When Nur Felix picked up a guitar for the first time at 16, he quickly unlocked a new passion, one that has now led to a debut album, We Are All We Need.
“I always enjoyed singing as a child, even though it didn’t always sound nice, and sometimes it actually annoyed some family members, but I sang nonetheless,” laughs the 35-year-old Athlone singer, songwriter and guitarist.
When a family member left behind their acoustic guitar, Nur started teaching himself how to play and spent hours in his room trying to perfect the chords.
“Within two weeks, I was already composing songs. This was when my gift of songwriting was realised.“
He started attending open-mic nights and got invites to perform at various functions, leading to his first paid gig.
“My career sort of just kept moving forward from there. With short breaks in between. Side note: I bought my first recording equipment by working as a box packer in a warehouse. One of the rules in the warehouse was that we were not allowed to sit down at any point. Always be on our feet. I worked there for three months, just the amount of time needed to make the amount to buy the recording equipment, then I quit.”
Winning an international award and becoming a finalist in the International Peace Song Awards in Los Angeles for his song Peace Date, which was co-written with Canadian singer Nancy Beaudette, stands out as highlight in his career.
He used the royalties from Peace Date to buy 20 iPads for Manenberg Primary School to kickstart a creative course for kids.
He has performed around the country and has had his music featured in documentaries, but nothing eclipses recording the album, he says.
He has also filmed a music video, released last week, for his song, Dandelion, which features on the album.
“I was lucky to collaborate with a legendary cinematographer, Greg Copeland, on the music video. Greg has filmed music videos internationally for major artists like Simply Red, Craig Davids, The Script and many others. So I was so stoked when he showed interest in my music to wanted to do an independent music video with me. The Dandelion music video is now on on YouTube.”
He says he took a long time to release an album despite having enough material for one. “My reason was that I wanted it to be recorded professionally and in the right studio.”
The new album features a string section for some songs and a brass section for others, and there are performers from the Cape Town Youth Choir on backing vocals.
The album features a compilation of 10 songs crossing genres that include contemporary folk, reggae and Afro Latin.
“The thing that stitches them all together is the underlying message in my music of inspiration and love,” says Nur.
Email gethealbum@nurfelix.co.za for a copy of the album.
