Droom Dit rocked the Eurosonic Noorderslag stage

Eyes glance between the plastic bags 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 talk about the tight-knit community in Enschede, its love for poetry, and the necessity of (sometimes) raising your voice.

Nothing 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 rejected almost everywhere." As an extra setback, all auditions were online at that time. "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, which was the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Enschede. At the time, I knew nothing about Enschede and had no idea what life would be like in a city in Twente. Despite that, I packed up 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 was 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 playing alongside me as the front person, now they are an indispensable element of Droom Dit. I have been able to let them into something so personal to me."

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."

Personal urgency

"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 at the same time. 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."

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