Durban - Singer Kyle Raziel Sivalingam has released his first Afrikaans song, Een in 'n miljoen – meaning one in a million.
Raziel, 33, is formerly from Unit 7 in Chatsworth but now resides in Boksburg, Gauteng. He is married to Esmarie Sivalingam, 36, and they run a plastics and jewellery business.
Raziel started singing at the age of five, while attending a temple service with his parents, Dickson and Andrea.
"My parents are Sai devotees. At the time, I was a Bal Vikas student. This is a course conducted by the Sai organisation to teach the five basic human values of truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence in children.
"There were not enough singers at the service at the time and with my parent's encouragement, I became part of the devotional group. By joining, I had become more confident."
He went on to participate in school plays and concerts and learnt Indian classical dance at the Nadaraja Dance Academy. After matriculating he pursued a career in electrical engineering but after two years he found that the career was not for him.
He worked for a trucking company as an administration clerk and driver, while focusing on theatre production. In 2009, he featured in One Fell Into The Cuckoo's Nest, his first theatre production at Sibaya Casino.
"I loved every moment of being on stage. In 2010, I decided to move to Gauteng. I went for vocal training for four months and learnt to play the guitar. To support myself, I worked in a family business, Kagiso Tarp and Net Manufacturers, as an assistant general manager."
In 2011, Raziel's talent was noticed by the group Melody Entertainment.
"I went out with friends for karaoke night and members of the group heard me sing. Right there, they offered me a spot in the group. My first gig with them was at Graceland Casino in Mpumalanga. I am still with them. We perform at various venues in Gauteng singing covers of English and Afrikaans songs."
Raziel said at first, singing in Afrikaans was challenging.
"As the years progressed and with practice, in terms of speaking and singing in Afrikaans, I became more fluent in the language. I love the vibe and energy of Afrikaans music."
Raziel said his manager suggested he release an Afrikaans single. "I thought about it and decided to give it a go. I met Nico de Beer, a singer and songwriter, while performing in Boksburg and I shared the idea with him."
Raziel said De Beer wrote the song Een in 'n miljoen and he recorded it.
"The song has a fresh new sound with a feel-good vibe and my team and I believe that it will be well received by audiences. My main message through my music is to bring people together. My focus is not only on Afrikaans songs but I intend on also trying out other languages. Through my music, I want to show people that we are not that different. This, I hope, will end the problems of the past."
He said when he started doing Afrikaans music his family and friends were initially amused because he was Indian.
"It was only when my parents came to a show last year that they understood what I do and how people react to me. They were blown away. The family is proud now."
The song received airplay on SFM where it is at number 5 on the top 30 playlist. It has also been aired on LotusFM, Die Strandloper in Australia, and other local stations like Paarl FM, IFM, Overvaal Stereo, Radio Namakwaland and Concom Radio. Raziel is working on an album with both English and Afrikaans songs.
The song is available for downlands on iTunes and Spotify.
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