Based: Durban

South African singer-songwriter-guitarist Rowan Stuart celebrates the release of his 6th studio album ‘A Map Of Forever’ in 2020. With an Alternative Folk sound that recalls Sting’s imagination, James Blunt’s honesty and John Mayer’s command of the electric and acoustic guitar, Rowan has steadily built a reputation as a captivating storyteller and an accomplished musician.

The Durbanite began playing guitar at the age of 11 – a naturally creative child; he fell in love with the instrument and the magic of song-writing as a doorway to the worlds of his imagination. He soon became a sought-after session musician in theatre shows around South Africa, before taking a leap of faith and stepping into the spotlight as a lead vocalist and front-man, with the release of his first solo album ‘A Thousand Brand New Places’ in 2008. Since then, he has toured South Africa regularly, and his music has received heavy rotation on major radio stations countrywide, most notably with singles ‘Survivors’, ‘Silver Balloon’, and ‘The Kingdom Of Leaves’.

2020’s ‘A Map Of Forever’ was written and self-produced by Rowan, who chose a natural approach, favouring acoustic instruments and the ‘human’ element over synths, electronic production and precise, mechanical timing. The songs and lyrics are also among his most personal and autobiographical to date.

Rowan has so far released music videos for four songs from the album; ‘Into The Heart Of Life’, ‘Sense Of Touch’, ‘Sacred Rhythm’ and ‘Sleepwalking’.

While unable to tour during the South African national lockdown, Rowan is using the time to write new material, and to film more music videos for songs from ‘A Map Of Forever’, to be released in the coming months.

‘A Map Of Forever’ was released digitally worldwide on Tuesday 31 March, and is available on all major music download and streaming platforms.

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NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Albums: A Thousand Brand New Places (2008) / Soul In A Suitcase (2009) / Light In Cages (2011) / Hidden Doors (2014) / Faraway EP (2017) / Faraway (Deluxe) (2018) / A Map Of Forever (2020)
  • Singles: Late Starter (2008) – East Coast Radio Top 20 / Survivors (2018) – OFM Top 20, Algoa FM Top 30 / The Kingdom Of Leaves (2019) – heavy rotation on East Coast Radio
  • Festivals: Splashy Fen, KZN / White Mountain, KZN / The Barleycorn Music Festival, WC / STRAB, Mozambique / Pecanwood Oktoberfest, KZN
  • Artists Supported: Mango Groove, Freshly Ground, Prime Circle, Matthew Mole, Jeremy Loops, The Graeme Watkins Project, The Parlotones, Dan Patlansky, The Muses, Gangs Of Ballet
  • Tours: multiple South African tours since 2008
  • TV Appearances: ETV Sunrise / Expresso / Balcony TV
  • Radio Appearances: East Coast Radio / SAFM / Radio Today / Mix FM / Algoa FM / Wild Coast FM / MFM / Kovsie FM / OFM / Zone Radio / Life & Style FM / UCT Radio and more

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