Fulka

Members: Ola Kobak (Singer, Songwriter, Banjo, Piano, Accordian, Guitar), Jacob Israel (Drums, Synthesizers, Electronics),  Corné Roodt, Christian Henn, Jean-Louise Nel (Viola)
Website: fulka.bandcamp.com; Facebook page

Fulka is the stage and recording name of folktronica singer-songwriter, Ola Kobak. Ola Kobak was raised in a polish home in Pretoria, South Africa. The name Fulka derives from a germanic noun meaning “people” or “army”.

Ola was born 19 September 1985. She was raised just outside Pretoria, in Centurion, where her father worked as a full time session musician playing for the likes of Natalie Cole, Luck Dube, Mango Groove and many musical theatre productions such as Chicago and Hairspray.
Her father and mother arrived in South Africa with 50 dollars and no ability to speak English or Afrikaans.

Ola grew up with a background in music starting at the age of four when her grandfather in Poland taught her traditional polish, folk songs and rhymes. Her love for music grew and when she was in primary school, she was playing piano and was in the school orchestra as well as the choir. When she was 13, she sang for Nelson Mandela at the OR Tambo airport (then, the Jan Smuts airport), in a hanger and infront of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund airplane. Ola graduated with a honours degree in Information Design at the University of Pretoria, after a decline in permission from her father, to study music.
After freelancing as a graphic designer and writing songs for two years, Ola is freelancing in design aprt time and focusing on her music. Ola Kobak married Jacob Israel on the 9th May 2009 and currently resides with her husband in Arcadia.

Basic info:

The following members have become part of the fulka project. These members appear on the debut album, live gigs and future recordings.

1. Ola Kobak – A singer, songwriter and banjo-player, who has plucking guitar skills, banging piano chord talent along with polish harmonic accordion melodies sourced from her heart.

2. Jacob Israel – An ex-arctic polar bear with expertise in drum beats, vintage synthesizers and production.

3. Corne Roodt – A mulit-talented boere musician gifted in playing piano, guitar, bass, drums, accordion, banjo, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

4. Nicole Van Heerden – she is thegirlwiththesexyshoes.blogspot, sometimes known as Nak. She has a nak for fashion and is currently throwing threads into the Fulka mix.

5. Nicola Wheeler – A movie loving, special effects makeup artist who loves transforming others whether it is using a brush or latex!

Additional guests (on special occasions):

6. Zbyszek Kobak – The father of Ola Kobak, an ex-refugee that fled communist Poland back in the early 80′s who finished his master’s degree in trombone.

Facebook
Press Contact/General Manager/Booking Agent: Loraine – 073 162 3748

Be Sociable, Share!