Arriving with much anticipation on December 3, LUCID THEORY is the debut album from fast-rising Namibian electronic music producer, DJ and creative GINA JEANZ, which comes on the back of her releasing three EPs in the last two years that have garnered rave reviews and critical acclaim from the likes of BBC 1Xtra, Glamour, Red Bull Music, Soulection, Resident Advisor, GQ South Africa and Afropunk. Her new album is backed by lead singles ‘Sun Spot’, ‘We Move’ and ‘Dopamine’, which have garnered support from Wonderland, Notion, Earmilk and Rolling Stone India, among others.
Lucid Theory sees Gina Jeanz delivering an electronic music masterclass for listeners to get lost in, with a stellar supporting cast of African vocalists such as Sio, MOONGA K., Brad Knight, Jordan Baker and AliThatDude. Whether it’s future bass or deep house, progressive R&B or alternative soul, UK garage or funky house, the wide-ranging sonic soundscapes on Lucid Theory not only take listeners on an immersive musical journey, but they also showcase the immense talent and creative prowess of Gina Jeanz, who produced and composed all the songs on the album.
Thematically, the album sees Gina and her co-stars channeling and unpacking their emotions through these songs, from the anxiety she experienced before creating the album on ‘Overstimulated’, ‘Sun Spot’, which speaks to tumultuousness in relationships, and getting lost in the moment with ‘After Hours’, to feelings of unrequited love on ‘All Of Me’, being willing to commit to love on ‘Can’t Pretend’, and the album’s final track ‘100ml’, which was inspired by Gina being able to get through her days without anxiety attacks and finding joy in creating again.
Speaking about the inspiration behind her Lucid Theory album, Gina says, “There were series of events that led me to create this album and set the foundation for the entire project. I had been fighting my own battles, particularly after the passing of my mother in 2017, and I was severely anxious and could barely create music without running into creative blocks and worse, doubting my ability to bring my ideas to life. I felt that I wasn’t paying attention to the signs, but with everything that happened, there was a lesson and each lesson forced me to understand my purpose clearly.
Being able to produce my own music during this period of uncertainty brought me so much healing. It’s really the kind of space where I can just be my true authentic self without thinking about it. However, this has been threatened by my inner saboteur, fuelled by the many ideas people had for my career, and it was discouraging that this led me to question who I wanted to be in music. For the first time in a long time, with this album, I knew if I truly wanted to enjoy making music again, I had to freely and fearlessly just do it. This is my story, this is my healing, this is my theory”.
Counting the likes of Wonderland, Notion, GQ, Glamour, BBC 1Xtra and Soulection as fans, Gina Jeanz is not only flying the flag for electronic music in Africa, but she is also one of the few women producers across the African music scene – the fact of which drives her passion to uplift and empower more women in the industry. Revered for her skills on the decks as well as her production and music-making dexterities, Gina has also captivated audiences the world over with her DJ sets, from Afropunk Festival to Boiler Room to Red Bull Music Festival, just to mention a few.
Born and raised in Namibia, and now based in South Africa, Gina Jeanz has established that she is more than capable of rising to the occasion. While she and the rest of the world retreated into lockdown during the pandemic, Gina also took that time to apply herself more creatively as well. She collaborated with Red Bull on their ‘Made In 72 Hours’ project last summer, before ending 2020 with two EPs of her own, ‘Rhythm Chronicles’ and ‘Motion’. In that time, the producer, DJ and composer produced and recorded her debut album Lucid Theory, which arrives on December 3.