Meet Jade – story of a local from Belgium

Posted at 18:04h in Belgium, Europe, Meet Locals by Claudia Bartsch 0 Comments

You can only get to know a country by meeting its locals. May I introduce you to Jade, a local from Belgium.

Young Lady with a passion for South Africa

She looks unique and really special with her curly hair. She is always smiling and attracts people with her positive personality and natural beauty. Jade, 22 years, was born and raised in Ostend in Belgium. She currently studies international relations and politics in Ghent, Belgium and is about to end her studies. She loves coming back to her home city on the weekends spending time with family and friends. What she loves as well is South Africa. That´s where we met. In 2016 she came to South Africa to study in Belleville for a semester. “South Africa has given her so much- it has opened her mind, heart and soul”, she says.

Folkbalkancircusgypsyswingmeteenbeetjecowboychaos

Another way of opening up her heart and soul is through her music- specifically her voice. At the age of 19 she started a band with 3 friends. They didn’t know each other very well but Jade brought them together due to a band competition. The story Jade then told me is sort of unbelievable. For the band contest the four young ladies had to write their own song and they had to choose a song to cover. The lady’s have never played together before but apparently their encounter was fate. It worked out from the first moment they met. Contest-wise they did an amazing job and won the preselection for their province. From that day on they have had lots of requests to play for the past year. As all of the girls were still studying and were keen on finishing their studies, none of the band members were able to get serious with a band career. The genre of their songs they call: Folkbalkancircusgypsyswingmeteenbeetjecowboychaos. I have listened to it and I love it. The fact that they describe their music as crazy and that they always use public transportation to get to their concerts inspired them to their name: “Motivo Loco”. Locomotivo which stands for public transportation and the Spanish word “loco” which means crazy.

Can music change and move people?

Now that Jade is about to finish her studies she would love to become a professional musician. What she would love as well is writing songs as she now feels with the knowledge of her studies she has something to say. Six months ago she went to South Africa again. For her master thesis and also out of her personal interest she did some research on protest music. As a student in politics and as a passionate musician Jade believes music is a tool to change and move people. She told me she has seen people protesting and singing on the streets and she saw that they can have a massive influence in and on society. What they can do as well is to send a message.

Jade has no masterplan for her life yet but she dreams and has a goal: She wants to send a message with her music and connect people from all over the world as she knows that this is what music can cause. Jade believes in the power of music and I wish her the power in making the right decision in what to go for in life.

Here you can find the more about Motivo Loco:

Website Motivo Loco

Facebook Motivo Loco

Soundcloud