EXCLUSIVE! Jacques Terre'Blanche talks about Droomvrou and what makes him cry

After Jacques Terre'Blanche released the amazing Afrikaans song DROOMVROU, we called him up to find out how he is doing and why go for Afrikaans music.

“I'm a bit of a cry baby when it comes to watching anything remotely sad.” – Jacques Terre'Blanche

Why did you now decide to write an Afrikaans song and venture into the Afrikaans music side? Well as most of you might know, my father was Afrikaans. We grew up with English as our first language due to the fact that my mother is English speaking and she happened to win that battle. My father was forever on my case about writing and performing Afrikaans music. Since my dad’s passing just over a year ago now, it only seemed fitting to introduce the first Afrikaans song he ever played for me to the Afrikaans audience. I look forward to this new journey and am very excited to carry on writing and exploring the new market.

Tell me more about the start and meaning of your beautiful song, Droomvrou. Well as I mentioned, my father introduced me to this song when I was very young. Being the hopeless romantic he was, he used to tell me that the words to DROOMVROU was indeed the perfect love letter to the girl he never knew. I used to ask, "what about mom?" He used to hush me and say, "every man is allowed to dream!" 

I understand there are more Afrikaans music in the work for you - awesome news! Can you tell our readers how many Afrikaans songs you are planning to release this year? Yes, I am working very closely with my team at Select Musiek and we are coming up with some beautiful pieces. I am busy recording the next 2 singles at the moment and hope to release the follow up within the next 2 months.

And the much anticipated question: how about an Afrikaans CD? Well, if all goes according to plan with these next few releases, a full album is definitely in the pipeline. Considering the fact that the Afrikaans audience have embraced DROOMVROU the way they have, I see this being a very strong possibility.

Where did you love for Afrikaans started? My father being an Afrikaans speaking man, always had a beautiful taste in Afrikaans music. It's really thanks to him that I finally saw the light and decided to take it on. I know he'll be looking down very proudly, so this is also very much for him.

Why do you think it's more difficult to break the English market, or the Afrikaans music market? I think in this day and age, if you are capable of applying true emotion to your work, it should relate in any language. This is something I have come to learn. I have had great success with radio play in the English market, but at times found it to be too saturated. I am proudly South African and simply just want to create quality music, be it Afrikaans or English.

Besides music, what are you big plans for the rest of the year (seeing that we are almost halfway in 2016)? My company JT productions is always very busy developing talent and guiding up and coming artists into the music scene. So that always keeps me busy. Always busy gigging here there and everywhere, from bigger corporate functions to random public work, making sure I'm always on the go.

Tell us something about Jacques Terre'Blanche that fans don't know? I'm a bit of a cry baby when it comes to watching anything remotely sad.  I think what gets me the most is when I see hard work pay off.  When I see pure emotion and talent demonstrated in a humble fashion, I'm finished.

What do you call home? My safe haven. My reflecting tank. The one place I get to just put all my ducks in a row.

Who do you share you home with? Since the passing of my father, I currently reside with my mother and my girlfriend. As soon as mom is strong enough, we'll once again part ways as far as living is concerned.

Musos say that the local music scene and CD sales are on the decline. What do you think of this and what measures would you take to make sure you are  at the top of your game? This is definitely true. The trick is not to be fussy when it comes to work. We need to all drop the egos and take on any kind of work, whether it's glam or not. The digital market has grown substantially within the last few years, as long as you're working and showcasing your talent wherever, you're bound to find some sort of recipe that works for sales. Also, radio play is essential for any artist! Adequate air play, adequate digital sales.

Going back to your Idols roots, looking back at that, how has things changed since then for you? Well my whole life changed really. It catapulted me into the industry and lead me to making some really important connections. It's been a crazy ride, and I’ve enjoyed every second.

There are a lot of criticism for music reality shows like Idols, The Voice - what are your thoughts on this? I personally believe, credit where credit is due. If the shows create authentic new talent in this industry, then that is naturally a great thing. I think production quality is always something we could improve on, but that comes with time.

Your favourite song to sing in the shower is...Fly me to the moon. :)

What CD is currently playing in your car? All my rough single mixes. The stuff I'm working on right now. Making notes and studying what needs to be done next. Bit of a perfectionist.

Your song and artist for 2016... Coldplay - Everglow. My favourite band and I would love to sit with Chris Martin and write. It's on the bucket list. 

Your most embarrassing moment ever... Well one that springs to mind is me singing the national anthem at Monte Casino before one of the World Cup matches with absolutely no sound coming through the PA. I just carried on in pure silence for the duration of the song for a crowd of 2000. Not a great moment.

Weirdest fan encounter... I had a fan once come to one of my birthday gigs. He set up a party table in the middle of the night club that I was playing at. This table consisted of party hats for toddlers, creamsoda lucky packets and so much more. He stood on his own at his party table the whole night. I think people in the club at the time, honestly though they were seeing things. Bazar to say the least. :)

Any other hidden talents? Love my sport and play a lot of league and tournament squash. Also love to cook and pretty much take on anything that's entails creativity.