Get to Know Droomsindroom, the Musical Brothers Inspiring All the Dreamers
The often-unbreakable bond of brotherhood has been the formula behind some of the world’s most memorable and impactful creations. From the Wright brothers who invented the very first aeroplane to the Jackson 5, who imprinted existence with their seminal music, the story of what brothers soldered by a purpose can do when dedicated to achieving a common goal is one that is retold from generation to generation through the reincarnation of different people. Today, the brothers in focus are South African duo Droomsindroom.
Bred in Pretoria, the brothers, born Kirsten and Kyle Schlebusch, were raised in a musical environment, with their parents being owners of a music school. It was only a matter of time for them before they also caught the bug, which eventually happened when they started composing music as a pair. Venturing into the music business with their bond and a blueprint, Droomsindroom have amassed nearly 110 00 monthly listeners on Spotify, with their biggest songs “Hey Sonneblom” and “Dans Alleen” scoring close to 4 million streams and 1 million plays on the DSP, respectively.
On the 6th of December 2024, the brothers dropped their first English album Dream Syndrome (Season 1), a seven-song hybrid project which saw the brothers stretch their musical capabilities by exploring different sounds such as afro- and country-pop as well as Latin-influenced pop styles. A step into unfamiliar territory since they specialised in making music in Afrikaans, the Afrikaner band shared their sentiments on going against the grain.
Droomsindroom | SUPPLIED
“Our biggest dream for 2024 was to write, produce and release an English album. Obviously, being an Afrikaans band, this was a unique challenge for us. Writing in another language and allowing ourselves to express freely through English music was quite a new challenge, but we knew it would be a great opportunity for us to not only expand and grow our own knowledge and talents, but to also expand our fanbase and to reach new listeners. Since releasing our English album, we were truly blown away by all the new fans and listeners that decided to join our musical journey. One of our songs, “Good Girl”, has even started trending in Nigeria and the streams from Nigeria have already surpassed our total streams from SA on Spotify for this song,” they said.
Droomsindroom backed the release of Dream Syndrome with their country-pop single “Don’t Cry”, a soul-rending song they described paradoxically as a tune of heartbreak and yearning but with feel-good qualities to its texture. With great sense of gratitude for how far they have come, the brothers spoke about having their gaze set on making more Afrikaans and English music as well as exporting their talents to other continents with tours this coming 2025.
“We have already started planning for the future of Droomsindroom and where we want to take our music in 2025. Fans can definitely be excited for a bunch of collaboration songs with both Afrikaans and English artists coming in 2025. We’re also planning and working really hard on organizing a few shows in other countries to bring our music and good vibes to the people of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. We can’t be more fulfilled and thankful for the place where we are currently at in our music career. Dreaming together and being able to make music for so many different people all over SA in both English and Afrikaans – especially alongside your brother – is so special. We can’t wait to see where this journey takes us!” they said.
Listen to “Don’t Cry”:
There is a popular ism that goes: “If you are afraid, then do it scared.” With a career that is predicated on pushing the boundaries as well as their own limits, the brothers are fulfillment incarnate as they live to serve as ambassadors that dreams could come true if committed to.
“We are big believers in the idea of constantly doing things that make you just a little bit scared. ‘Always dreaming big and giving it your all to achieve your wildest dreams,’ is a life motto that we always try to live by. Growth can only ever come when you do the things that are outside of your comfort and safe zone. So, dream big and wild, because you just might actually achieve it!” they said.
Already well on their way with experimenting with other sounds, Droomsindroom revealed that they’d like to do something with the French language someday as inspired by their latest muse, the “Alors on danse” hitmaker Stromae.
“We absolutely love to push ourselves when it comes to exploring with new sounds and genres. A recent artist that really intrigues us is the Belgian artist, Stromae. Something about the French language layered onto the melancholic-upbeat dance beats is really something interesting. So, who knows? Maybe even a French collabo can be expected from the Droomsindroom boeties in the future. Either way, fans and listeners can definitely expect exciting and new moves from us!” they said.