Reaching for the stars

When you have not seen the door hinge of the famous Red Bull Music Studios in your entire life but you are invited and offered a chance to record after releasing your first project, there's a chance you might be in a wonderful dream. Or, this might be your reality and you might be DJ Dreas. DJ Dreas real name, Ngula Andreas Nambambi, is currently in Cape Town at the Red Bull Music Studios where he was invited to record and produce music for this past week. Seeing that he is relatively new to the music scene, this invitation is a big deal and has the potential to catapult his career to great heights. In the invitation letter seen by tjil, the facility is described as a musician's dream. The studio features the latest digital music technology, quality recording equipment as well as a choice selection of vintage analogue gear. The facility is comprised of a main recording studio with an adjacent live room as well as a smaller studio with attached vocal booth. “The space provides up and coming as well as established artists with the opportunity to bring their ideas to life. “Established in 2008 and nestled in the heart of the mother city, the Red Bull Studios aims to be a platform for growth in the vibrant music scene,” read the invitation letter. On how the invitation came about, DJ Dreas shared that he submitted his music last year, right before his project Pluto was released. He added that they reached out to him this year and expressed how much they liked his music and their wish to have him in studio. “The creative space is surreal; it's like nothing I've ever experienced before in Namibia. I must say I'm in awe at the range of tools and equipment that were made available for me,” added DJ Dreas. During his stay there he is working on an extended play (EP) that is projected to be released early next year or possibly before then. The last time tjil caught up with DJ Dreas a few months back, we discussed the reception to his body of work Pluto which he describes as a project that feels and sounds extraterrestrial to create an ambience that resembles the galaxies and stars. Bringing something new to the Namibian music scene and not understood by everyone, tjil asked if he feels underrated by certain gatekeepers in the industry. He was not part of the Unam Cultural Festival 2019 and that sparked a bit of a debate on Twitter, with certain tweeps expressing disappointment that he was not booked. “We all saw the outrage on social media, but my team and I are unbothered. It is just a gig,” said DJ Dreas. Despite Pluto being received relatively well, one thing that DJ Dreas seems to be slacking on is complementing the music with visuals. In his defence, he told tjil that initially when he dropped the Pluto project he did not have plans for it beyond its release as he did not anticipate the overwhelming response it received. “My team and I are looking into making visuals part of the package but only for the forthcoming music as it will be of higher quality and will represent DJ Dreas to a greater degree. Pluto was a stepping stone,” he said. Another success that DJ Dreas is celebrating is being signed to UMB, a record label he describes as a visionary entity that consists of young and vibrant talents such as himself, Loft and Diolini. “I can't say much about the contract but I can say that exciting times are coming,” said DJ Dreas. MICHAEL KAYUNDE

Reaching for the stars

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-22

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Reaching for the stars

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-22

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