Juliet Ochieng’, the former Miss World Kenya 2004, spoke to Standard on relocating to Belgium, her new single ‘Beauty And The Beast’, and her cooking show on YouTube.
What prompted the move from Kenya to Belgium?
By far it has not been an easy decision to make; the kids were settled and doing well in school and I had launched my new jewellery line, Jerekeby and was looking at expanding my business. But we had always talked about relocation with hubby. We decided to relocate slightly before the Covid -19 pandemic hit, it was about time to make the change. Belgium was the obvious choice, being my husband’s home country.
How is the music and creative space like in Belgium and how have they received your music?
The music industry in Belgium is very rich, vibrant and dynamic. With both local and international Belgian artists gracing festivals, concerts and tours. African artists do great here in festivals and concerts where west Africa and North African music dominate. It’s about time we push east African music as well. My song Beauty And The Beast has been doing rounds Kenyan radio stations and has been getting positive reviews.
What’s the inspiration behind your new jam Beauty And The Beast?
(Laughing) I wrote Beauty And The Beast in celebration of my hubby and how he makes me feel. It’s a celebration of that crazy kind of love that drives one wild. If you have ever felt that then this song is for you and if you haven’t, then listen to the song and celebrate love.
Any chance of your performing live in concerts or festivals?
Absolutely. My goal is to push East African music out there and before the Covid-19 pandemic, we were looking at the options of concerts, but nothing concrete had been decided under Jareke media. Plans were pushed back but due to the pandemic but we are hoping to make proper arrangements at a later date.
Any collaboration with Belgian artist?
Yes, we are already looking into that but I would like to do one or two more Kenyan and East African collaborations. As we speak there is something cooking that got me quite excited and can’t wait to share it with the world.
Where can we get your music?
You can get my music on all major platforms. You can follow my YouTube channel, turn on the notification bell to get alerts every time I upload new content.
You have a new cooking channel on YouTube. How did that come about?
We are a family that loves to cook, my hubby is a professional chef and I love to cook as well. I was brought up in a cooking household and our kids love helping us cook. Every time I posted a picture or a video of my family cooking, I would get a lot of people asking about the recipes. It started as a hobby filming my family cooking and now we are opening a YouTube channel, Cooking With The Darches which has been getting lots of interest.
