by Steven Seedo
PARAMARIBO — “Forty years of music has never just been a career for me. It is a life in itself. A path of trial and error, of keeping going when things get difficult and of believing in what you do again and again.” That Stanlee Rabidin (1971) in conversation with the True Time in a look back on his forty-year career.
The artist celebrates his fortieth anniversary on Sunday with a concert in Tilburg, the Netherlands. “This will not be an ordinary performance, but a celebration of my life’s work. The past, present and future come together. The songs take on a different meaning because they are connected to memories and important phases in my life.”
“Not when everyone claps, but when it is quiet and you have to bear it alone, you learn who you really are”
The singer, composer and founder of the band Le Freak looks back with gratitude on a career that has shaped him not only as an artist, but also as a person. He emphasizes that this is not only due to successes, but also and precisely due to periods when things were difficult. “Not when everyone is clapping, but when it is quiet and you have to bear it alone, you learn who you really are. Those experiences have shaped my character and you can hear them in my music.”
Keeping culture alive
According to him, the power of his songs lies in authenticity. “Everything I sing comes from the heart. I don’t try to make what people want to hear, but what I feel. That is precisely why people recognize themselves in it.”
Rabidin emphasizes that his Javanese-Surinamese background plays an important role in his music. “I carry the history, culture and values with me. You can hear them in the melodies, the feeling and the stories I tell. Music is also a way for me to keep that culture alive and pass it on to future generations.”
Support and hold
Rabidin was born in the Para district and lived there for nine years before moving to the Netherlands. In 1987, when he was sixteen years old, and the following two years, he won the Surinamese-Javanese song contest in the Netherlands. He is one of the few artists to win a top prize three years in a row.
In the early 1990s he founded the band Le Freak, with which he became widely known thanks to hits such as ‘Sondro Yu’, ‘Poes Poes’, ‘Dudu’, ‘Slegedek’ and ‘Tumsie Langa’. Nowadays Rabidin still performs regularly, but less intensively than in his heyday with Le Freak.
The artist says he not only focuses on (continuing to) make music, but also on building bridges between generations and cultures. “I want to pass on my story and music to the next generation, so that they know where they come from and feel the power to walk their own path.”
Rabidin is aware of the ‘power’ of fans. “What touches me most is when people tell me that my music has helped them through difficult times. Then you realize that music is much more than entertainment. It can be a support and something to hold on to. Those are the moments that I always carry with me.”
