I had been busy writing my own music and when I went back to my home-town to see family and friends, I played some rough tunes to my Dad. And to my big surprise he actually suggested that we go to the studio and do a proper recording. So, he rings up his friend, Bobby Altvater, and there we were at Munich based Skystudios some dreary winter’s day. What was meant to be a quick recording for friends and family turned into a full album production taking several weeks to complete. I was traveling back and forth between Frankfurt and Munich, trying to fit in time for my vocal recording sessions while finishing my master’s thesis. And boy, was I blown away – what an amazing experience. I had the unique opportunity to work with my first rockstar-hero, my Dad. And as the recording progressed, more artists came on board. No programmed percussions or saxophone – real musicians recording with me and giving invaluable advice on vocal and instrumental features. The best bit for me, though, was to see my dad and his music-scene friends reliving the old rock-star days

Tom Burlefinger: Piano on “Dancing in the Moonlight”

Andi Dick: Drums & Percussion.

Reinhard Greiner: Trumpet on “Should I Sing”.

Johannes “Jo” Kuttler: Slide Guitar on “Always Wandering”.

Johannes “Johnny” Rohde: Piano on “Please Stop”.

Max “Doc” Tiller: Saxophone on “Please Stop” and “Time to Shine”

And finally, my very own debut album was finished and after some thought, I decided to go with the artist name Nina Vanderkamps. The funny thing is that it was actually my Mum who came up with this name. She moved to Cape Town some time back and this name symbolizes her relation to this beautiful city. Over time, however, this name has come to mean so much more to me than our family´s Cape Town connection. To me, VanderKamps reflects my free spirited being in the sense that I am in constant search of new experiences and adventures and therefore often change my location. As with everything in life, this way of living has lots of upsides but also downsides. But hey, it is my way. And every day I make a conscious decision to continue on this path. When you listen to the album, you will see that I also put this message into the song “Always Wandering”.

And then I went to Barcelona to do a photo session with the wonderful and inspiring photographer Sabine Grudda. Sure, everything is easy when you are on the beach and you have a beautiful backdrop like Barcelona, but Sabine made me feel so at ease, it felt like having a great afternoon out with a friend.

So here I am, grateful for everything in life and the good things to come. Shine your light ‘cause it is time to shine.