music
Harry Brooks Jnr
Young English singer/songwriter Harry Brooks Jnr signed to Sony Music Africa, less than a year after moving to South Africa from the UK.
He releases his debut album, '5th Of April' in September 2010.
"I love South Africa," says the 25 year old. "The lifestyle, the weather, the people, the landscapes, the diverse cultural melting pot, the energy, and the beautiful women captivated me immediately."
Brooks' musical background is based largely in songwriting, and he's composed music with Busbee (in Nashville, USA), Roger Sanchez, John McLaughlin, and Studio B.
He also co-wrote 'Baby Goodbye' for Friday Hill which entered the UK Charts at #5 in 2005, and 'Bad Girl (At Night)' for Dave Spoon feat. Lisa Maffia (which became Pete Tong's Essential New Tune and signed immediately by Apollo/Universal, going on to be a massive club hit.
He has worked with producers like Lee Russell (David Gray, Ryan Adams) and Sweden's Murlyn who has produced hit records for the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Christina Milian, Celine Dion, and Sugababes.
On the side, Brooks started work on his solo album, '5th Of April', some seven years ago. "The album took a while to bring together," says producer and collaborator Mathias Wollo. "We're two artists with a strong respect for each other's abilities, so we knew we'd finish it eventually."
Wollo - who has produced and/or written music for Lemar, Rascall Flatts, Meatloaf, Wiley, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Bananarama and Dannii Minogue - played all of the instruments on ‘5th Of April’ and instigated a lot of the songwriting in Nashville, USA with other A-List songwriters.
Now that Brooks has signed to Sony Music Africa’s South African Music division, those songs will finally be heard.
"I want to start here," says the singer of his fledgling SA career. "Hopefully I can grow alongside South Africa in the world in general over the next few years."