The unique music style and soothing voice of Joshua na die Reën captivated listeners ever since the first notes of his debut album, “Joshua na die Reën”, in 2014. Ghoema music awards for Newcomer of the Year and Best Contemporary Male Artist, plus a Huisgenoot Tempo award for Best Newcomer, a Woordfees award for Best Solo Artist and theme songs for various films, television programmes and campaigns, saw the start to a successful career.
His success is celebrated this year with
the release of a new album written and
composed by this talented musician.
Lyrics and music that will give you
goosebumps best describes Joshua na die Reën’s new album, “Die Wêreld Binne My”
(The World Inside Me). His velvet voice
is surrounded by interesting combinations of contemporary sounds and
instruments, that was combined with great care to produce an end product that
will captivate his fans once again.
“Ek is gebou, jy is gebou en die Wêreld
binne my is in afwagting oor jou. Kom hardloop deur my woude, kom swem hier in
my see. Wees somer oor my berge, want dis hier waar jy regeer - ek in jou en jy
in my...” are lyrics from the single, Die Wêreld Binne My, that will be
released soon by radio stations across the country. This song is a blend of compelling truths of
life that will cause some reflection and moving melodies that will have you
humming along.
“The title song is basically a combination
of what I would like to say with every song on the album. That is all-in-one,”
says Joshua na die Reën.
The song themes on the new album differ
from the first album, which were about hope and dreams, but this time the theme is of a more personal nature and
are about the world inside each individual.
Joshua na die Reën explains through the
song titles,“Over the ‘Heuwels & Berge’, the ‘Stof & Sterre’, the
‘Droogte’, the times that everything feels ‘Stroomop’, the times when one
dreams and the beauty in it all... the good and the bad times. The genre however remains Stadium Rock”.
He continues by saying, “Ever since we
completed the first album, the theme of the new album has been churning in my
head, being that there exists a world
within each one of us that will never be understood by anyone. Our purpose is to allow other people into our
own space so that together we can walk a path of appreciation regardless of our
differences. Scenes from nature and
people’s stories inspire me but it all came home the day I realised that the
difficult times in one’s life is more often the best gifts if only you decide
to appreciate it and learn from it, otherwise it may turn into your biggest
foe, awaiting you at every turn.”
There are sixteen original introspective
tracks on the CD, of which the lyrics have been completed over a year ago, but
over time they all developed and grew into hit songs that will be life
changing.
“The greatest challenge is to always get
the specific emotion across of what I feel when I experience the things I sing
about. So things were done a little
differently with this album. A variety
of sounds and instruments were used to create the feeling and image we wanted
to portray. The challenge was to not
lose any effects during the mixing and mastering processes, which resulted into
an extended mastering process of nearly seven months but ensuring that the
listener will be treated to the full effect.
I am very pleased with what the producer, Ben Ludik, and my brother,
Pierre de Villiers, have done with this project. It is seldom that you find people that will
give their all and I am very thankful.
Additionally, the voice recordings were not done in studio. I personally made recordings with my
microphone and laptop as and when I felt the inspiration and that in itself was
very special”, says Joshua na die Reën.
Although he does not want to make a
personal exception, Joshua na die Reën believes that listeners will appreciate
the title track Die Wêreld Binne My, Stroomop, Stof & Sterre en Dromers the
most. The theme songs from the Afrikaans
movies, Vir Altyd, as well as Voshaarnooi and Ballade vir ‘n Enkeling, also
forms part of the playlist.
One of his longtime dreams came true when
the album was recorded in collaboration with the TUKS Camerata Choir. During 2015 they performed together in a
number of concerts under the auspices of Michael Barret, and decided to
incorporate the choir in the recordings of Die Wêreld Binne My. On the 13th of March 2016, the choir
performed with Joshua na die Reën in the Aula Theatre at the University of
Pretoria, to introduce the public to the full repertoire of the album. “It was such a privilege to work with the
choir. This was something that I really wanted to do. The dimension that was created, reverberates
like an age old echo. It will be a dream
come true to tour the country with the choir sothat the public can experience
the effect of this brilliant choir accompanied by a band”.
Joshua na die Reën has, apart from
Huisgenoot Skouspel, shared the stage with well known artists such as Elvis
Blue, Jak de Priester, Amanda Strydom, Laurika Rauch, Richard van der
Westhuizen, Die Heuwels Fantasties and many others and hope to still work with
many other musicians to gain valuable experience. Other items on his wishlist is to do an
overseas tour and to perform a song with Elvis Blue. But for now, the focus will be on new music
videos and the marketing of the new album.
As an artist, Joshua na die Reën believes
that music can express emotion when words fail, as is the case with Die Wêreld
Binne My, which forms a collection of moving soulful music that invites you to
open your heart and undertake the journey of humanity. This indeed can only add
to the winning recipe of Joshua na die Reën.
Comments
Post a Comment