Moving people: Congolese-born musician Tresor will bring his 10-piece band to the Joy of Jazz festival in Joburg this weekend. Photo: Supplied
This weekend, Johannesburg’s Joy of Jazz Festival will welcome Tresor, one of Africa’s most influential musical voices.
Known by many as the King of Pop in Africa, the Congolese-born singer-songwriter, producer and music entrepreneur has spent over a decade building a career that bridges African pop, jazz, Afrobeat, dance and more.
“Yes, it’s my first time [at Joy of Jazz],” Tresor says, fresh off his arrival from Cape Town. “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m bringing my complete band. I have a full brass section and a string quartet that will join us on stage, which will be really exciting and it’s just going to be a really fun night for us.”
Tresor’s catalogue reads like a roadmap of modern African pop. His debut album VII took seven years to create and earned him Best Pop Album at the 2016 South African Music Awards (Sama).
The record produced hits such as Mount Everest (Freddy Verano Remix), which topped Italy’s airplay charts and reached number one on the Global Shazam trending list.
His follow-up albums, The Beautiful Madness and Nostalgia, also won Best Pop Album at the Samas, cementing his reputation as one of Africa’s defining musical voices.
Singles from Nostalgia, like Electric Night featuring AKA, Sondela featuring Msaki and On va bouger featuring Sauti Sol, have become staples in African pop playlists worldwide.
“My career has been a combination of a lot of special occurrences,” Tresor says, reflecting on his journey.
“I don’t think there’s only one pivotal moment. I think there’s always a moment that leads to something and something … They’ve all been building this beautiful pyramid of work.
“Every brick laid in the foundation has been crucial to where I’m standing right now.”
Over the years, Tresor has worked with some biggest names in music. One of the highest-profile collaborations was with Drake on the dance-heavy album Honestly, Never Mind.
Tresor contributed to six songs on the record — Currents, Massive, Flight’s Booked, Overdrive, Downhill and Tie That Binds — and lent vocals to four tracks.
“They reached out because they heard some of the stuff I did and it was really exciting,” he says. “Honestly, Never Mind became a massive cultural shift album and a very important project.”
Before working with Drake, Tresor teamed up with South African Amapiano pioneers DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small on Rumble in the Jungle.
“That album really changed the Amapiano sound and opened it to the world, both sonically and lyrically,” he says. “If you look at the visuals and the art direction before and after, you see a massive shift.
“It was really vital for all our careers. It happened naturally during lockdown, which makes it even more special.”
Closer to home, Tresor has collaborated with South African legends like Hugh Masekela, Mahotella Queens, Msaki, Beatenberg and Sauti Sol.
“Bra Hugh was probably the most fun and most youthful person that I know,” he recalls. “He reached out to me maybe two, three years before he passed.
We got to make a lot of music together and he guided me in terms of life and music. It was an incredible honour.”
Tresor’s love for collaboration extends across the continent. He has worked with Congolese icon Lokua Kanza and Kenyan group Sauti Sol and hints at an ambitious new African project being finalized in Paris, set to release early next year.
“It’s probably going to be my biggest African collaboration project to date,” he says. “You must look out for it.”
His approach to collaborations, he explains, is always organic.
“A lot of them happen just by energy,” Tresor says. “We are in a room together, or we’ve been wanting to do something together, and it just happens naturally. Those are always my favourite ones, when it just happens without being planned or thinking twice.”
Jazz has always been central to Tresor’s music: “Jazz is really the source of inspiration for many genres of music,” he says. “It carries elements that really serve as the construct for many genres I play — Afrobeat, dance, pop, African pop.
“Bringing my band into a space that is heavily jazz-focused is always a great reminder of how I’ve bridged that gap between my sound and jazz.
“It’s always an honour to perform in that space and share my music.”
For this weekend’s Joy of Jazz, Tresor is bringing a 10-piece band.
“It’s going to be really exciting,” he says. “I want people to enjoy themselves and get immersed. I want them to dance, move and have fun.
“That’s really it. I’m going to be having fun myself. That’s what’s going to create really incredible memories and moments for them.”
Looking ahead, Tresor has ambitious plans for collaborations with global artists he admires. “Top of the list? Daft Punk, Rihanna, Beyoncé.
I’d love to do something really avant-garde African, like a modern-day Grace Jones, but Rihanna sonically and visually. Something out of the box. Something cool. Something that pushes boundaries.”
He also sees dance music as central to his future.
“I think dance is going to be the most important genre for me going forward,” he says.
“It’s where my energy meets my songwriting. Music should make people happy, make people move. That’s the point.”
Tresor also worked with Metallica on Nothing Else Matters for their Blacklist anniversary album and continues to expand his reach globally through a co-publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing.
His vision is clear: “I want my music to touch the world. I want it to move people, everywhere. That’s always been my goal.”
Over the years, Tresor has built a career that spans continents. He splits his time between Europe, the US and South Africa, with operations in Los Angeles, Paris and London.
However, despite his global presence, he remains rooted in African music and culture.
“South Africa has, of course, always been home,” he says. “I’m always coming back here for work, design and some of the exciting projects I’m doing here as well, outside of music.”
Reflecting on the arc of his career, Tresor describes it as a series of interconnected moments rather than a single defining point.
From writing songs for Zahara’s second album Phendula, to releasing VII, to working on projects like Rumble in the Jungle and Honestly, Never Mind, he sees each step as part of the larger picture.
“It’s really been a combination of a lot of things,” he says. “I’ve been really blessed to have an illustrious career that connects me to the world.”
Whether through his award-winning albums, groundbreaking collaborations with Drake and Masekela, or the upcoming Paris project, Tresor remains at the forefront of African music.
Over a decade into his career, he continues to innovate, bringing together jazz, pop, Afrobeat and dance in ways unmistakably his own.
“This festival is special,” he says. “Being in a jazz-focused space, bringing my band and sharing my music is an honour. I just want people to dance and feel the music. That’s what it’s all about. That’s why I do this.”