David Jay – African inspired
Creative inspiration can generate from many areas and a variety of sources, and some places can truly inspire you. David Jay’s new single ‘Africa is the Future’ is testament to that, so we grabbed a few minutes with the in-demand Danish soul singer for some quick questions.
S Soul – Hi David, in a warm up to your new release, we’ve been watching clips of your recent trip to Africa. What was the main reason for your visit and what countries did you visit?
The primary reason for my visit was to perform major shows in Gambia and Ghana. The first was at The Gambian Fashion Night at Sheraton 5 Star Hotel in front of Gambia’s First Lady, Her Excellency Aja Zineb Yahya Jammeh. Then I performed a live broadcast on Gambian TV before a great show in Ghana with a band.
Besides that, it was to get some authentic footage for my ”Africa is the future” music video, which gave me a chance to showreel the Africa that I know and in particular not the somewhat traditionally twisted image of Gambia.
Do you have any family roots in Gambia or Ghana?
My father and half of my family reside in Gambia, so I have a lot of friends currently living in Ghana and Gambia.
Can we expect other songs on the new album to also have African flavours?
The album is a total twist, with me and my producer Steven Mahona, loving and mastering so many genres. Anything can happen on that album…haha. #No ceilings
The song ‘Africa Is The Future’ is a mix of all the beautiful African music I grew up with, from East to West, North to South – old as well as new school.
What is your fondest memory from Africa?
My greatest memory, besides being all-in-all so well accepted anywhere we came, will probably be a fan who had just seen me on a talk show on Gambian TV. He couldn’t believe he met me in real life at the supermarket right after the show. But the thing that moved me wasn’t the picture or the autograph he wanted, but his passion to tell me his life story, where he was from, his family, their struggles etc. That honestly meant a lot to me. #Inspiration
Look out for David Jay’s new single ‘Africa is the Future‘, released May 19th.
David plans to visit Sweden in the very near future and we’ll be sitting down with him for a full in-depth interview.
