If I had to ask you to come up with a list of legendary South African musicians, Johnny Clegg would definitely be on that list. He has made such an impact with his music and has spoken to many in song the way they’ve never been spoken to before. However, it’s been a while since we’ve heard new music from the singer. Despite this, Johnny is doing what many dare to as he drops his very first remix album simply titled ‘Johnny Clegg: 2016’. Yup, all of his biggest songs have been remixed by some of the best DJs in the country and put together on one album – and I’m so excited about it!
Dance music is an incredibly popular genre at the moment so it’s exciting that Johnny plans on giving his hit singles a more updated sound. The lead single off the project is the High Society Remix of his smash hit, ‘Take My Heart Away’. The song is exciting because although a remix that would fit perfectly into the 2016 music space, it still has the authentic African sounds and heart that Johnny made sure each and every track he released had. High Society did a great job on the remix and their interpretation really shows us a side of the song we’d never thought we’d see.
Johnny always wanted to make a statement with his music and this time around, he used the remix to make another profound statement with the track’s official video. The video, shot in Diepsloot, encourages the viewer to follow their dreams. It tells the story of a young boy who escapes life in a township as he moves on to his next adventure. The video was shot by Johnny’s son, Jaron, who explains, “It’s a journey of transcendence. It was quite an emotional project for me – making a film for my dad. I treated it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and pushed really hard to bring the script to life. I put a lot of pressure on myself to create something I could be proud of.” Well, this is certainly a song and video that is bound to touch a lot of South Africans. Congrats to everyone involved. ‘Johnny Clegg: 2016’ is now available on iTunes.
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