A spontaneous tune becomes Ms Gideon's 'Samuel'

Namibian singer Panduleni Gideon, known by her artist name Ms Gideon, released her new single Samuel yesterday, a love-inspired song that reflects the kind of romance she hopes to experience in her own life.

She explained that the song was not written about a particular person, and its title came about naturally while she was experimenting with a melody.

“To be honest, there isn't a particular person or story behind the name Samuel. I actually woke up one day with a melody in my head, and as I started singing, the name Samuel just naturally became part of it,” she told tjil.

Ms Gideon said the name felt right and flowed with the song, which carries the emotions she hopes to experience in a future relationship.

“I guess you could say the song sounds like love to me. It carries the kind of feeling and emotion I hope to experience in my own future love story,” she said.

For listeners who have followed her music, Samuel may have a familiar feeling. The singer describes it as a twin to her previously released song Petrus, although the two tracks tell different love stories.

“It's still very much me, my sound and the kind of music I naturally gravitate towards, just expressed through a different story,” she said.

Interestingly, Samuel was not initially created with the intention of becoming a full song. Ms Gideon said she was humming and singing when she decided to record a short video of herself performing the chorus and share it on social media.

The response from listeners encouraged her to develop the idea into a complete track.

“People connected with certain words and the melody in a way I didn't expect. That's when I thought, okay, there might actually be something here. So I decided to take that little moment and turn it into a full song,” she said.

Staying true to her sound

Speaking about creativity in Namibia's music industry, Ms Gideon believes artists should have the freedom to experiment with different sounds rather than limit themselves to one style.

“I believe that as an artist, you're born to experiment, explore and discover different sounds. There will always be room for creativity because music is constantly evolving,” she said.

She added that she follows what comes naturally to her, even when an idea takes her into unfamiliar musical territory.

On balancing her artistic identity with listeners' expectations, she believes staying authentic is important.

“You can't always create music trying to meet everyone's expectations. Sometimes, you just have to tell your story and trust that the people who need to hear it will connect with it,” she said.

Looking ahead, Ms Gideon revealed that Samuel could be an introduction to a bigger musical project she hopes to release next year.

“There's definitely something I'm working towards, but I don't want to reveal too much just yet. Let's just say Samuel is a little taste of what's to come. So, stay tuned!” she said.