Bloubergstrand singer, Haas La’uomo, 31, hopes his debut single Goosebumps, released last week, will inspire others.
And it is certainly catchy, and near impossible to resist the urge to tap your foot or bob your head to the beat as he sings “You give me goosebumps for free…”
Haas said the song was written in a Blouberg beachfront coffee shop, where he and some friends had already been asked to leave because they were ad libbing too loudly.
When writing lyrics, he said, he gets lost in his imagination and nothing else around him matters.
But following a career in music wasn’t easy as he had been advised to find a job in the corporate world because “music will not bring in any money”.
And so he studied a business course and worked as a business strategist, but, said Haas, he had always “had this emptiness inside,” because he knew he wanted to create music.
He then signed up for a MMMA Music Academy part-time music course and decided to follow his dreams, he said.
Some people may even notice Haas from playing his piano at Table Bay Mall.
Haas said he had worked extremely hard to create the song Goosebumps, and worked even harder on the seven other songs he had worked on before this, which he hopes to add to an album.
His music is inspired by the likes of Ricky Martin, Ed Sheeran and Enrique Iglesias, however, he said he does not want to be rich and famous “for the wrong reasons”.
Instead, he hopes to tell his story through music, because music “speaks to the masses”.
“My only wish is for people to relate to my music and I hope to create inspirational and aspirational tracks, where it makes one feel alive and ready to take on the world,” he said.
Haas said he has faced many challenges over the years, including financial challenges and being turned away by producers.
But he believes “nothing is impossible if you work hard at it.”
He then started sending his songs to friends with musical backgrounds and asked them to be his critics.
“At first it was hard hearing that I was not sounding right or that I needed to add changes to my pitch or tone but in the end it made me a better artist,” he said.
His song, Goosebumps is available on most online platforms.
