Andries Vermeulen and his Audio Engineer Eduan Helmuth (far right) with Richard Smith from DWR.
Afrikaans story-teller, singer and television presenter, Andries Vermeulen, is booked out for the next two years. In the entertainment industry for the past seventeen years, his narration is one of hope as he describes his young life in the orphanage, sometimes rampaging for empty cooldrink cans to exchange for money, to the victory he experiences today. With 185 gigs for the year, Vermeulen has invested in L-Acoustics ARCS WIFO System from DWR Distribution.
Vermeulen will tell you that he started off singing in bars… “Where the barman and three other drunks ventured to listen to me,” he smiles. “Years later and I’ve been to Australia, Namibia, traveled around South Africa, and as I perform to allow people to laugh, I take God’s word with me.”
Born on the 9th August 1986, which in South African is Women’s Day and means his birthday is always on a public holiday, Vermeulen was one of a twin, born into a devastatingly poor home without much grace. “There was a bit of love, but it was spread thin,” he admits. At the age of three, his plight became known to a social worker and he was put into an orphanage. “I know what it is like to stand at a train station and wait for everyone to leave and then look for coins on the railway track,” he says. “I know what it’s like to get food out of the skip at a supermarket, and I know what it’s like to step into someone’s yard to drink water from the garden tap… if you filled your stomach you felt less hungry.”
But today, Vermeulen will tell you that he is not a prisoner of his past. “You are the architect of your future through the blood of Jesus. Choose to be the architect.”
“So, I started in the entertainment business to survive,” he says. Singing in pubs he was paid R75 per hour. Today, he is a well-known artist in the Afrikaans market in the South African industry and a director of four different companies. “I perform to groups of 250 to 2 000 people per night and I am also in the ministry. I’ve met the Lord and I need to tell whoever passes my way about His Kingdom and His Glory.”
Vermeulen has two Gold Selling Albums and is also a presenter on “OppieStoep” (on the porch), a comedy and story-telling sitcom television show on KykNET TV which is viewed by around 700 000 people on Friday nights.
“All my life I was looking for quality. Obviously, when you get to a certain stage in your life, you don’t struggle anymore and you don’t want to struggle anymore! In regards to sound and quality, I wanted L-Acoustics. The slogan is what it is, the best touring brand in the world, with users like Bryan Adams, Dana Winner, and all the big names in the industry. I am in the fortunate position to have worked my butt off, but in the wonderful position to bless myself out of His Hand with this new beginning… now working with L-Acoustics.”
Andries Vermeulen (centre) with DWR’s Richard Smith and Duncan Riley
The new system consists of 2 x L-Acoustics ARCS Wide, 2 x L-Acoustics ARCS Focus, 4 x L-Acoustics SB18m and 2 x L-Acoustics LA4X amplified controllers with all the necessary accessories, cables, and cases.
Audio is vital to his performance. “Yes, the entertainer on stage needs to be good, but the sound is the show, and I’m not just a stand-up comedian. I sing too and my whole show, from start to finish, is a production. It’s a written show, we have an international team to programme, it is time-coded and now to be using L-Acoustics, is the cherry on the cake.”
Said Richard Smith of DWR,“I am very happy to welcome Andries to the L-Acoustics family! The ARCS WiFo was the perfect choice for him, because it delivers the clarity he needs but is powerful enough to deal with the most demanding musical content. The beauty of the system for touring artists like Andries, is that it is compact, affordable but also scalable. He can break the system in two if needed for smaller shows, but can easily add to it for the occasional large show.”
ARCS Wide and Focus bring the legendary sonic qualities of L-Acoustics Wavefront Sculpture Technology line sources into a compact, constant curvature enclosure, optimal for medium throw applications. ARCS WiFo is the workhorse of sound providers, going from single enclosure fill all the way up to 360° in-the-round coverage.
Because its coverage matches its shape, ARCS WiFo is easy to use, perfectly conforming to any audience configuration using few elements. ARCS WiFo combines high SPL, native low-frequency performance and constant tonal balance over distance. As a standalone or distributed system, installers as well as service providers will appreciate ARCS WiFo’s performance-to-size ratio.
Life has been rewarding for Vermeulen, but it has been, and continues to be, hard work. “My wife married me in the first year when my career started booming in 2013, so she is used to having me home two and a half days a week,” he comments. “I manage myself and have a team who do my admin.” Just recently he did 5 000 kilometers in five days. Then it’s about doing a four-hour show, rigging, de-rigging and moving to the next town.
“The Afrikaans music industry in South Africa is not in a great position at the moment,” said Vermeulen. “Many artists are struggling, and it’s wonderful that we are booked up for two years in advance. In 2017, I really met up with the Lord again. I sat down, and we had a good talk. I told Him that I had it in my heart to share the ministry and the Kingdom. And He said, ‘I’ve given you your platform, and I’ve made you successful on your platform so that you can use it for this purpose.’
Since February this year, 29 000 people have watched Vermeulen’s show.
