Sonreal gets a “witness” to success

Print

Vancouver based rapper Sonreal is keeping it real in the other L.A — Los Angeles, where he is enjoying some much deserved success with his latest EP “The Name” and the hit single “Can I Get A Witness” which is closing in on 7 million listens on Spotify.

Sonreal returns to Lethbridge, Feb. 7. Photo by Richard Amery
 Sonreal returns to Lethbridge  with a bigger and better and expanded  headlining show at Pulse, Feb. 7.


“I’ll even been playing  guitar,” said Aaron Hoffman, best known by his stage name Sonreal, who will be bringing a light show and a live band.


“I’ve been practicing three hours a day, but it’s so hard. But it is so much fun playing with the band. Everyone just gets it,” he said, adding he is excited about the new headlining tour.
“It’s going to be crazy. I’m making the VIP experience something special. Usually it is just a meet and greet and people just sign autographs, but I’ll be playing some of my songs acoustically for them for a private concert,” he said, adding the live show will be special.


“ I have a DJ and it is my first show with lights as well as a drummer, a keyboardist and a guitarist and everything,” he said.
“It’s pretty expensive, but it will be worth it,” he said.
 The tour has already been popular enough that he has already been asked to add extra dates in Easter Canada.

“ There are also a few  U.S. dates, though that is much harder,” he continued.

Sonreal was pleasantly surprised by the success of “ Can I Get A Witness.”
“I believed it was a great song, but it definitely exceeded my expectations by going platinum so quickly,” Sonreal said.

“A lot of songs  take two years to break,” he observed.
 As usually he has released quirky videos for the new songs including  “ Can I Get A Witness,” which features some of the surviving characters of other videos “Everywhere I Go” and  “For the Town,” testifying against him in court. It is one of many changes ahead for Sonreal.
The CD features Sonreal singing as opposed to the more hardcore rapping he is known for.


“I’ve built a lot of my career on hard core rapping, but I’ve always loved to sing. I’ve always loved singers like James Taylor and John Prine and Stevie Wonder” Sonreal said.
 The new music also features more personal songs.


“ I like to keep my personal life private, but I do have a girlfriend,” he said, adding that has found its way into his music and the next CD will be even more personal.
 He has released two other videos, “ Hot Air Balloon” and Soho,” and is getting ready to release a video  for “No Warm Up”, which he promised will be the weirdest yet.
“I can’t really explain it, but basically I have a baby being born and the baby’s face is my face,” he said, adding his new music is a little more serious.
“My new music is  a lot more personal and a lot more pensive. A lot has happened in the last year and-a-half. I was in a bus crash and I’ve performed a lot internationally, so I’m writing a lot about that,” he continued.

Sonreal plays Pulse, Tuesday, Feb. 7. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
—By Richard Amery, L.A. beat Editor
Share
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 31 January 2017 12:52 )