Brothers Kirsten Richard (24) and Kyle Joshua (17) have been making positive, upbeat Afrikaans music since 2022 (“Hey Sonneblom,” “Dans Alleen,”) and with their new single “Don’t Cry”, are preparing to release their first fell length English album, Dream Syndrome (Season 1), on 6 December.
“Releasing an English album was a big leap for us, especially since we started as an Afrikaans band,” says Kirsten. “But after performing outside South Africa in places like Europe and Dubai, we quickly saw how our sound resonates with people even if they don’t understand Afrikaans. We decided to take on this project so more people could understand and sing along to our songs.”
As self-professed “big dreamers” the brothers have tapped into the zeitgeist of optimistic, pop-rooted singer-songwriters that have emerged out of SA over the last two years. “Don’t Cry” sees the duo add an interesting country-pop spin on the track, marking the first time they’ve has explored this genre.
“We wanted to write a heartbreak song that still had a ‘happy, feel-good’ vibe to it,” explains Kirsten. “The lyrics touch on the way people sometimes drift apart in relationships, but it’s usually still painful for both sides when the other person feels sad.”
While Droomsindroom typically writes and composes all their music in-house, “Don’t Cry” sees them collaborate with Graaff from Dee Graaff Music, who contributed country guitar parts, and Peach van Pletzen, who lent his production expertise. Together, they’ve created a song that bridges Droomsindroom’s distinct sound with a touch of country-pop that spells great things for their upcoming album.
