Riaan Smit is Sandman
JOHANNESBURG – Check out the new music video for Just Dreaming by Riaan Smit, best known as the frontman for Crimson House.
His sound has been compared to the likes of the legendary Joe Cocker and his style has earned him the title of ‘Don of the Cape Blues Scene’.
Now, Riaan Smit has started a new, mysterious musical project in the form of Sandman and has gotten his fans excited with Just Dreaming.
The song is the first of many releases by Sandman and was shot in the breathtaking Namibian landscape, where Smit was born. The video was shot in Sossosvlei, Moon Valley near Swakopmund.
“I wrote this song when I was 15 years old just before I left Namibia. After recording it with Jo Ellis I knew the only way I could film a video for it was where I had written it; in my beautiful homeland of Namibia which is a natural dreamscape,” explained Smit.
Share the Sandman Just dreaming video! https://t.co/pqs2LFQILC
— Sandman (@Sandman_said) March 14, 2016
The song is mellow, almost reminiscent of the theme songs from old western movies, with Smit’s gravelly voice causing goosebumps. The angelic voice of Lucy Kruger gives the song a magnificent musical dimension, as does Jess van der Merwe on the saxophone.
“This video captures just the tip of the sand dunes that Namibia has to offer. These deserts and their fragile ecosystems need to be preserved, these are not barren wastelands, this is an ancient land which plays a very important role in our world.”
The video was directed, edited and filmed by Endemic Productions, a Namibian company and the team made a 1 500km trek over three days to capture the beauty of the land.
Check out the Just Dreaming video on the Endemic Productions Vimeo Channel:
https://vimeo.com/155485973
Details: Sandman on Facebook or on Twitter on Sandman_said or on Instagram on @sandman_saw
