DECA will wow fans at The Showroom in Prince Albert

DECA’s striking instrumental arrangements conquered the hearts of fans across the country from the very start. Their fresh, modern and charming interpretation of crowd favourites is the key ingredient behind their instant success and resonates with audiences of all ages.

Their debut album, Black Sails, builds on this winning recipe and continues to impress.

“The new album is a combination of instrumental, pop, folk and Irish sounds. The violin is the main focus, strongly supported by the acoustic guitar,” they shared. “The CD is a mixture of up-tempo and slow, soothing tracks. It includes original compositions, as well as some popular covers.”

Veterans in the industry

Herman and Douw are veterans in the music industry, with more than 26 years of combined experience between them. Together they started Son Records, a recording label, in 2015. Working closely together, they started to enjoy performing and decided to create an album for themselves. What started out as a project to keep their creativity flowing ended up becoming something much more and DECA was born. The group has since shared the stage with renowned artists and performed at various functions, launches and parties, including Aardklop.

The ten carefully selected tracks, reworked in DECA’s unique style, will not only touch the heart but leave listeners humming to the sound of familiar tunes.

“We busked for a long time and this helped us to determine what the crowd likes. What makes this unique is of course the fact that there are no lyrics, but also that it is not a classical album. It’s something that is easy to listen to and enjoy. It gives the listener the opportunity to experience their favourite pop songs, like Wrecking Ball, in a completely different way.”

Black Sails boasts a few well-known hits (Thousand Years, Love Me Like You Do, etc.) as well as a few original tracks (Picnic, Black Sails, Finnigan en Skylights), composed by the musicians themselves.

Feel-good party songs

“From an emotional perspective, Picnic is our favourite because we both share an appreciation for film and classical music. Herman’s father was an opera singer and my mother the classical composer, Christa Steyn. I think everyone will enjoy our take on popular hits like Firework. People will also appreciate the Irish sounds of Black Sails and Finigan, as they are feel-good party songs,” says Douw.

According to the duo, the biggest challenge during the four months they were working on the album was to choose songs that are strong enough to draw listeners’ attention. “Because this is an instrumental project, it was very important to us that every title on the album is very strong and memorable. A lot of time was therefore spent on song selection,” they said.

DECA still has a lot planned for the future, including music videos and an overseas tour, and would love to work with musicians like Elvis Blue and Joshua na die Reën. They are also planning on releasing their second album by the end of the year. But for now they are focusing on promoting the current album and winning over the hearts of the public with their unique talent.

The talent behind the music

Both artists are passionate about music and enjoy a variety of genres. Douw, who inherited his love for music from his mother, did not always dream of becoming a musician. His interest only started during his student years at North-West University where he obtained a BCom degree in Business Management.

“I started out helping my mother with her recordings and, thirteen years later, I am still working in the music industry. I miss the times we spent together in the studio,” he says.

The guitarist also completed a music course in France, under the guidance of Grammy-winner Chris Lord-Alge in 2014. His brainchild - Afrikaans Herlaai – received three Ghoema Award nominations in 2015. He also plans on starting a music production and sound engineering training course in the near future.

Herman studied music at the University of Stellenbosch, after which he joined the popular group, DNA Strings. Two years later he was off to South Korea to work at an educational English theatre as musical director. After returning to South Africa, he worked with Add Life Productions on several successful musicals, including The Buddy Holly Story, Ester die Musical and Dawid die Musical. Sheraaz, a five-piece instrumental group, founded by him in 2012, was nominated for a Ghoema Award in 2014 for Best Instrumental Album.

Scouting for new talent

“If I had to choose any other career, I would have liked to be a filmmaker. I love the film industry and film as a medium. I was busy with my master’s degree in film music when I joined DNA Strings,” he shares.

The pair met in 2014 and later went on to start a record company with William du Bruin. They are currently working on the finishing touches of two television projects and are constantly looking for new talent to take under their wing.

DECA’s debut album is refreshingly different and hopefully a good indication of the musical masterpieces that can be expected of them in the future.

DECA will perform at The Showroom Theatre on Saturday, 8 April at 8pm. Tickets are R100 and can be booked online at www.showroomtheatre.co.za.