The world-renowned Drakensberg Boys Choir drop their newest single and music video; a poignant rendition of the Maroon 5 smash hit Memories; across all digital platforms on Friday, March 11th, that’s sure to tug at your heartstrings.
This release is hot on the heels of the notable success of their music video of Imagine Dragons’ Follow You featuring The Sharks Rugby Team, having already garnering over 500K views in less than two weeks.
The timing couldn’t have been more relevant for the release of this heartfelt cover song by the choir.
As we start to reflect on this chaotic season we’ve tried to navigate, we take a breath and think back on all those we’ve lost along the way.
Over the past few years, there has been an active drive to welcome the old boys back to the Drakensberg Boys Choir (DBC). They have a saying, “Once a Drakie, always a Drakie”. The choir stays in their blood for life, even after they take off their uniform for the last time.
Artistic Director, Vaughan Van Zyl, explains; “We felt that this was a perfect song to dedicate to the legacy that the DBC has grown over the last 55 years and becoming a South African national treasure, while looking forward to the future of what the choir still has to give.”
The song has a sad yet timely double meaning as well. While it serves as a dedication to the old boys and staff of the school, it also serves as a dedication to anyone who has lost someone dear to them in this devastating time the world is going through.
From the pandemic to the unrest last year, to the war going on in Europe, there are very few people in the world who has remained completely unaffected by what is going on.
Producer and arranger of this single, Tristan Tent elaborates on the musicality of their cover version of Memories; “While the original Maroon 5 song has very little productive elements and sticks to a simplistic production with a standard Rhodes piano and vocal, we decided that we wanted to give it a slight more African flavour and put it into a more “House” space. Therefore, percussive elements not found in the original song come in from the choruses.”
He continues; “If you’re a keen listener of classical music, you will notice that you may have heard the chords to the song before in a very famous classical work called Canon in D by Johan Pachelbel. This arrangement of the song doesn’t shy away from the original chord idea and uses the melodies in the canon over the pop melodies of Memories if you listen carefully to the choir.”
MEMORIES Music Video
The Music Video of Memories was filmed on location at the DBC by Custom Content Collective.
The video shows soloist Charlie Brown (15) of Fourways, Johannesburg, walking from the circle which anyone would recognise if they have visited the school as the first thing that are greeted with, and makes his way down the stairs through “Memories” of a gumboot squad into their famous auditorium. As he sits and watches an empty stage, a flashback appears on the stage of an old concert. When he leaves, he makes his way through another memory of a “Drum squad” and finds himself with the whole choir on an open field.
The video ends with him slowly making his way up the stairs as a tribute appears.
While Covid-19 might have restricted the choir’s live performances, they most certainly haven’t been idle.
2021’s Music Video Playlist
2021 was an exceptionally busy year with multiple releases of popular versions of hits ranging from Including We Are The Champions (Queen), Afterglow (Ed Sheeran), Follow You (Imagine Dragon), Cover Me in Sunshine (Paradise), Geronimo (Sheppard) and others.
The Sharks Rugby Team Music Video
2022 kicked off with a bang when DBC were approached by The Sharks Rugby Team, after them having seen DBC’s rendition of Follow You by Imagine Dragons. Bringing the worlds of sport and entertainment together, they produced this memorable music video that has gone viral and captured the hearts of South Africans and sports fans worldwide.
COMING UP
Drakensberg Boys Choir’s TWO MOUNTAINS CONCERT TOUR: 26 March – 6 April 2022
DBC are thrilled to be hitting the road again, finally being able to head out on tour.
Their upcoming 10-stop Two Mountains Concert Tour takes place between 26 March – 6 April and visits Bloemfontein, Queenstown, Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth, St Francis Bay, George, Stilbaai, Riversdale, Stellenbosch, ending in Cape Town.
For bookings and more information, head to Webtickets
Become a Friend of the Drakensberg Boys Choir
In the coming weeks, DBC will be launching an exciting fundraising project where members of the public can show their support of their upcoming projects; including the upgrading of their auditorium now that public performances are possible again, as well as scholarship opportunities for boys to attend the school who might currently have financial restraints in doing so.
Keep your eyes peeled on Drakensberg Boys Choir’s various Social Media Platforms for further information and announcements.
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