Sam rocked Eurosonic Noorderslag with their band 'Droom Dit'
- Music
Clear eyes swing back and forward between the plastic bag of sandwiches on the table, a fellow student clearing out a drum booth, and the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. "I still need to catch my breath a bit," says Sam de Laat, a fourth-year student at the ArtEZ Academy of Pop Music in Enschede and front person of the band Droom Dit. "Since the Droom Dit show at Eurosonic Noorderslag last week, everything suddenly feels different. My inbox is overflowing, my band is getting a lot of attention." They talks about the tight-knit community in Enschede, its love for poetry, and the necessity of (sometimes) raising your voice.
Nothing just happens by chance
Four years ago, Sam sat in their bedroom in Eindhoven. They had applied to nearly all Dutch conservatories, but to no avail: "I was actually almost rejected everywhere." Plus, all auditions were online back then. "So the auditions were basically in my bedroom, which made it even more intimate and fragile. I don't remember exactly how I managed it, but I was accepted at one academy, and that was the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Enschede. I knew nothing about Enschede. I had no idea what life would be like in a city in Twente. Still, I packed my things and moved here. In 2020, I started the Bachelor's course at the Academy of Pop Music with 'Singer-songwriter' as my main subject.
Although I knew nothing about Enschede before I moved here, I got pleasantly surprised. What I found here at the ArtEZ Academy of Music was a close-knit community of progressive, modern musicians. Due to the small scale of the school, the students here are quite reliant on each other, not only socially but also in the creative process. I have met my band members here, and whereas they used to be alongside me as the front person, they are now an indispensable link in what Droom Dit (the name of our band) does. I have been able to let them into something that is very personal to me."
What I do stems from a genuine necessity. You're not just watching an act when you attend a Droom Dit show. Themes I want to address in my songs come directly from my own inner world." - Sam de Laat
Not metaphorical, but poetic
"I like to draw, and I have been reading prose and poetry collections by Cees Nooteboom since I was a child. During my high school years, I was part of two debate clubs and wrote my thesis on philosophy. By expressing my inner world through such channels, I like to think that I have become more articulate and skilled in the creative process. Dutch language also inspires me. I believe you can recognize a writer by their choice of words and sentence structure. It is also very personal. I began to hear that reflected in music by artists like Wende, Spinvis, and Eefje de Visser. What I do now is hyper-autobiographical, or naked. My (Dutch) language is direct; I can use it to say exactly what I mean, without using metaphors. At the same time, it is poetically shaped. Music itself is also part of it. I want to make danceable pop music."
Necessity
"What I do stems from a genuine necessity. You're not just watching an act when you attend a Droom Dit show. Themes I want to address in my songs come directly from my own inner world. I don't shy away from addressing taboos. I want to get my audience moving and thinking about themes like gender and politics. Sometimes I have to raise my voice because only that does justice to the emotion I feel about it."
Undeniable
Sam isn't just shouting into the echo of their own voice. The Droom Dit show at Eurosonic Noorderslag has stirred many tongues. 3voor12/3fm has even placed Droom Dit at number 1 in the top 25 acts of ESNS 2024. With many club shows and festivals on the horizon, Droom Dit is undeniable this summer. And graduation? "That will come later."
