INTRO

Vaughn Ahrens is a singer-songwriter, originally from the Namibian coast, who has really burst onto the scene in the past few years. He released his debut single ‘In the Clear’ in February 2017 and it peaked at number 5 on the Namibian iTunes chart. His follow-up single ‘Smoke Rings’ topped the iTunes chart the following April. He released his first full-length album ‘Songs for Wednesdays’ in November 2018, garnering him his first Namibian Annual Music Award.

He toured Germany and the Netherlands in 2019. Teaming up with South African drummer Adam Brandon-Kirby and Zimbabwean bassist and pianist Raymond Mupfumira, they created the on-stage persona of the ‘Vaughn Ahrens Band’ – a festival favourite around Namibia. They did their very first ‘mini-tour’ of the Western Cape in May 2022, squeezing in 7 gigs in 10 days. Vaughn is scheduled to be doing another one of these ‘mini-tours’ – this time doing 6 solo gigs in 9 days in Gauteng in July. He is currently in the final stages of his sophomore album, ‘Here Lies Vaughn Ahrens’, which is aimed at being released at the end of this year.

Questions

Hi there, welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine, Vaughn.

Thanks for having me, Duzzy!

How have you been doing with Covid-19 and lockdowns; have you and your family been safe?

My family and I have been extremely fortunate to have had minimal contact with the virus and when we did, it didn’t affect us too badly.

Can you tell us your background, where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I was born in the Namibian coastal town of Swakopmund; grew up and schooled about 30km south of there in another coastal town called Walvis Bay; and I currently live in the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek.

How did you get into music?

I’ve been immersed in music from the moment I was born. I grew up in a very musical household and have been interested in music and the creation thereof since I can remember. I’m super lucky to have had parents who supported the dream even when I was a kid.

You are a solo musician but you also have a band; can you tell us a bit about your band, who else plays with you in the band?

Currently, I play with South African-born, Namibian-bred drummer Adam Brandon-Kirby and Zimbabwean-born Raymond Mupfumira. These guys have really cemented themselves as part of the ‘Vaughn Ahrens brand’.

For people who don’t know you, how would you describe your sound and genre?

It’s difficult to nail my music down to one genre. I’ve been exploring multiple genres for a while now. I guess the blanket term you could use for my sound is ‘alternative pop’.

What sort of bands did you listen to while growing up and still listen to today; who are your musical influences?

I think I got my variety from my parents. I grew up listening to everything from Eminem to Def Leppard. I got into Metal when I started High School – guys like ‘Gojira’, ‘Animals as Leaders’, ‘System of a Down’. Towards the end of it I was super into folksier bands like early ‘Mumford & Sons’, ‘Matthew Mole’ and ‘Punch Brothers’. After school, I was really into rap groups like ‘Cypress Hill’ and ‘House of Pain’. At the moment I’m exploring some Synth Rocky guys like ‘White Lies’, ‘Everything Everything’ and ‘Editors’.

You’ve released two singles, called ‘In the clear’ and ‘Smoke Rings’, could you tell us what each song is about?

‘In the Clear’ is a song about my very first real heartbreak and ‘Smoke Rings’ is about peer pressure and a bit of a coming-of-age song.

You have also released a full-length album called songs for Wednesday; how did you come up with that album title?

When I grew up, my dad would always use ‘Wednesday’ as this arbitrary term for ‘some time which is not now’ – because he’d never tell you which Wednesday it was. I thought the title apt.

How many songs are on the album?

There are 10 songs on the album.

Where was the album recorded?

It was recorded, mixed and mastered by my friend Wouter de Bruyn at Groove Studios, in Windhoek.

The album got you your first Namibian Annual Music award. Can you tell us how it felt to get the award and could you tell us a bit more about that award?

It was a total surprise. I was a bit of a dark horse in the entire event, so it felt incredible to be recognized by the community. I’ve always kind of been a ‘if you know, you know’ kind of musician and producer, so it was cool to hit the mainstream for a little while.

You also got to tour Germany; how was that experience and how did the audience there compare to the crowd in your home town?

The Germany and Netherlands tour was right after my Namibian Annual Music Award win. So everything was still a bit surreal. The crowd was super appreciative of the music – so much so that we were actually going to go back and tour more extensively in 2020; but then the whole Covid thing happened, so that was put on ice for a while. Comparatively, it’s way more of a ‘listening’ crowd than the ‘jump up and down’ crowd we were used to at that stage. It could also have something to do with the types of venues. Who knows? Still, super fun and we’ll definitely be back there.

You will be touring Johannesburg in July; can you tell us where and when you will be playing?

We’ve been doing these ‘mini-tours’ in South Africa – basically squeezing as many gigs into a 7-ish day period as we could; this will be another one of those…

5 July: Torero’s – Blairgowrie

6 July: Hennie’s – Centurion

7 July: Rumours Lounge – Strydom Park

8 July: Rumours Rock City – Roodepoort

9 July: The Meatsmith – Lynnwood

10 July: Hell’s Kitchen – Mellville

For people who haven’t seen you play live yet, can you tell us how that experience is?

It’s super fun. Very dancy. I do originals and a bunch of original takes on covers.

Can you give us your Social Media info?

Facebook – Vaughn Ahrens

Instagram – vaughnahrens

YouTube – Vaughn Ahrens