Ruan Wessels has mastered the art of touching people’s hearts from a young age and now he is planning on doing the same… This time not as an actor, but as a poet.
This versatile entertainer, who his known for his roles in Hoofmeisie, Erfsondes, Spoorloos, Jou Romeo to name but a few, is also a passionate poet and decided to launch an exciting project to share his thoughts with the world in a very unique way and to create a platform for his poetry.
DRONK & DANIG is the first of its kind in the country and is much more than just an ordinary collection of poetry… although it is also available in book format for those who prefer reading it themselves.
The album boasts captivating poems, performed by Ruan himself, with specially composed music in the background to create a captivating vibe.
“These days, younger people prefer listening to something, especially when it is something personal like poetry. When you want to relate to something personal, it is sometimes better to hear it directly from the author’s mouth, instead of reading it on paper,” he explains. “The wonderful team at Muse Studios helped me with the music. They were also involved with the first poem I released about a year ago, called Ongeduldige Kuns.”
Just like with the first one, several other poems will also be visually released in video format, featuring black-and-white photos that he took himself. “The images mostly relate to the poems, but they are – just like the videos – open to interpretation,” says Ruan, who reveals that this project was largely inspired by Kabous Verwoed’s album, Beenkamers en Gange, rap and Ben Howard’s music.
“I started writing poetry when I was in matric. I still remember how deeply Ben Howard’s music, and how he explained things, affected me. The same inspiration struck me with rap music, because I like the way it plays with words and explains things, without saying too much,” says the actor.
Ruan grew up in Roodepoort and Krugersdorp. He is the youngest of three children and was a keen cricketer at school. The twenty-three-year-old has been working in the entertainment industry for thirteen years and shot to fame for his role as Morné Gericke in the popular kykNET soap, Binnelanders, and for playing the male lead in the teen film, Hoofmeisie.
When he is not on set or writing, he enjoys skateboarding and taking pictures of his surroundings. He has great admiration for actors such as Edwin van der Walt, Elani Dekker and Dawid Minnaar and draws inspiration for his writing from music and events from his own life.
He dedicates DRONK & DANIG to the friend who helped him come up with the original concept for this project: “The idea was for us to do this together, but he moved to PE. Later I decided to go ahead with our plans and the first track on the album is also the first poem we recorded together to get a feel for what we wanted to do. I think people will like it because it is original and honest. It is also a vibe.”
The volume of poetry, which he sees as the “lyric book” for the album, can be ordered at by contacting Ruan directly on his Instagram account: @ruanwessels08
The album is available online at:
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0H1EglE2JauYRqg2GTfMNU?si=dImFKyPQShKVscof1zTmKg
Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/za/album/dronk-danig-ep/1558390830
YouTube Music:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n8WmyGtY5HNTWlRmK_TZTmurclkVorLAo
