“Heartbreak, infatuation, disappointment,” says Daniel Baron, on where he finds inspiration. “But girls aside, the album themes are broad.”

I discover just how true this is as Daniel speaks. At 21, he stands at the foot of his career but by the same token, he deserves much more than dismissal of a 21-year-old. Recognising Idols SA as his launchpad- he placed 9th in Season 6 - Daniel has taken leaps in a relatively short period of time. He may be young, but he has a lot of stories in him.

Something of a savant, Daniel is a self-taught musician. He plays the drums, bass and piano by ear, choosing to "discover" the music he creates as he goes, in a process which he describes as “a mystery… more magical than technical.” 

Growing up in a house of music-lovers, Daniel recalls his parents blasting 80s music and live shows of the greats, letting him “bang around” on pots and pans from the kitchen. Later, he was given a drum kit and, along with a keyboard from his grandfather, Daniel started to replicate songs he heard on the radio. He cannot read music and finds the prospect exasperating.

After Daniel was voted out of Idols he was devastated. But not defeated. Pragmatic about his career, he quickly released a single to keep with the momentum of Idols, so that he wouldn’t simply “drop off”. The single was Paint My Blue Sky and it preceded a trip to the United States, which would shift Daniel’s perspective entirely.

Along with his father, Daniel travelled to Ethiopia to be part of STUCK, a documentary looking at the world’s adoption crisis. Among other pieces for the film’s soundtrack, here Daniel recorded and shot a video for his track Wrongfully Detained. But it was really only upon his return home, and reflection on the trip, that the impact of the experience hit him.

Daniel loves people, and he is intrigued by stories. He has moved on from heartbroken pop songs to owning a real concern for experience. Not the least of this concern lies in the single which will be released along with his album: A Lion’s Heart. Recorded in a single take, Daniel describes the track as “real and raw”, and it is a dedication to his cousin, Matthew, who lost a battle with cancer a little earlier this year.

With Matthew having drawn the album art for A Lion’s Heart, this first album is a momentous one for Daniel – certainly now, before its release, in how intensely personal it is. I question how he feels performing A Lion’s Heart (he was able to play it for Matthew before he passed away) and he tells me he isn’t sure yet, but that with all his family present on Saturday, his launch will be something very significant to him.

Daniel Baron launches It’s Time at La Toscana, Montecasino on Saturday, 22 September. Tickets are available for R80 through Computicket.

Check out Daniel's video for So Much More, also the theme song for DStv.