Music producer Elvo Diergaardt is a man on a mission as he recently established Empire Records, a new recording studio and training centre in his hometown of Rehoboth.
Dr Mavovo, as he is known in music circles, is investing his musical knowledge into the community after he relocated from Windhoek last year.
He told VIBEZ! he feels the talent in his community has been neglected for some time.
This initiative aims to nurture and develop local talent, providing aspiring artists with the resources and guidance to succeed in the music industry.
Dr Mavovo’s dedication to fostering creativity and growth within the community is testament to his passion for music, and commitment to plough something back.
He said Empire Records is poised to become a beacon for budding Afrikaans musicians in Rehoboth, offering a platform for them to hone their skills and showcase their talent.
With him at the helm, the future of music in Rehoboth looks promising.
“Firstly, Afrikaans is my mother tongue, and secondly, I reckon Rehoboth is an untapped niche in Namibia, with the potential to grow and waiting to be explored. Also, Afrikaans is one of the most expressionistic languages in Namibia, and expression is very important in music,” he said. It is well-noted that Afrikaans music is currently one of the most popular and best-selling genres on the South African music scene, something Elvo wants to exploit with his new venture. “Even though Afrikaans has been used by different ethnic artists, there is still a huge gap in the market, and room for improvement. We would like to branch out throughout the whole of Namibia,” he noted.
Empire Records will not only serve as a recording studio, but will help harness up-and-coming producers and sound engineers to equip them for when they enter the market.
“Our training is offered face-to-face and online as we are based in Rehoboth, and recordings are done mainly in Rehoboth. But we are mobile, and cater for projects outside of Rehoboth.
Our slogan is quality over everything else, and our aim is to provide quality productions, and grow quality in artists by teaching them as we produce,” he added.
The veteran producer has partnered Arlene Brandt, who also doubles as his manager and takes care of his affairs while he is busy recording in the studio.
“Arlene Brandt is the owner of Empire Productions and Sound Training CC, and she is the mastermind behind the project. She is an entrepreneur and an artist in her own right as a stand-up comedian, poet, actress as well as singer, and the entertainment industry is not new to her. She has managed some artists in the past, and her role is to promote artists and run the logistics,” he detailed.Empire Records officially launched at Woodstock, with their pilot song titled ‘Ek weet wat ek weet’ featuring Eudy, Hanzell, Marly-B and the McCorney Brothers. “We are busy looking for artists for our 2024 pilot project. This is our community project, where we aim to record, teach and promote five upcoming artists, and prepare them to be self-sufficient in their craft. This will be an annual project and our way of giving back to the community,” he said. For more information, interested musicians can contact empire.arlene@gmail.com or
081 853 0705
-slunyangwe@nepc.com.na