After two years in the making, 23-year-old Lindenite and up-and-coming folksinger-songwriter, Werner Bekker released his debut single, Alive Again.
Check out the music video released on 8 March
With music flowing through his veins, and a storyteller at heart, Bekker’s power folk ballads showcase poetic lyrics and organic sound – and Alive Again is no different.
Ever since he can remember, Bekker has been obsessed with music. His parents say he could sing before he could speak and that growing up all around South Africa, he said he got to see a lot of the country and meet many inspiring people.
Bekker is also a familiar face on the live performance scene and is currently preparing for the Mieliepop Festival in Mpumalanga on 22 March and the Splashy Fen Festival in KwaZulu-Natal on 30 March.
He has been perfecting his art over many years and has shared a stage with major South African acts like Shortstraw, Man as Machine and The Parlotones, along with Desmond and the Tutus. But with a large repertoire of self-penned songs, he finally felt it was the right time to release a single to the mass market, hoping to reach a broader audience.
“It’s always a bit of a balancing act when writing music to add a bit of contemporary flavour but keep to what you love. I feel that the people I worked with on this song really understood what I was going for and so I really like the end result of the song,” he said.
Alive Again was born from relationship woes and about that cliché feeling everyone gets when they’ve been in a bad relationship and get caught up in the throes of young love, he said.
“Pretty corny but it’s real and everyone feels that way at one time or another.”
About his songwriting style, Bekker feels it is as much a collaborative process as it is personal, and so he always likes to edit his music with other musicians or his family members’ opinions.
“When I write a song I usually start with a melody or guitar progression that best portrays how I feel and then I allow the music to inspire me to the point where the words come tumbling out.
I try not to overthink anything and just let my emotions lead the way.”
Bekker believes it is important to write music that is one’s own.
“There can only be one Matthew Mole, he’s great, so don’t copy him. Sculpt your own sound, write your own songs, perform original works of art,” he said. “Everyone has heard the smashers on the radio millions of times. I guess what it comes down to is, if you write your own music and believe in it, you’ll be making something truly unique to you, like a fingerprint, and that really is special.”
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