Jeremy Sobers has maintained an interest in music from the age of nine, influenced by his father, Sean Sobers, a musician and his mother, a director of a local choir.
Jeremy always liked the piano; he loved the sound and later the feel of the keys. He noted that it was his older brother, Christian, who first showed an interest in music which he followed. Jeremy ventured first into music theory, before discovering he is also excellent in the practical aspect. He then taught himself to play many instruments: drums, piano, guitar – just to name a few.
The young musician aspires to be a jazz pianist although he can play various genres of music. On the piano he can rock classical, r&b, jazz rock, soul, blues, and gospel. He can also rock it on the bass guitar, acoustic guitar and the drums. He plans on extending his skills and mastering the cello and saxophone.
Jeremy is the co-owner of Music Unlimited a small music school started by his brother, Christian, who is also a member of the band Collage. Jeremy serves as the piano tutor at the school. He also composes spoken word music. In strengthening his career he works along with various bands as a producer and arranger of music including Collage, Prophetic Breed Society.
Jeremy writes jazz and basic piano instrumentals but to date he has not released anything, stating that he is not ready for that kind of exposure as yet. Jeremy has often worked alongside composer and producer Andrew ‘Drew Thoven’ King who is also a friend.
He has also worked extensively with his father, Sean Sobers on many projects. Christian and Jeremy do a lot of composing for their dad.
He told The Scene in an exclusive that for him, music is an instrument that if used correctly can bring people together. He has received tons of commentary, as people are always amazed at how he puts so much heart and soul into what he does.
The young musician performed in Suriname last month with international gospel artist Eddie James and his team. He also performed alongside Arturo Tappin and his band last year at the ‘Night of Jazz’ concert held here and is a frequent performer at the Jamzone Jazz night.
He said he has a personal agenda because he believes he can bring about change and better the lives of others with music. “Music saved me and I believe it can save others. That is why I teach in the first place,” he said, noting that it was music that brought a certain truth, comfort and rationalisation in his life at a point where he felt down. His preferable genres are jazz, which is his favourite; gospel, rock, dubstep and indie for its cultural beauty and mixtures of sounds and expressions.
His inspiration is definitely from God he expressed, then his parents. His idols, or as he refers to them “external motivators” are James Blake, Eddie James, Isaac Slade, Esperanza Spalding and Danilo Perez.
Jeremy does not have much of a social life. Much of his time is spent studying—he is a student at the University of Guyana—and with his music. When he has down time he plays video games, writes poetry, does spoken word and travels. Teaching at Music Unlimited, he said, is a job he loves and it gives him the time for his education.
Jeremy was born on October 10, 1994 and grew up around Georgetown but now resides in Great Diamond. A middle child, he and four siblings: brothers Yannick and Christian, and sisters Daniella and Tehillah are fortunate to have been brought up in a descent home with strong family values, he said.
His primary and secondary education saw him at the New Guyana School and he pursued post-secondary studies at the School of the Nations. At UG he is pursuing sociology as a pre-law course with the ambition of transferring to the LLB programme in September.
Jeremy has an interest in politics, but for now his heart is set on becoming a lawyer and eventually a judge.
For now, he is also pursuing his other dream, which is to share the influence of music. He said that whichever band he is working with at the time would be one to bring out the best in the things he loves doing: playing the piano, arranging and producing music.
At present, he is working on more music; a few studio projects will soon be done and ready to be published.
