Jeremy Loops has poured his creative talent into a new project: a single and music video called Postcards.
The musician, director and human-rights activist has lived in Muizenberg for five years and says he has always appreciated the diversity it offers.
“My other home is, of course, Kommetjie, which is where I hope to end up when I don’t need to be close to the city anymore,” he says.
He says the song took a few months to realise, from start to finish, and the video a couple of months more.
He credits his manager, Damon Forbes, whom he says was always a big fan of this song, for pushing for it, saying sometimes he needs a bit of a push.
Making the music himself, with his own team, rather than outsourcing it was the most rewarding part, he says.
“When I was touring all year, I never had this sort of time available. So while lockdown has had its many difficulties, this is one area that feels really fresh. Like we’re making new ground.“
He also immersed himself in the director role. “As the director, you need to be across almost everything, so there’s a lot of management. But, at its core, the job is a creative one. You have the responsibility to decide what the concept and creative story arc are, and then you go about trying to put the right crew and cast together to see that vision through. I co-directed this video alongside Anna Telford so it was great to share that workload with someone.“
The song, he says, is about acceptance. “Find acceptance in your personal struggles, knowing that they are echoed by us all. That’s what the song’s about, and the pay-off is amazing too.”
Ten years ago, inspired by the waste and excess he saw working as a deckhand on super yachts, Jeremy co-founded the eco-initiative Greenpop. His social responsibility continues, and last year he founded The Big Food Drive, a crowd-funded campaign to send food to some of the poorest communities in South Africa.
After launching in April 2020, the campaign has raised an average of R700 000 to date.
“Life is hard, but so much harder for so many,“ he says. ”Inequality has always been something I worried about. Not just here at home, but wherever I travel. The natural beauty we have here in South Africa is contrasted with so much pain and suffering for the people who inhabit this country. I’ve always just considered it my duty to be a part of positive solutions.”
Asked what he would most like to be remembered for, he says: “For taking South African music abroad and lighting a pathway for artists coming from our neck of the woods.”
He says when he started his musical career there weren’t many reference points for what he was wanting to do.
“I knew I wanted to live locally but be big globally. When we sold out the 5000-seater Brixton Academy in London two years ago and worked with Ed Sheeran at his UK studio on some songs for my album, I realised we’d achieved that. There’s a roadmap now if you look at how we’ve done things, and a lot of our local artists hit me up continuously for advice on breaking into the international markets.”
