Janie Bay

Janie Bay’s throaty vocals and modern take on Afrikaans music have made her a prominent figure within South Africa’s folk-pop scene. Janie spent several years performing with her brother in underground punk bands before emerging in 2011 with her genre-blurring independent release I Remember. After her 2017 major label debut, Miscellany, the Strand-hailing singer/songwriter pivoted towards making Afrikaans music, finding success with 2019’s “Amper Daar”. “I decided to create songs in my own way,” she tells Apple Music, “which often meant going against the grain of the particular ‘sound’ that has existed in the Afrikaans industry for many years. Pioneering a fresh sound within a kind of conservative genre is a gradual climb, but I have always believed in doing things in your own unique way.” Janie’s collaborations with other contemporary Afrikaans acts such as rappers Jack Parrow (“Veilig”), Early B (“Vir Ewig”), and Jan Bloukaas (“Sterre Brand”) further showcase her songwriting abilities and forward-thinking nature.