MMY CORNISH WORLDY CORNISH WORLDn 46 | MyIssue 75 | December 2022 - January 2023
The South African singer-songwriter'smusic has amassed over 250 million globalstreams, and will bring a ray of sunshine tothe darkest of winter daysHi Jeremy! How are things?Great, thanks! I’m at home in Cape Town,where it’s the end of spring. The skies areblue, the jasmine and bougainvillaea arein bloom. One of the benefits of being atouring musician is that you can chase thesummer and leave when it gets cold! I wasin the UK for your heatwave.You first came to Cornwall in your teensYes, I was 19. Growing up, there was a realstigma attached to going to work in the UK.There was a stereotype called the HeathrowInjection: people would go to London, workin bars, eat lots of pies and come back 10kgheavier. Surfers like me vowed never to dosuch a thing. Instead, I worked my waythrough the RYA sailing qualifications andtravelled the world on multi-million-poundyachts. Then a friend who was working inPolzeath said: “We’re having a blast – youshould come.” It sounded more fun thanbeing isolated on a yacht, so I did. I taughtsurfing and worked in bars such as Carter’s.Where did you stay?I camped, but was shocked to discoverhow much things cost, so I bought a tinytent and a couple of chairs, thinking thatwould be enough. When my friend’s mumcame to check on us, she was so appalledat my living conditions that she marchedme to a camping shop in Wadebridge andkitted me out with a family-sized tent, aclothing rail... The end result was that I hadan enviable bachelor pad for the summer!How was the surf?Terrible! But Cape Town is a surfing mecca,so it’s not a fair comparison. In Cornwall,it’s less consistent, less swell, so you haveto look harder and be prepared to travel– but when you find it, it’s very exciting.It was often about hunting specific wavesand breaks. Tregardock beach on the northcoast was a favourite place.Do you come back often?I try and visit every year if I can. My friendstill lives near Rock. I figure that if you can’tlive in a place as cool as Cape Town, thenext best thing is to live by the coast in aplace like Cornwall; the communities aresimilar to those we knew growing up. I’vealso played festivals there, like Tunes In TheDunes and Boardmasters.How did your musical journey start?I was a late bloomer. After my travels, Iwent back to South Africa to do a businessdegree. It was horrific, and I bought a guitaras an outlet for my creative angst. I taughtmyself to play, then learned the harmonica.Then I found a loop pedal in a store – itallowed me to record and accompanymyself at a time when I didn’t feel confidentenough to play with others. I startedbusking, learned to interact with crowdsand developed a cult following. Withinmy third year of performing, I was sellingout 5,000-seater venues in South Africa;today, I sell out shows all over the world.I’m very aware of my carbon footprint, andlaunched Greenpop, an eco-project thathas planted more than 150,000 trees acrosssub- Saharan Africa, in a bid to offset it.On your latest album, Heard You GotLove, you collaborate with Ed Sheeran andLadysmith Black MambazoI’ve always been a huge fan of LadysmithBlack Mambazo, who famously worked onPaul Simon’s Graceland. I had written ThisTown for the album, but it felt like therewas something missing. A friend said,“You need a choir – why not LadysmithBlack Mambazo?” I replied that I couldn’tjust ring them up and ask, and he said: “Ifanyone can, you can.” So I asked – and theysaid yes! As for Ed, I was invited to his showin South Africa, and received a personalinvitation to his private party. Severalmonths later I went to his countryside studioto work on some ideas - Better Togetherwas co-written with the team behind ShapeOf You.You’re a household name in South Africa –what's that like?It’s a nice feeling, but I’m cognisant of theimpact on my privacy. One thing I loveabout touring in Europe is I can go to apublic gym, for example, or take a saunabefore a show - hanging out semi-nakedback home would be a recipe for disaster.When are you coming back to see us?I’m looking forward to returning to the UKnext summer to perform at festivals, andCornwall is very much part of the plan. lHeard You Got Love is available onstreaming platforms including Spotifyt @myCornwall_ | G myCornwalltv | w www.thatsmycornwall.com 47 n
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