While most are stuck at home in Corona lockdown, a few of us Swiss music bloggers have teamed up virtually and decided to introduce you to some artists. Every Sunday there were two new blog posts in our “Lockdown Artist Discovery” series. With the two contributions of this Sunday we come to the end of our series. After the 8 previous male musicians, we definitely need some girl power in this series. So, at the end, I would like to introduce you to the Surinamese-Dutch artist Samora. At Kekoa’s Korner you can find out more about the American singer Lauren Daigle.
A lasting first impression
In a purple skirt, black top, summer hat and sunglasses, the singer confidently entered the stage at the “Festival am Schluss” in Thun. Cheerful, colorful and full of energy, she carried everyone away with the first song. She impressed the whole Mühliplatz with her fresh, powerful manner. It was the last evening of a four day “Female Reggae Voices” tour in collaboration with Open Season, which is how I heard about Samora for the first time.
Samora’s music style is diverse: a mix of reggae with fiery dancehall, modern soul and great funk, pop and afrobeat elements. The artist with the great voice is not afraid to experiment with her sounds. Samora names the Jamaican reggae pop musician Shaggy, the Jamaican singer Diana King and dance hall DJ Shabba Ranks as some of her influences. When she was a young woman, lyrics weren’t particularly important to her. The main thing was that she could dance and swing her hips. The messages that she conveys to people with her music are now important to her. They are supposed to have a deeper meaning.
Musical beginnings at home
Samora Souprayen was born in 1991 in Paramaribo, Suriname (South America) into a musical family. There was constant singing at her home and in church. She was also a member of a gospel choir. As a 4 year old Samora won a talent competition for the first time and since the age of 5 she has known very well that in life she doesn’t want to do anything but music. But it was difficult for her to convince her family that music doesn’t have to be just a hobby.
In 2006, at the age of 14, the singer moved with her family to the Netherlands, from where she started her music career. It was not easy to move from a third world country to Europe and, with the whole immigration process, to be accepted at a music school at all. In 2012, however, she was accepted at the Nederlandse Pop Academie in Utrecht, which she attended until 2014.
The career takes off
Samora founded her first band and took part in various competitions, some of which she won. In 2015 she released the first singles “Amazing” and “My Turn” before turning to reggae music. The first published song in the style came in 2016 with “Momma said”.
Her career took off. More singles and the first major shows followed when in 2018 Swiss urban reggae band Open Season became aware of Samora and asked to take part in the “Female Reggae Voices” project. With the project, Open Season brought Samora, along with four other female reggae musicians, to the Swiss stages for a 6-show mini-tour. Open Season accompanied the women as a backing band (read here: Open Season presents Female Reggae Voices)
This collaboration with Open Season resulted in Samora’s single “Me na fallin” before she also became part of the successful “Female Reggae Voices” riddim album in 2020. On the album you can find Samora’s song “Free Up”. A song in which she motivates to free from the limits and negative influences that prevent you from getting the best out of yourself. Listen to the album HERE on Spotify.
In 2019, Samora was also able to fulfill a great dream. She celebrated the release of her debut album “Moengo” in Amsterdam’s legendary “Pop Temple” Paradiso.
A live highlight was also the appearances at the renowned “Reggaelake Festival” in Amsterdam as well as several memorable performances in Switzerland.
A productive year
Despite lockdown Samora was not idle in 2020. It was even her most productive year. Samora entertained her fans with covers, e.g. from Rihanna, and appeared in live streams. But most of all, she spent a lot of time in the studio. Own songs were created like “One and only”, but just as many collaborations. These were collaborations with Guillaume Horau, Wizdom, Kafmalbar and DJ Mimi from La Réunion for “Avan Nous Sava”. With Phara a “Kofferbak” was created. She also released “How Long” with Brother Culture and “What You Came For” with Lutan Fyah. Of course, this required some promo and two smaller live performances at the Sounds Of Garden event and the Reeds Festival were possible despite the pandemic.
Future plans
Just a week ago, Samora released “Bruises”, her first single of the year. Suiting the difficult pandamie time, the song is about the fact that everyone gets “bruises” in life from conflicts, fights and issues. But instead of repressing the memories, it’s better to face them and deal with the situations so those bruises can heal.
Musically, “Bruises” is different from what Samora has released so far. It’s a ballad with reggae and RnB attributes. The message of the song is in line with songs like “Free Up”, “Me Na Fallin” or “Time Will Come”.
Watch the video here:
Many more songs by Samora are to follow in 2021, maybe even an album. In order not to miss anything, it is best to follow Samora on social media.
Follow Samora
If you want to be up to date with Samora, follow her on Social Media:
Samora on Facebook
Samora on Instagram
Samora on Youtube
Samora on Spotify
Samora’s Website
About the Lockdown Artist Discovery series
Check out the articles from the other music bloggers.
Loads of music: Jake Isaac, Luke James Schaffer
Erenblogs: Daniel Donsky, Haevn
Kekoa’s Korner: Nathan Evans, Lauren Daigle
Music and Events: Marius Bear, Tim Freitag
PlanetSarah.ch: Wild Youth, Samora
