Wow it's been a minute y'all. What an absolute wild ride this past year has been. At the start of 2023 I knew that I needed change, but hoooooollly I could have never been prepared for this. From starting to record my first EP in February to the release in April, saying goodbye to my home in South Africa and executing my first international exhibition for my day job in Munich in June, to then launching into the unknown in July it just blows me away how much can change in a year.
Now for a lil story time...
So as some of you may know, coming to Canada has been a lifelong dream of mine and something I've been waiting for more than a decade for. When my adopted Canadian Dad came into my life lil me would dream about seeing the Great White North everyday. She hung posters in her room, watched Canadian documentaries, and even followed Canadian politics! Each year there was this hope that was planted telling me that it would be the year. The year my life would finally begin. But that year never came. There was just always something standing in the way. I passed on so many opportunities in terms of education, employment, relationships, and even friendships because of this hope that never seemed to materialise.
THEN the end of 2019 approached and finally it was happening. I moved back home, helped my family pack the house, sell our furniture, and begin our exodus from South Africa. We had our visas and our plane tickets ready, but then 1 week before our scheduled departure in March 2020 COVID hit South Africa and the boarders went into full lock down. Really? At this point I completely gave up on the notion that I was ever going to see Canadian skies and after completing a 7 day water fast, I decided to pursue the one thing I have always wanted to: music. I figured if the world was going to end then it didn't really matter if I had the perfect song, perfect voice, and/or perfect brand ready. All I knew was that I loved to write and sing and I couldn't keep my songs in the closet any longer. In some sense COVID gave me time to really look at my life without the distraction of adulting pressures and forced me into the present moment, which inspired me to start posting my little homemade videos taken on my shitty phone. Then the world began to slowly start opening up nearing the end of 2020 and I moved back to Cape Town in search for better opportunities as an acoustic act. I performed my first ever open mic at The House of Machines in October, then my first paying gig at Station on Bree in September and the rest is history really. I went to every gig I could possibly go to, met as many musicians as possible, and began building a decent network and reputation. In 2022 thanks to my incredible booking agent Llewelyn Screen, I got a slot on South African National Television, performed my first ever showcase on Tales from the Lounge and even released my first single, which topped the South African Mix 93.8 FM top 40 chart for 9 weeks.
Sadly, around the recording and release of that single I fell into some pretty hardcore depression. After months of unemployment in Cape Town I finally managed to land a job in May that I thought could help fund my music career, but it ended up taking me away from my passion rather. I no longer had the energy or time for gigs and still was not making enough dough to make ends meet. Additionally, my family abruptly headed off to Canada due to an emergency and I was unable to join them because well my single was scheduled to come out, I had press interviews, shows, a launch event, a new job... the whole shabam. There was also uncertainty about whether they were going to stay in Canada or not and being a 25 year old without much to her name, I decided to make the "adult" decision and keep my job, release my single, and hopefully eventually join them afterwards should they decide to stay in Canada. They didn't at the time and so with this incredibly long-awaited dream shattered before my eyes I sunk into an incredibly bleak year. I ended up pulling the single down and got more invested in my day job with the mission to get to a position where I had real cash to invest in music properly. I was a very "do it right or don't do it at all kinda gal" and felt the money spent recording a song that I didn't have the funds to market/advertise was a waste. This strategy proved to be unsuccessful as I mentioned the job actually completely took me away from music and ate away my time. As bleak as it was though I can't deny that it helped me grow as an adult and developed my organisation, project management, and interpersonal skills which I know will help me in the long run with my creative aspirations. So I am still grateful for those lessons, regardless of how it drained my creativity.
THEN 2023 began and I reached a point where I was so sick and tired of being a sad victim of circumstance and decided to do whatever it took to get what I wanted: Canada and music. Haha. So I ended up performing as much as I could, picked up some freelance graphic design work, and worked as much overtime that my day job allowed to fund the recording of my first EP. Entering the busiest time of my life I was working more than 12 hours a day. Just to give ya an example I'd be up at 6am work from 8am-5pm heading up the marketing team and preparing for the company's first international exhibition. Then I'd come home do another 3-4 hours of freelance design work, then still spent an extra hour or two preparing the EP in terms of rehearsing, writing out a recording guide, writing a music video, organising the music video shoot, doing all my own branding like setting up my website, EPK, banners, business cards, ALLES (South African slang for eveything haha). OH did I mention I was also planning my EP launch event and rehearsed with a band multiple times during the week too. Oh and let's not forget the regular gigs I'd have over the weekends and a open mic I was hosting weekly to pull in some extra dough lol. OH AND I was packing up my entire life and preparing to leave South Africa for good. HAHAHA talk about a toxic grind. To this day I still am absolutely gobsmacked that I was able to pull any of that that off. Truly. I'd like to give my incredible support system a massive shout out for helping me make these dreams a reality namely Alexandre Ortscheit (cinematographer and partner in crime), Alanna Joy (bestie and colleague), Stanley Sibande (bestie and drummer), Adam Hansen (bestie and director), Charlie Charles (hommie and bassist) and everyone else that was along for the ride. Within 3 months my EP was launched, and within 5 months I lifted off to European skies leaving South Africa for the first time.
Elated, nervous, and content all at the same time I sat on that 8 hour flight to Munich in complete astonishment. It was actually happening. I didn't know how the heck I was going to get to Canada from Munich, but I knew that I was finally on my way.
Germany
Munich was an absolute dream. The atmosphere of the city encapsulated history and strength, the side walks buzzed with travellers and natives alike on a mission to somewhere, anywhere. Music echoed from the buildings and the sound of laughter never left the ears. I zoomed through the city on electric scooters and took my first underground subway! The beer - surprisingly cheaper than water - was unmatched and pretzel bread was my staple. Everywhere I turned it was like there was some kind of incredible event happening, either in the park or in the city. There was always something. It felt like anything was possible. The Englischer Garten was my favourite spot. I'd never experienced such a large gorgeous public park. It reminded me of Kirstenbosch Gardens (for my South African's reading this) but better haha. Cyclists zoomed through the park, people went on picnics, there were many beer gardens within the garden haha, aaaaaand there was even surfing!! The Eishbach River flowed through the park where people would surf and go swimming in the rapids! One of my favourite memories is jumping into the rapids with my bestie and colleague who was on the work trip with me. The trip culminated in a successful exhibition, memorable nights out, and picnics in the park. To this day it is my absolute favourite place in the world. I will cherish the three weeks I had there forever and cannot wait to return.
France
Concluding Munich I hopped on a train and headed to France! I travelled across the country with my partner in crime at the time and fell inlove with the gorgeous cafe's sprinkled on every corner in Paris. On the summer solstice the streets broke out into a celebration of music with sounds bouncing off the city walls wherever you turned. The Fête de la Musique. A night I will never forget. We then visited the iconic medieval city Tours and I saw my very first castle! The Château de Chenonceau. Walking through the aged cobbled streets of Tours and exploring the castle in the country side felt like I was teleported back in time. I actually even ended up doing a virtual interview with a South African radio station Mix 93.8 FM about my EP while I was physically at the castle haha! What a dream. As the summer progressed into one of the hottest summers France had ever seen - I mean all of the Northern Hemisphere really - we visited the beautiful city of Toulon in the South of France and I spent the last of my days in Europe soaking in the mediterranean coast.
America
July hit and I was on my way to Americaaaa! Excited to experience the 4th of July with some of my extended family at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware I landed safe and sound and ready for the next chapter of my adventure. Rehoboth was amazing! I got to know my extended family, see some fireworks and even watched a drag show! The rest of my time in the stated was an incredibly interesting experience. After the 4th of July vacay at Rehoboth I was immersed in the true American culture and stayed in York, Pennsylvania (the first capitol of the United States of America!). Unfortunately the heat wave impacted some of the exploring I had planned with my family as it was reaching over 90-100F (30-40C) daily and during the time forest fires in Canada were effecting the air quality. Also, at this time I still had not yet planned what I was going to do. There was a unconfirmed plan to join my booking agent in the UK after a few months in America and theeen maybe head to Canada, but I was very unsure. At this point I was essentially unemployed and homeless hahaha. So lil overwhelmed me needed a minute to breathe and my family graciously invited me to stay as long as I needed to find my bearings and strategize the next chapter of my life. So the I spent the first month there juuuuust chilling. I went to a fair, saw Dirks Bentley live, explored Pennsylvania on bicycle when the weather permitted, saw a musical, saw a documentary screening, visited a couple farmers markets, and simply lay in the garden with a book! Is was truly a wonderful break.
