SAM RENASCENT

The story of Samuel Vekeman – aka Sam Renascent – starts with a dream. At five years old, the Congolese-born Antwerp-raised musician starts drumming and cherishes a big ambition; to perform at het Sportpaleis, Belgium’s biggest venue. At the Antwerp art school, his talent gets a first confirmation. He is selected for a scholarship in New Jersey for Afro-Latin jazz. “When I got back in Belgium, I had to decide my direction in life. I was lost and knew that I had to find some answers about my heritage first.”

Together with his adoptive parents he travels to Kinshasa, Congo to find his roots. “It might be a cliché but that trip changed my vision of life. I realised that I had opportunities that my siblings who didn’t get adopted could never have. I felt reborn.” Sam Renascent – from the Latin word ‘renascere’ – refers to that feeling. With newly found strength and dedication, Sam starts studying music, first in Amsterdam, then in London. Last year, he released his first single ‘Kobotama’, which tells the story of his rebirth on African tinted urban electro pop. “I wanted to tell the world who I am, what I stand for and how my character was formed.”

One year and a lot of adventures later, Sam is ready to present his debut EP ‘Unbridled Confidence’. The road to this release was a rather bumpy one as his new professional life also brought with it some misfortune. “All of a sudden you find yourself surrounded by a lot of people who have opinions about the way your career should evolve. Those opinions are sometimes contradictive to each other and your own. I started doubting my music and myself and found myself in some kind of artistic depression. In the search for self-confidence, Vekeman found himself in Finland where he was invited by Muscular, a pair of producers, to help them out on some song writing. He feels inspired and decides to stay another three weeks in which he writes more than twenty songs. For the second time in his young life, he feels reborn. “My self-confidence returned, higher than ever. The title of my EP is a reference to that. I was too busy with other people’s opinions and expectations while I just had to let my music do the talking. Right now, I only do things my way, unapologetically and I’m more focused then ever to make this happen, on MY terms.”

While ‘Kobotama’ was about his personal quest, ‘Unbridled Confidence’ takes on a more societal viewpoint. The Antwerp musician touches upon worldly themes such as child soldiers (single ‘War Child’), #metoo (‘Dirty Hands’), the migration crisis (‘Guilt Trip’) and abuse of power (‘Monopoly’) without ever becoming preachy. “It’s not my intention to talk people into feeling guilty or to call them to take action. I do however want to use my stage to raise awareness en tell people about things that are happening and touch or frustrate me. As an artist, I’m in a privileged position and I want to use that for something more powerful than yet another love song. Just like in my own life I also focus on how the victims in the song find positive ways to deal with their situations.” That reflects musically in a more mature, percussion driven sound with enlightening guitar riffs and dragging synths. One thing is for sure; with this release Sam Renascent takes some big steps on the road towards fulfilling his twenty-year-old dream.

The story of Samuel Vekeman – aka Sam Renascent – starts with a dream. At five years old, the Congolese-born Antwerp-raised musician starts drumming and cherishes a big ambition; to perform at het Sportpaleis, Belgium’s biggest venue. At the Antwerp art school, his talent gets a first confirmation. He is selected for a scholarship in New Jersey for Afro-Latin jazz. “When I got back in Belgium, I had to decide my direction in life. I was lost and knew that I had to find some answers about my heritage first.”

Together with his adoptive parents he travels to Kinshasa, Congo to find his roots. “It might be a cliché but that trip changed my vision of life. I realised that I had opportunities that my siblings who didn’t get adopted could never have. I felt reborn.” Sam Renascent – from the Latin word ‘renascere’ – refers to that feeling. With newly found strength and dedication, Sam starts studying music, first in Amsterdam, then in London. Last year, he released his first single ‘Kobotama’, which tells the story of his rebirth on African tinted urban electro pop. “I wanted to tell the world who I am, what I stand for and how my character was formed.”

One year and a lot of adventures later, Sam is ready to present his debut EP ‘Unbridled Confidence’. The road to this release was a rather bumpy one as his new professional life also brought with it some misfortune. “All of a sudden you find yourself surrounded by a lot of people who have opinions about the way your career should evolve. Those opinions are sometimes contradictive to each other and your own. I started doubting my music and myself and found myself in some kind of artistic depression. In the search for self-confidence, Vekeman found himself in Finland where he was invited by Muscular, a pair of producers, to help them out on some song writing. He feels inspired and decides to stay another three weeks in which he writes more than twenty songs. For the second time in his young life, he feels reborn. “My self-confidence returned, higher than ever. The title of my EP is a reference to that. I was too busy with other people’s opinions and expectations while I just had to let my music do the talking. Right now, I only do things my way, unapologetically and I’m more focused then ever to make this happen, on MY terms.”

While ‘Kobotama’ was about his personal quest, ‘Unbridled Confidence’ takes on a more societal viewpoint. The Antwerp musician touches upon worldly themes such as child soldiers (single ‘War Child’), #metoo (‘Dirty Hands’), the migration crisis (‘Guilt Trip’) and abuse of power (‘Monopoly’) without ever becoming preachy. “It’s not my intention to talk people into feeling guilty or to call them to take action. I do however want to use my stage to raise awareness en tell people about things that are happening and touch or frustrate me. As an artist, I’m in a privileged position and I want to use that for something more powerful than yet another love song. Just like in my own life I also focus on how the victims in the song find positive ways to deal with their situations.” That reflects musically in a more mature, percussion driven sound with enlightening guitar riffs and dragging synths. One thing is for sure; with this release Sam Renascent takes some big steps on the road towards fulfilling his twenty-year-old dream.

The story of Samuel Vekeman – aka Sam Renascent – starts with a dream. At five years old, the Congolese-born Antwerp-raised musician starts drumming and cherishes a big ambition; to perform at het Sportpaleis, Belgium’s biggest venue. At the Antwerp art school, his talent gets a first confirmation. He is selected for a scholarship in New Jersey for Afro-Latin jazz. “When I got back in Belgium, I had to decide my direction in life. I was lost and knew that I had to find some answers about my heritage first.”

Together with his adoptive parents he travels to Kinshasa, Congo to find his roots. “It might be a cliché but that trip changed my vision of life. I realised that I had opportunities that my siblings who didn’t get adopted could never have. I felt reborn.” Sam Renascent – from the Latin word ‘renascere’ – refers to that feeling. With newly found strength and dedication, Sam starts studying music, first in Amsterdam, then in London. Last year, he released his first single ‘Kobotama’, which tells the story of his rebirth on African tinted urban electro pop. “I wanted to tell the world who I am, what I stand for and how my character was formed.”

One year and a lot of adventures later, Sam is ready to present his debut EP ‘Unbridled Confidence’. The road to this release was a rather bumpy one as his new professional life also brought with it some misfortune. “All of a sudden you find yourself surrounded by a lot of people who have opinions about the way your career should evolve. Those opinions are sometimes contradictive to each other and your own. I started doubting my music and myself and found myself in some kind of artistic depression. In the search for self-confidence, Vekeman found himself in Finland where he was invited by Muscular, a pair of producers, to help them out on some song writing. He feels inspired and decides to stay another three weeks in which he writes more than twenty songs. For the second time in his young life, he feels reborn. “My self-confidence returned, higher than ever. The title of my EP is a reference to that. I was too busy with other people’s opinions and expectations while I just had to let my music do the talking. Right now, I only do things my way, unapologetically and I’m more focused then ever to make this happen, on MY terms.”

While ‘Kobotama’ was about his personal quest, ‘Unbridled Confidence’ takes on a more societal viewpoint. The Antwerp musician touches upon worldly themes such as child soldiers (single ‘War Child’), #metoo (‘Dirty Hands’), the migration crisis (‘Guilt Trip’) and abuse of power (‘Monopoly’) without ever becoming preachy. “It’s not my intention to talk people into feeling guilty or to call them to take action. I do however want to use my stage to raise awareness en tell people about things that are happening and touch or frustrate me. As an artist, I’m in a privileged position and I want to use that for something more powerful than yet another love song. Just like in my own life I also focus on how the victims in the song find positive ways to deal with their situations.” That reflects musically in a more mature, percussion driven sound with enlightening guitar riffs and dragging synths. One thing is for sure; with this release Sam Renascent takes some big steps on the road towards fulfilling his twenty-year-old dream.