Jeangu Macrooy – In session at Eurosonic Noorderslag 2017 – VPRO – Netherlands –
Jeangu Macrooy to end up the weekend. I was just checking out the artists who played the recent Eurosonic festival in The Netherlands and ran across a session by Jeangu Macrooy. It stopped me in my tracks. Clearly, this guy is on to something. He has an amazing voice and a tight band behind him. He has the Soul thing wrapped-up solid, without sounding like a cover-band – he has elegant phrasing and you would swear up and down this guy spent his life in Chicago. Nope – Jeangu Macrooy is from Paramaribo in Suriname, born and raised. Singing flawless English and talking to the audience in Dutch – it really gives further evidence that the world of music is limitless and truly without borders of any kind.
He’s really just getting started. His debut ep came out in April of last year, and before that he was enrolled at the Conservatory in Suriname. But his ep sparked a lot of interest and he soon wound up in Amsterdam, where he was named Serious Talent by 3FM and set out on a tour of The Netherlands last year to promote his music.
This appearance at the Eurosonic Noorderslag 2017 festivl is kicking off another year of touring and gigging, ahead of the release of his debut album, set to come out sometime this Spring. It’s hoped he makes the trek across the Channel and eventually across the Atlantic to do a few gigs in the U.S. – I think the audience would be suitably impressed.
Another one of those truly remarkable talents that are seemingly everywhere and who have a seriously successful career ahead of them if they don’t get sidetracked.
I suspect you may not have heard of him before – he’s been concentrating on The Netherlands and hasn’t ventured to these shores yet. I would just sit back and crank this up and give it a listen. It was surprising, while at the same time being a breath of fresh air.
Check him and check out his website for release dates and whereabouts.
