Sean Van Blerk – A singer-songwriter of excellence!

It’s rare to find an artist who is a brilliant songwriter, fantastic singer and stellar musician. Sean Van Blerk is the total package.

Sean Van Blerk was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He picked up his first guitar when he was 12 and today, of that moment says: “And that was me. I slept with it, ate with it, I even went to the potty with it! I was inseparable from it, and music just became the cornerstone of my life.” Sean met his mentor, Carl Matthews, a guitar teacher, at the age 15. In a short while the relationship between the two went from student-teacher to being closer than brothers. Carl not only helped Sean to achieve his singer-songwriter status, but also enlightened him on the spiritual aspects of music.

This passion has driven Sean Van Blerk to work his musical grind for the last seventeen years. Of course this artistic puzzle wouldn’t be complete without the help of Sean’s parents, who allowed him to follow his dream. In fact, he never hesitates to show his appreciation to his parents for this.

In South Africa, Sean had a small artist deal, recording a few songs and doing a professional photographic shoot, as well as releasing some music. However this liaison didn’t work out. But instead of letting it get him down, Sean decided to pack up his dreams and take them across the ocean, to exactly where he is today- the USA! While in the USA, Sean has been steadily building up his musical catalog with songs that are easily accessible to any ear. However, the real charm of his music lies in multiple listens, when you eventually peel the layers away to get to the core of his heartfelt creativeness.

Right from the beginning of “Burning Away”, it becomes evident that Sean feels at home with his sound; the melody, the harmonies, and almost jazzy chord progressions over an acoustically driven soft-rock rhythm. Everything is so organic and heartfelt, it’s overwhelming. Moving on, I stumbled onto “Wings Of Truth”. Musically, the minimalistic low-key approach on this acoustic-guitar instrumental complements everything perfectly, giving Sean enough room to play around with his interior calm and repose. The reason why this sounds like the coming of age of Sean Van Blerk, is sprinkled all over his songs; maybe because his life events are now moving towards more of a real artistic growing experience, where he feels he has something more concrete to hold on onto.

Sean Van Blerk is undeniably, a songwriter of excellence. The trick is to match the music with the lyric and convey it all through the vocals. And that is exactly what he does on “Say It Naturally”. This seems to be a highly personal work, born of an insightfulness that continues to evolve. There is much that can be read into and related to within this track, which flows beautifully. You will find the music filling your head and heart with sound, and will love every moment of it. Treasure this if you love the lyric as much as the music and the perfect meeting of both expressed through the Sean’s vocals.

At the first strum of “A Dream That Looks Like You”, a smile crossed my face. It was instant. In this time of money troubles, uncertainty and change, I needed something for this winter, something that had to be just right, something to fill and uplift my spirit with the search for a deeper love and more profound friendship. This song radiates the temperament and psyche of that search.

All Sean Van Blerk’s tracks are masterfully crafted and are distinctive in artistry and detail in their own ways; every one of them has its own soul. Sean hones his artistry to purely needed essentials, in both song writing and production, and these songs are merely the latest evidence of that. They feature the very essence of Sean’s artistry. The songs are melodic and memorable without being cloying, while the lyrics are probing and insightful but never self-indulgent. The production is organic, earthy and solid without any excess glossiness.

It’s rare to find an artist who is a brilliant songwriter, fantastic singer and stellar musician. Sean Van Blerk is the total package.