A Hout Bay musician hopes her new single will explore the age-old debate about whether platonic friendship is possible between men and women.
Haylea Heyns’ new single, Just Friends, puts this heated topic under the spotlight.
“The idea for the track came about after a heart to heart with a friend over a glass of wine. My friend had fallen for a guy in a committed relationship, and we chatted in depth about it, trying to figure out what she should do,” she explained.
That conversation led to some soul-searching and a few weeks later, in collaboration with Thomas Watkeys, Ms Heyns wrote, Just Friends.
“While the song is essentially a heart to heart between me and my friend, it also touches on conversations I’ve had with myself in the past – I always seemed to fall for the wrong guy. The lyrics are my advice to my friend and to my past self,” Ms Heyns said.
She uses the song to share her take on the widely-debated topic of whether a purely platonic friendship can exist between a man and a woman, and said: “I have always questioned, in this situation, whether there is one person who secretly wants something more, and the song delves deeper into my views”.
The adult contemporary pop song has a distinct 80s feel, with glassy synthesisers, gated reverbs, and classic Phil Collins-style drums paying homage to that classic era.
“I am a huge fan of 80s music, and it has been so much fun exploring this genre and choosing elements to include in the production. It has, however, been quite challenging to not take the 80s inspiration too far and still have a song that stands its ground in the present pop era,” Ms Heyns said
Her new album marks a special milestone as it is her tenth original release following the success of Sorry and Cold Water.
Haylea was born and raised in Empangeni and has always been passionate about music.
After school she studied BA Music and Drama Performance and graduated Cum Laude.
She made her musical debut in 2018 and has had many career highlights since, including being named Durban Artist of the Year at the 2021 City Awards, having the honour of singing the South African National Anthem and the British National Anthem at big international rugby matches and working with several SAMA acclaimed artists like Connell Cruise and Mark Stent.
In addition to writing and recording music and doing live performances, Haylea has also a published children’s book, and also a skilled copywriter and content creator.
Her new album is now available for download from https://HayleaHeyns.lnk.to/JustFriends
