His first single is called Another Friend. He played it at Djammen a good four years ago. A lot has happened in his life since then. “I’ve aged quite a bit and a second is maybe I’ve got a bit of a beard in my throat,” jokes Justin Ripassa. “And I’ve made a lot of music in that time.”
“A lot happened last year,” explains the singer-songwriter. He has played with the orchestra of the Royal Air Force, but also with music association Excelsior from Oosterhesselen in collaboration with Arjan Erkel. “Yes and still very much with my best friend Jeff Zwart: making music, writing music and recording music.” After the release of his first single, the Emmenaar also disappeared from the radar for a while. “I went to England for half a year to live in Cardiff and to make music there. I actually wanted to stay there a little longer, but then the corona pandemic came along, so that threw a spanner in the works and I’ve been back ever since in Emmen.”
There are few things he likes to do better. “Music is the most important thing to me,” says the songwriter. But he can’t live off it yet, so he also has a job. “During the day I do business in ICT. I have my own company building websites and at night I am an entrepreneur in the music world.” The combination, he says, is perfect. “If you have your own company, you also have the freedom to say: guys, I’m going to play today.” At the moment, Ripassa mainly plays at private parties, but according to him, great things are coming soon.
“One of the songs that Jeff and I wrote together is called The more I’m giving you. That’s a song that we would like to release soon. It’s a very important song for me.” Ripassa says that he writes all his songs about events from his own life. His first single was about love and so was his latest. “I have a best friend and he has found the right one. Unfortunately, they cannot have children together. Then you have to somehow give a different interpretation to your relationship.” According to the Emmenaar, the song is an ode to true love.