IT’S been five years since the release of Jessica Chaz's Dreamin' EP and, to celebrate, the Canada-based artist has released five different versions of the song to keep its message alive.
Chaz was born and raised in Kharwastan in Chatsworth and later Glenwood. She attended Parkside Primary School and Durban Girls’ High School and then studied for a bachelor’s degree in music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She majored in performance.
She and her family then moved to Canada and she later studied at Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria in Canada, toward a certificate in business administration, which is ongoing.
Chaz is currently based in Vancouver.
The 33-year-old is a full-time musician, producer and the co-CEO of the Moodlab Entertainment group, which she runs with her sister, Vanessa Moodley.
The Dreamin’ EP was themed around the dreams that people have and it explored that in people’s life stories. It was also Chaz’s story of her personal journey to find a way to live out her dream.
She said that with the remixes, it was a musical adventure.
“I had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of people who supported me in trying new ideas. We challenged ourselves to create these five different remixes in a short amount of time.
“Working on these remixes with these artists and remembering the process of the original, when all the wonderful people who were so brave and trusted us with putting their dreams out there with me on video, was an inexplicable experience.
“Looking back at the original video and seeing 30 people putting their dreams out there in faith and hope, allowing us to be a part of their journey, will always be more special than I could explain.
“What’s amazing to see is that five years later, the majority of those dreams are now real; and that was hope filling for me and my team. We are thankful and we hope that with these remixes it can be a reminder to you, that even in 2023 you can hope and dream and it is possible it will become a reality in time,” said Chaz.
The five remixes commemorate the fifth anniversary of Dreamin’.
Chaz collaborated with musicians Julian Telfer-Wan, Norasea, Drew Adams, João Pedro Pinheiro, and Tristan Paxton. She said the original featured composer/pianist Neil Gonsalves, who is based in Durban.
“Dreamin’ is about hope and faith that things that we dream for, hope for and wish for are possible. I think now more than ever, we need reminders that hope and faith in the impossible or the seemingly unreachable dreams we may have are needed.
“As people post the pandemic, that’s a luxury many don’t have the chance to do; to hope, to dream and to believe it could be real. It still can be. I believe having that reminder right now is important.”
Chaz is working on her next EP, River, which will be released later this year.
Follow Chaz on www.jessicachaz.ca, Instagram and YouTube.
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