When faced with a hard lockdown, many in our communities took the time to introspect and found what it was they truly wanted to do with their lives. In this time, Blignaut, a science teacher at Roosevelt High School, reaffirmed his absolute love for music and more especially, gospel music. During this time he recorded two singles which were released on his extended play, In this World.
The paper caught up with the Northcliff resident to find out what he loved about this genre and how he hoped to impart his love of music to others around him. An alumnus of the University of Pretoria, Blignaut would have been heard serenading his peers while singing with the group Mopanie.
But his love for music started long before his university days. “I started singing at primary school. I sang in choirs and musicals in school,” he said. It was after university that he sang in a classical chamber choir and played the guitar.
During the hard lockdown, he not only realised the importance his faith had in his life, which he said strengthened him, but also the importance of people he valued in his life. “When you see people who you know being heavily impacted in many ways, you realise how much there is to be thankful for and how short life is.”
With his producer, Wesley West who assisted with instrumentals, songs that truly resonated with Blignaut were created. For him, the gospel genre is an expression of worship in the form of music. “I’ve also realised that when writing authentic music, it has to come from a genuine place.” He added that when he started writing music two years ago, he naturally started to write gospel music without a second thought.
Blignaut hopes to inspire the community to follow their dreams and live out their God-given talents, “Such a small [number] of people actually pursue the things they are genuinely passionate about.”
He said the theme of his music was to give people hope and encouragement through challenges they may face. ” It would be amazing if people could be encouraged to not lose hope. Yes, life can be tough, but there is always hope.”
In the coming year, the community can expect more music from him and he will also be taking over his school’s choir, giving him the opportunity to impart his passion for music to the youth of today.
Related Article:
