"I want to keep doing what I'm doing now, but on a bigger scale: Pinkpop, Lowlands, everything."

He is not afraid to make difficult choices. Ruben Verkerke from Limburg studied guitar at Academiy of Pop Music in Enschede when, after two years, he decided to make a drastic change and pursue a degree in songwriting. "So, I had to start all over again," he laughs. The same applies to his graduation project two years ago. "I had put a lot of effort into it. But when it was done, I thought, is this it? I didn't find any satisfaction in it and wanted to conclude my time at the Academiy of Pop Music differently. "Not necessarily on a grand scale, but more so in a pleasant manner with a group of friends."

Hardslag

And he succeeded. Apart from a few subjects, Ruben ultimately completed his bachelor's degree at ArtEZ just as he envisioned. Together with two friends, he founded Hardslag - a band focused on a combination of hip-hop, drum and bass, and a punk mentality. "For my graduation concert, we rented a small room at Innocent in Hengelo, like a punk basement. We played a really fun show there. In the end, that suited me much better than my previous graduation project."

This level of freedom is unique

Because of his musical versatility and boundless interest in the field, the Academy of Pop Music has been the perfect place for Ruben to fully develop himself. "Especially the fact that you can largely shape your last semester according to your own wishes provides a lot of freedom. When I discuss this with peers who are pursuing a similar study, I realize that it's not a standard practice." According to Ruben, this level of freedom is unique. "I could do a bit of this and a bit of that. And I love doing what I enjoy, haha. It's great that the Popacademie encourages that. Everything is super facilitated."

Currently, Ruben is completing his final courses and is involved in various musical activities. He plays guitar in his band Primaat, serves as the community leader of Monkeyjam Enschede, gives workshops, is the frontman of Hardslag, and is busy organizing the Hengelo festival "Gluren bij de Buren" (Peeking at the Neighbors). Ruben says, "Recently, I also started playing drums. Each instrument I play brings me a different kind of satisfaction. It also allows me to learn different techniques, which makes it so much fun." If he had to choose one instrument, he says, "It would be the guitar. Even though I stopped studying it formally, I have fallen in love with it all over again."

What drives Ruben the most is the "accessibility of everything." He doesn't see himself as a programmer for a large festival. Instead, he prefers to focus on projects with a societal impact. He emphasizes the importance of initiatives like "Gluren bij de Buren," which foster social cohesion.

Pinkpop and Lowlands

Although it took him longer than "normal" to complete his studies, Ruben would choose to spend his study time in the same way again. He often tells fellow students, "Get everything out of it that you can! Go to the equipment rental every week, learn new things, dive into the studio. In short, seize every opportunity. You'd be crazy not to." As for his future, he envisions it being in a location further south than where he currently resides. "I'm originally from Limburg and eventually hope to move back to the southern part of the country. And I want to continue doing what I'm doing, but on a larger scale. Pinkpop, Lowlands, everything."

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