As a young girl Hebe remembers sitting in the back seat of the car sharing a discman with her brother. She notes three cd’s (Nelly Furtado, Van Morrison and John Mayer) she had at the time. “I remember play ing endlessly while looking out of the window and dreaming away “. It were these small moments the artist realized she wanted to create her own music and be a singer . We caught up with the Dutch artist following the release of her latest single “Cards on the Table”. A love song written about exploring the vulnerability and doubt that come with the early stages of a relationship. Breaking free, exposing your vulnerabilities and hoping to be accepted, HEBE explains.
Cards on the Table
The artist described her music as Soulful Electo-pop. With reference to her new EP encompassing more personal elements than previous productions. She highlights how her choice in favourite tracks produced changes over time, with “Cards on the Table” and “Out of Sight” being top of her list as the resonate with the artists current state of mind. “Perhaps that’s because they take me back to specific personal moments or touch on life choices I feel I need to be making in the near future.”
Hebe hopes to bring levity, beauty and a view on the delicate details that make life worthwhile, through her music. Having been brought up in an artistic household, she found the freedom to discover things for herself and create whatever she wanted.
“Many songs would not have existed also without my boyfriend, he is my big inspiration, but he also knows how important it is to take a moment to celebrate important highlights with me.” Hebe opens up about being a “bit of a pushover” when she first started and explains how individuals tried to take advantage of her good nature. She has since learnt to make a clear cut between HEBE the artist, Hebe the songwriter and Hebe the entrepreneur. To stand up for what she believes, wants and expects.
“I am sensitive and I’ve always been searching for ways to relate myself to life and mortality. I suffered from some sort of depression in my late teens, but I’ve grown over that by talking about it, reading a lot about it and also just getting a bit older I guess.”
The artist highlights how she stills suffers from anxiety problems every now and then, and tries to accept that as a part of who she is. She explains how she feels it’s better to sometimes joke about it and aim for pleasure. As long as her feet touch the ground, there’s no need to let her imagination run away. She points to having learnt how people have different people have different work methods and preferences and how she can switch between different roles in every new group. In addition to thriving in the work process. “Writing and producing should be fun, so the most important thing is to feel connected and comfortable”.
Staying True to Herself
Outside of music, HEBE takes joy in going to the beach to swim, going for long walks or to just watch the sunset. She has immersed herself in photography and editing her videos. In addition to spendin as much time with her friends as possible. The artist admires independent voices in music. Referencing artists who really create something and invent themselves again and again with new records. She advises students wishing to follow her path to sing and play music to begin with and find like minded people who you feel comfortable with. Pointing to the reality that there will be a lot of exciting elements and a lot of disappointment along the way when you are keen to make music your profession , so a balance of keeping your head cool and staying positive is really important. With a firm belief that perseverance gets rewarded .
The artist highlights how since 2018 she has been in a long distance relationship and have been commuting between Uganda and the Netherlands for love . Finding her place and mode of living in Uganda and NL was a big challenge for the artist , but at some point she found being in these two different worlds a joy.
HEBE is look forward to undertake her radio live shows in the next few weeks in addition to showcasing her acoustic version of EP ‘Cards On The Table’ to be released November 20th. “These past months I’ve met and worked with so many amazing musicians and people, so I’ve got loads of new songs ready!”
