Koos Kombuis (born ''André le Roux du Toit'', 5 November 1954) is a South African musician, singer, songwriter and writer who became famous as part of a group of anti-establishment maverick

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

musicians, who, under the collective name of ''Voëlvry'' (directly translated meaning "Free as a bird"; in Afrikaans "voëlvry" is often potentially "synonymous" to the words "fugitive" and "outlaw"), toured campuses across South Africa in the 1980s, to "''liberate Afrikaans from the shackles of its past''". Fellow musicians of this movement were Johannes Kerkorrel and Bernoldus Niemand (James Phillips). They were a younger generation

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

who didn't believe in

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

and didn't toe the ruling

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

line. This movement coined the term "Alternative Afrikaner" for themselves. Kombuis is something of an icon among certain

South Africans South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA. These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora. History The first modern inh ...

who consider him a guru of Afrikaans rock music and father of non-conformist Afrikaans culture.

Humorous stage name

Koos Kombuis is his humorous stage name as well as his pen name. Koos (sounding like "''koo-iss''") is a shortened version for the common name "''Jacobus''" / "''Jakobus''", but is also

slang for a

chamber pot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...

. Kombuis means "''Kitchen''" in

. His childhood nickname was "Koos", and he got his last name from a time when he apparently squatted in the kitchen of former drug-dealer and author Al Lovejoy. Du Toit started out as a poet and novelist in the early 1980s writing under the name André Letoit, to avoid confusion with other writers. Wanting something more colloquial-sounding for his musical career, he settled on Koos Kombuis. He has introduced an A in his stage name, now being Koos A. Kombuis. The A is for Andre, formed part of his first stage name, Andre le Toit. He claims the fact that the spelling of his initials, K.A.K ("shit" in Afrikaans), is purely coincidental.

Early life

Du Toit grew up in Riversdale,

Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Kuruman Kuruman is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is known for its scenery and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature that brings water from deep underground. The abundance of water produces an unexpected swathe of green ...

and in Bellville, before the family settled in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

(and later in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

), where he spent the last year of high school at

Paul Roos Gymnasium Paul Roos Gymnasium is a leading public dual medium (Afrikaans & English) high school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa, which opened on 1 March 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium. Described as South A ...

. After school, Du Toit did his compulsory military service: apparently he was so bad at shooting that he was posted in the

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

. After this, Du Toit went back to the fire brigade several times, the only job he claims he was never fired from (Kombuis 2000: 78). After the army, he wanted to study at the

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

with his childhood friends. However, he explained that "I tried to enrol at Stellenbosch. They didn't accept me. I had a bit of a reputation already. ''Punk skrywer en al hierdie k*k''. I decided to stay on the campus for three years anyway because the most important thing about varsity is human knowledge. I only went to two classes. My parents thought I was doing stories for ''Huisgenoot''". Allan, Jani. ''Sunday Times'' (South Africa). 9 July 1989 But his parents insisted he attend the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

instead. He left after two years, never finishing a degree, and moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

where he settled in an apartment in

Hillbrow Hillbrow () is an inner city residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is known for its high levels of population density, unemployment, poverty, prostitution and crime. It had a large and active Jewish commun ...

. Here he was involved in a lot of different fringe churches and religious denominations, but got increasingly worried about his own

mental Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama film starring Toni Collette * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action film starring Shakib Khan * ''Mental'', a 2008 docu ...

health. He finally went back to his parents in Pretoria and asked to get medical help. After seeing several psychologists and being severely medicated, the decision was taken to give him shock therapy. Du Toit claims that after ten treatments, he suffered

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

and effectively can't remember the year 1976 to date. After this treatment his parents had him committed to Weskoppies

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

(wrongly) diagnosed as having

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. This was decided after a questionnaire and a single

rorschach test The Rorschach test is a projective test, projective psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychology, psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists u ...

br>
After a year in a psychiatric ward, a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

realised that he wasn't sick, and he was discharged. He describes this as follows: "Tot my groot ontsteltenis het hy my dadelik ontslaan. Toe moes ek van voor af begin werk soek" ("To my great dismay, he discharged me on the spot. Then I had to start looking for a job all over again.") At this point he started sending his short stories to

weekly

Huisgenoot ''Huisgenoot'' (Afrikaans language, Afrikaans for ''Housemate'') is a weekly South African Afrikaans-language general-interest family magazine. It has the highest circulation figures of any South African magazine and is followed by sister magaz ...

, and spent the next few years as a freelance writer, publishing several novellas, volumes of poetry and short stories. His first (semi-autobiographical) novel ''Somer II'' ("Summer II") appeared in 1985. His next autobiography, ''Seks & Drugs & Boeremusiek: die memoires van 'n volksverraaier'' ("Sex, drugs and Boere (folk) musiek: the memoires of a national traitor") appeared in 2000. In this book he corrected many of the more far-fetched claims he made in ''Somer II''.

Musical style

He cites

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

as well as ex-Beatles

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

as musical influences. His musical style is raw, and Kombuis often accompanies himself only with his acoustic guitar, but sometimes uses his backing rock band known as "Die Warmblankes" ("The Almost Drunk / Mellow Whites"), a play on the Afrikaans word 'armblankes' (poor whites). One of his most popular hits is "''Lisa se Klavier''" ("Lisa's Piano"), which has been covered by

Laurika Rauch Laurika Rauch, (born 1 November 1950 in Cape Town) is a South African singer who performs in both Afrikaans and English. She had a hit single in 1979 with ''Kinders van die Wind'' (''Children of the Wind''), written by Koos du Plessis. The song ...

and

The Parlotones The Parlotones are a South African indie rock band hailing from Johannesburg, formed in 1998. The ensemble features Kahn Morbee on vocals and rhythm guitar, Paul Hodgson as lead guitarist, Glen Hodgson handling bass guitar, keyboards, and back ...

Discography

* '' Ver van die Ou Kalahari'' (1987) (as André Letoit) * ''Niemandsland and Beyond'' (1990) * ''Elke Boemelaar se Droom'' (1994) * ''Madiba Bay'' (1997) * ''Blameer dit op Apartheid'' (1997) * ''Mona Lisa'' (1999) * ''Greatest Hits'' (2000) * ''Blou Kombuis'' (2000, live with Albert Frost) * ''Equilibrium'' (2002) * n Jaar in die Son'' (2003) * ''Bloedrivier'' (2008) * ''Koos Kombuis'' (2009, self-titled) * ''dertien'' (2012) * ''Lente in die Boland'' (2013) * ''Langpad na Lekkersing'' (2017) * ''Nag Van Die Honde'' (2023)

Writings

Publikasies

* ''Brekfis met vier'' (1981) (as André le Roux du Toit with Etienne van Heerden, Peter Snyders and Daniel Hugo) ISBN 9780798145374 * ''Suburbia'' (1982) (as André le Roux du Toit, met reissue as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780628022080 * ''Nou's die Kaap weer Hollands'' (1982) (as André le Roux du Toit) ISBN 9780798114202 * ''My nooi is in 'n tikmasjien'' (1984) (as André le Roux du Toit) ISBN 9780628026477 * ''Kleingeld vir 'n terreurdaad'' (1984) (as André le Roux du Toit) ISBN 9780628028235 * ''Somer II: 'n plakboek'' (1985) (as André le Roux du Toit, with reissue as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780628026026 * ''Die geel kafee'' (1985) (as André le Roux du Toit, with reissue as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781869190330 * n Roos vir die Karoomeisie'' (1987) (as André le Roux du Toit) ISBN 9780799311716 * ''Suidpunt-jazz'' (1988) (as André le Roux du Toit, with reissue as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798144506 * ''Paradise redecorated'' (1990) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780620150200 * ''Die tweede reën'' (1998) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780620262774 * ''Koos se songs'' (1998) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798143554 * ''Seks & drugs & boeremusiek: die memoires van 'n volksverraaier'' (2000) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798171236 * ''My mamma is 'n taal'' (2001) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798141833 * ''Hotel Atlantis'' (2002) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798142755 * ''The secret diary of God: (aged 9 1/2 million trillion years)'' (2003) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781868726714 * ''Afrikaans my darling'' (2003) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798143660 * ''Raka, die roman'' (2005) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798145893 * ''Die dieper dors: 'n innerlike gesprek'' (2006) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798147330 * ''The complete secret diaries of God'' (2008) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798149785 * ''Die tyd van die kombi's: 'n persoonlike blik op die Afrikaanse rock-rebellie'' (2009) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798150996 * ''Short drive to freedom: a personal perspective on the Afrikaans rock rebellion'' (2009) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798150989 * ''Die reuk van koffie'' (2010) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780798151900 * ''i-Tjieng: 'n GPS vir verdwaalde siele'' (2013) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9780143538462 * ''Ver in die wêreld, sushi!'' (2015) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781770228818 * ''Blasjan en die Blou Kitaar'' (2018) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781485900481 * ''Vandag wil ek my blou skoene dra'' (2018) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781928426080 * ''Eben: die ellendige eenhoring'' (2019) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781928426684 * ''Hubert the Useless Unicorn'' (2019) (as Joe Kitchen) ISBN 9781928426677 * ''Help! My dorp hou 'n kunstefees!: 'n crazy komedie'' (2021) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781928530640 * ''Deur die tonnel van twyfel op soek na waardes in 'n donker eeu'' (2023) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 9781991256393 * ''Twitter dawn'' (2023) (as Joe Kitchen) ISBN 978177617280 * ''It's Always Friday Somewhere in the Universe'' (2023) (as Joe Kitchen) ISBN 978-1-991256-15-7 * ''The Death of History: An Eyewitness Account'' (2024) (as Koos Kombuis) ISBN 978-1-991256-86-7

References

External links

Official Koos Kombuis website

Koos Kombuis autobiography page

Koos Kombuis weblog

Koos Kombuis on Litnet
(in

) *
Afrikaans article about Koos Kombuis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kombuis, Koos 1954 births Afrikaner anti-apartheid activists Afrikaner people Afrikaans-language poets Afrikaans-language singers of South Africa Living people White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists South African political music artists University of Pretoria alumni Musicians from Cape Town Alumni of Paul Roos Gymnasium