with sound and lyrics."

"We believe that every Afrikaans-speaking person will see something of himself or herself in the song. Our hearts beat in Afrikaans and with this song we take our dream, to bring together an Afrikaans-speaking community from different backgrounds and make them feel at home, a step further," adds Lombaard.

"We want to make them sing and laugh again and remind them of where they came from. We want to give them hope by creating a song that comes from community for the community," concludes Lombaard. 

For more information, visit www.maroelamedia.co.za. You can also follow MAROELA MEDIA on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of MAROELA MEDIA.