NAMIBIAN-German kwaito musician and his Yes-Ja! band emerged victorious on the fourth season of ‘;X Factor Germany’; on Saturday.
In an interview with Ees, real name Eric Sell, said taking part in the competition was a crazy and overwhelming experience and that he is still processing the fact that they won.
“I still cannot believe that it happened. For a long time I have been trying hard to penetrate the European market and now we actually won ‘;X Factor’; in Germany with my band.”
“For many in Namibia to understand the struggle a bit better – it is very difficult to enter a music industry with a genre that does not exist at all in a country as many doors get shut in your face if the music doesn’;t fit in a certain music style,” added Ees.
He did not expect to be successful in the competition and said he was aware of the corruption in the music industry, adding “if you are not part of the corruption, you lose out a lot when it comes to material things like money and titles”.
“But this time it was in the hands of the public to decide what they want to hear and not what any big music industry boss wants to push in terms of music and style. So we just moved on from one show to the other, making it over and over again till we actually won the whole show,” he said.
Ees attributes his success in the competition to the authenticity and fresh style of his music. “I just kept on doing me,” he told The Namibian, adding that he did not listen to anyone who tried to convince him to change his style and believes that is what the audience appreciated.
“Something new and fresh from Namibia was a big reason we made it so far – not to forget the years and years of hard work which I put into my music and brand – which finally paid off.”
Besides ‘;X Factor’;, Ees has been busy – releasing a single accompanied with visuals every three months. He said he has stopped releasing albums as it has become a very fast moving industry where albums do not make sense.
“Besides my music, I have successfully launched my spice at the end of last year and also my new range of Nam Flava vellies (leather shoes),” he said.
The ‘;X Factor’; win came with, amongst others, a record deal for Ees and his band.
