The last twelve months have seen Hendrik Joerges really grow into his own unique sound. Frequently tapping his inner vocalist, the Durban-based producer is making waves with a distinct take on future bass that is equally chaotic as it is calculated and enchanting. Hot off the emotive ‘Running From You‘, we are stoked to premiere his latest masterpiece titled ‘Stressed’ alongside Pretoria-based rapper 17AD.
“Him and I linked up when he was in Durban to work on some stuff. The first version of the track was purely hip hop, but I wasn’t quite happy with it so I flipped it on its head and turned it into a hip hop/melodic trap/drum & bass hybrid,” Joerges tells us about working with 17AD. Quite interestingly, ‘Stressed’ is exactly as the South African producer describes it: a conglomeration of multiple genres coming together to form one cohesive banger.
“The track both lyrically and instrumentally explains a built up stress and anxiety that a lot of people face when they step into the real world and try to establish themselves. I’ve found my early twenties daunting, trying to juggle my music, a day job and 3rd year university while at the same time trying to maintain a social life and build a ‘brand’ on my social media. 17AD’s verses quite accurately describes the quarter life crisis that many people experience, ‘leaving the nest’ figuratively, stepping away from one’s taught beliefs and values and learning new ones, worrying about the inevitability of one’s parents’ (and our own) demise.” This message is layered above crisp instrumentals highlighting Hendrik Joerges’ pristine production abilities without undermining the powerful 17AD vocals.
“My pre-chorus is fairly straightforward, describing anxiety and the pre-burnout stage of trying to do everything at once. I hope people can relate to these lyrics and maybe the song can serve to them as a ‘helping hand’ of sorts in their daily lives, knowing that they aren’t the only ones going through existential troubles,” Joerges elaborates. Superimposed with deep meaning, ‘Stressed’ is an emotional roller coaster of a track, as the conflicted artist quickly catapults the lyrical section into a high-energy bop. The peaks and troughs in intensity paired with the various musical elements perfectly capture the essence of being stressed. Check it out below!
