Piet van Wyk de Vries
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Piet van Wyk de Vries is a South African music writer and performer, born in Pretoria in 1972. He started in the music industry by fronting the band "Flying Circus", but soon changed directions by focusing more on music production and studio design. This culminated in 2000 when he designed and built what was at the time the largest digital studio in Africa for Sting Music in Johannesburg. He used this Pro Tools based studio to produce the first Afrikaans album by the artist Dozi, entitled "Op Aanvraag", which has since become one of the most successful albums of that genre of all time. This album also launched the career of songwriter Stef Kruger.
Before the Dozi album he arranged, wrote and produced music and live items for many South African artists in the English and Black markets, including PJ Powers, Lebo Mathosa and Billy Forrest. He also engineered a private recording for Eddy Grant, who recorded a birthday song in South Africa for his wife.
After that van Wyk de Vries switched his focus to the Afrikaans market, where he has produced mostly compilation albums. He is currently better known as a song writer, and has written for a number of Afrikaans singers. Most notable of these are Dozi, Wynand Strydom and Mathys Roets, the last of which uses his songs almost exclusively.
In 2006, van Wyk de Vries returned to original production when he co-produced the album "Kom 'n Bietjie Binne" for Dozi, following the artist's move to Sony/BMG. This also contained the hit song "Susanna Soen My", which he wrote, produced and sang on.
In 2007 he released a long awaited solo album, entitled "Die son die maan die sterre" (The sun the moon the stars), containing 11 original works, including the radio hits "MadeleinMadelein", "Iemand soos jy" and "Leë Skoene". He received a lot of press attention and commercial success with this album, but refused to exploit it by not entering for any of the major South Africa music award competitions. In another controversial move he withdrew from all South African arts festivals in late 2008, citing the fact that they no longer represent the artists of South Africa, but were becoming too commercially oriented. He has also been known to often refuse commisions for songs from top selling artists and to sometimes choose small "gigs" in restuarants over bigger events.
His radical and often surprising attitude to his career and his writing has won him few friends in the music business, but has secured him a growing and exclusive niche in the Afrikaans music market, and insulated him from a genre of music which is increasingly being critisised by speakers of the language for it's general low quality of content.
In May 2008 he announced his second solo album, due to be released in Aug/Sept of the year, called "'n Pyl deur seil met vuur" (An arrow through sail with fire), and surprised attendants at a concert with a collaboration on stage with singer/songwriter Andre G. Nel. He is also apparently collaborating with the Coleskè brothers on songs for the singer Guillome and others.
Incidentally, he is related to British music producer Marius De Vries.
[edit] References
- Dozi "Op Aanvraag" CD SMMPCD895
- Dozi "Kom 'm Bietjie Binne" CDVAT6177
- Select Music South Africa Product Listings 2004-2006
- Official site http://www.vanwykdevries.com
