Classical rock duet set to change the South African music scene

South African duet Hercules and Jasmyn plan to turn the music industry upside down with the introduction of their new light classical rock and contemporary infused album in August.

According to the duet, the album doesn’t have a name yet but it could possible be called Nader (Closer) which is also a title of one of their favourite tracks on the album.

Both of the singers have won the well-known Eurovision competition. Jasmyn explained, “Hercules won the 2012 Eurovision competition for the best male voice while I won the 2010 Eurovision Face vs Voice competition.”

Both of these talented singers have been in the industry for a while and it’s the first time that they will be performing together as a duet. “We decided it was time to release a classical album with a twist because currently, classical music is synonymous with a certain age group and we want to shift the boundaries and draw new fans.”

Marketing agent Lydia Winchester said, “Hercules is a passionate classical singer with an opera undertone in his voice. He has performed to audiences all over the world that include Italy, Greece and Spain but he added that South Africa is where his heart is.

“Jasmyn has been in the industry since 2009 and she released her first album in 2011. She is known for being able to express herself in Afrikaans and English and she performs really well in the Gospel and commercial markets in South Africa. I think it’s the fact that the two of them differ so much that will make them a duet to be reckoned with.”

Hercules said the album will have a couple of Afrikaans songs on it but most of the songs are sung in English.

“We also added three cover songs to the album. A couple of our songs were also written by writers that are currently competing in the 2014 Eurovision Song Festival.”

Asked when the new album would be released to the public the duo smiled and answered, “End of July, start of August.”