When Jacques refers to his entourage, he speaks with great fondness of his band members from Mr. Cat & The Jackal – these days comprising of co-frontman Gertjie Besselsen, bass guitarist JC Visser and drummer Johan Pretorius.

From performing on large stages like those at Endless Daze, Strab, Park Acoustics, Oppie Koppie and Ramfest, it is hard to comprehend that Die Jakkals could have an ounce of fear in him.

According to Tara Bakkes, Jacques’s significant other, he has been wanting to do his own thing for more than three years.

His first solo show kicked off last Thursday at the Skål Bar & Eatery. The Wredekloof Dive Bar was the chosen place to launch his solo career and belt out his alternative, dark, country-folk music.

Cigarette smoke clouded the bar. Glasses of whiskey and red wine stood all around, consumed by the curious, groupies and friends. Although most of Jacques’ tunes are minor chord oriented, that sound that gives a melancholic “longing for people you have never met” feel, it is mesmerizing to watch this multi-instrumentalist perform.

You name it and he can play it without putting much effort into it. Hell, he does not only play everything, he also builds his own instruments. Jacques is often dubbed a Sound Design Artist and rightly so because if he likes a sound, he finds a way to create and record it.

As a master of sound engineering, not only does he keep himself busy by re-working old hits and writing new material, he also spends much of his time, as founder and co-owner of The Fresh Meat Studio, helping other artists record and design the sound that they are after. There doesn’t seem to be any end to his creativity, because he is also highly sought after for his ability to compose music for theatre and local television productions.

Being one of a handful of people in South Africa that can play a saw, he kept this party trick up his musical sleeve right until the end of his second set, too much entertainment of his fans, while hovering over his, you guessed it, self-built lap-slide guitar and with an acoustic guitar hanging off his shoulder.

Die Jakkals has unrivalled talent. You can follow him on various platforms including Instagram, YouTube and SoundCloud. One of my favourite covers by Die Jakkals is 'Spanish Caravan', originally recorded and performed by The Doors.

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