While many are stifled and suppressed by the Coronavirus pandemic which is hindering the continuance of their regular lives and livelihood, others are finding alternative ways to use the downtime to pivot and thrive.

Young Guyanese Producer, ‘Drew Thoven’ said that though this time is one that has serious health concerns, he is not fazed by the current atmosphere of the country, but rather he is stimulated by the challenge it poses to his creativity.

“My attitude to this pandemic is not a negative one, aside from the health factor. But the fact that you either ride the wave or get left behind, is exciting to me. It pushes me to be productive in a very unproductive environment, so this is a very thrilling time for me,” Drew told ‘The Buzz’.

In fact, he said that as people are using this time for ‘self-healing’ and other things, it has actually allowed him to slow things down and do the thing that he really loves, which is making his own music.

He said that over the past couple of years, he got carried away with events and planning shows which caused him to put music on the back burner.

So this downtime will allow him to focus on music and do what he wanted to do for years.
The producer is widely known for his Carnival soca productions hosted over the years, and his work with international/regional artistes. However, his most creative time is during carnival, and now that there is no carnival due to COVID-19, Drew said he refuses to have his creative lifestyle on a standstill.

As such, he is now working on a new project that will have persons see a different side of his creativity.

Though he is widely known for Soca, the young producer is actually pretty versatile. This new project entails the production of a five-track EP with under-rated Guyanese talent, in the genres of afrobeat, trap and modern dancehall. And this project will be a true representation of his versatility.

“This is a project that represents me and my different moods, and it will be a launching pad to release more sentimental stuff later down. I did a lot of ghost tracks and projects like these, but behind the scenes. And only Soca I was able to claim publicly. When I release this EP, I expect a lot of people to be surprised, but I believe it will have the same effect and reception as my soca releases,” he said.

Thus far, he has Gully Ras, cKush and Jay Anderson as artistes on the EP and he is open to more under-rated Guyanese talent to feature on the project. Persons interested can message him on Instagram.

The track with Gully Ras, titled ‘Hardball’, was released last Saturday as a teaser to the full EP that will come in August for his birthday. Gully Ras’ release was previewed on Drew’s Instagram, and within two days acquired over 6,000 views.

Two other singles from the EP will be released soon as more teasers for what is to come.
Drew said that he will also be doing EPs for each artiste that he can get from this project, and he hinted that he will be doing a full album with Gully Ras, who is exploring to do music on a larger scale.

He also told ‘The Buzz’ that his Carnival 2020 album was already completed, but due to its cancellation, he held back and hopes for normalcy by 2021 so he can release the exceptional creation.