MUSIC17 JUL 2026Francois van Coke on fatherhood, Fokofpolisiekar and finding new spaceFrancois van Coke, frontman of Fokofpolisiekar and a successful solo artist, reflects on how fatherhood has reshaped…Kibo Ngowi7 min read

The Sama-nominated rocker reflects on how becoming a father changed his songwriting, why revisiting a decade of solo work was unexpectedly emotional and what drives him to create after more than 20 years in music Francois van Coke has spent two decades fronting a band that changed the sound of Afrikaans music and building a solo career that stands entirely on its own. As Fokofpolisiekar’s frontman, he helped drag Afrikaans music out of its conservative, easy-listening comfort zone and into something louder and messier. He pioneered a genre that could hold rebellion and vulnerability in the same breath.

Born François Badenhorst in Bellville in 1980, he grew up in Cape Town’s northern suburbs before punk gave him a new name and a new outlet for feeling like an outsider in a fairly ordinary Afrikaans household. Twenty-three years and two parallel careers later, Van Coke is still writing. His 2025 solo album, Die Ruimte, has just picked up a Sama nomination for Best Rock Album, he dropped a documentary looking back on a decade of solo work earlier this year and his annual Francois van Coke & Vriende show returns to Pretoria’s SunBet Arena in October.

Plus Fokofpolisiekar is set to play Jägermeister Haus of Kühl in Johannesburg on 25 July. We spoke to him about fatherhood reshaping his songwriting, what it’s like revisiting 10 years of his own catalogue on camera and what keeps him motivated to continue making music. Congratulations on your Sama nomination for Best Rock Album. Looking back on that album Die Ruimte (The Space), what do you think it says about where you are at this point in your life and career?