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- We caught up with the award-winning singer Jeremy Loops via Zoom to find out more about his latest track, upcoming album and his food drive.
- In the interview, Jeremy spoke about his new licensing deal with Universal Music which allows him to retain some control of his work, and also told us what it was like getting to work with Ed Sheeran.
- The singer also shared a special acoustic performance of his track, Mortal Man, straight from his home.
As we continue to practice social distancing, Zoom interviews have become a common occurrence in my life - and while it's not the same as having a chat with someone in person, I must say, there's something about them that I kind of enjoy.
Maybe it's how relaxed celebrities seem to be over video call - or possibly the fact that we're actually chatting to each other from our homes - something that usually would not take place under "normal" circumstances.
My latest virtual chat was with SA folk singer Jeremy Loops. I have been a long-time fan of Jeremy's sound, so when we got the request to set up an interview, it was an easy yes.
The Waves singer recently signed a new licensing deal with Universal Music Group South Africa, which includes a unique global partnership with Decca Records in the United Kingdom and Polydor in Germany.
But the deal does not mean that Jeremy will give up his independence completely. He explains: "I've been working on a grand plan for years now - which was to retain as many of my rights and retain as much of my independence so that when the moment was right I could try and broker a deal with some truly big partners and have the leverage to get the deal and terms that I wanted and that's essentially what we've finally done."
Being under lockdown has not kept Jeremy from his music or his fans. The singer recently released his track, Mortal Man, and has been working on his third album.
"It's going really well. We're in the finishing phase of it so I've written all the songs and I'm recording it here from my home studio," he says, admitting that working by himself at home has not always been easy.
Jeremy has also been hard at work with his campaign, The Big Food Drive, which he started when the country went into lockdown. The drive raises money to buy fresh produce which is delivered to communities in need during this difficult time.
"We've raised R750 000 for the feeding schemes and for the soup kitchens in our most vulnerable communities in South Africa. I had no idea we were going to raise that amount of money. It was a call that I put out, and my audience responded," he tells me.
For more information on Jeremy's Big Food Drive, visit the website here.
Watch the lyric video for Mortal Man below:
