Graeme Watkins

Graeme Watkins, frontman of beloved South African groups The Graeme Watkins Project and Swing City, has returned to the studio in 2020 and bringing a fresh new approach to his solo project.

After a decade of fronting popular South African groups, as part of collectives, Graeme Watkins ventured out into writing in a solo capacity.
He explains it as a "Journey to discover what he is capable of as an individual in the studio". Whilst he still teamed up with bandmates, Matthew Marinus, Ryno Zeelie, and Tjaart Van Der Walt, for inspiration, validation, and co-production elements, he is proud to present a body of work reflective of his solo songwriting style.
Over the last three years, Watkins has been fine-tuning his producing skills and working closely with bandmate Tjaart Van Der Walt, investigating driving forces behind pop music.

Whilst the original idea was to drop the pop version of the song first, as South Africa grappled with lockdown and an alcohol ban, Watkins released a ballad version of Sober primarily, accompanied by a lockdown video shot in his home, by his wife and mother. The ballad version was recorded in Watkins' van. When asked about the difference between the two songs, Graeme delves deeper, "When I first wrote the song, the subject matter was addressed in a major key, packaged in a lighthearted manner, with the subject still being of a sensitive nature. During the lockdown, I started playing it in a minor on my piano, and the whole message changed shape, about those dealing with serious addictions, and partners having to grapple with being a constant support base. I decided to record it and played it to a few people, and we decided to release that version first."

Lockdown has been a challenging time for Watkins, just weeks before the president's announcement, he purchased a share in Marshall Event Gear and had to quickly put his creative business chops to the test with watching all the business opportunities vanish, whilst keeping the company above water. He has since sunk his teeth into transforming the space into a streaming venue, aimed at young and upcoming artists who want to stream from professional studios, with access to great sound and lighting. He has also transformed his office space into a satellite Marshall Music Store selling ICT (Information communication technology) and home studio setups.

Watkins is excited to release music fluidly throughout the year, building up to an EP by the end of 2020. With more time to focus on studio life, with performing now taking a backseat due to Covid-19, hold on to your seats for what's to come.