Uwase puts a face on Brussels indie pop: ‘My friends threatened to leak my songs’

Uwase was plagued by self-doubt for a long time, but her love for Frank Ocean and Phoebe Bridgers ultimately propelled her onto the stage. On her third EP, Angelo, she reveals a new, more confident version of herself.

“Even after I released my first song, I still didn’t believe I would ever be on a stage,” says Uwase, who admits she initially lacked the self-belief to make it as a young, female musician of colour. “My friends and family really pushed me, they had so much faith in me. They even threatened to leak my songs if I didn’t release them myself. (Laughs) That was during the lockdown, and I thought: OK, I can’t perform anyway, that’s fine.”

Of course, lockdown didn’t last forever, and in 2021 came her first show, at Café Bouche. “Half the audience were friends and family,” Uwase gloats. “The gig felt really cosy and wholesome, but mostly I was super critical of myself. I thought I could do much better, and that was the drive to start writing more and performing. I wanted to give back that energy I felt from the crowd. The realisation that my music could be the soundtrack to someone’s life has been important to me.”

Fast forward a few years, and Uwase has just released her third EP, Angelo, which she’ll be showcasing at the Ancienne Belgique with bassist Casandra De Zutter and drummer Mien Heyvaert. The day after, she will be one of the nine artists competing in the final of De Nieuwe Lichting at the Beursschouwburg.

On Angelo, the Brussels artist spreads her wings more confidently than before, with indie-pop songs that are as wistful as they are hopeful, a genre not readily associated with (female) musicians from the African diaspora, even if artists like Arlo Parks and Kara Jackson have shifted that perception in recent years.

“At home, everyone listened to different genres, which broadened my horizons,” Uwase explains regarding her wide-ranging taste. “As a teenager, I was constantly scouring the internet for new music. I devoured anything with guitars, but loved Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald just as much as Joni Mitchell and Phoebe Bridgers. With every song I make, I can name another artist who inspired me. The title track of my new EP, for instance, is heavily influenced by Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’. I wrote that song after falling in love for the first time; I wanted a bit more drama in it.” (Laughs)

Thanks to Frank Ocean

The best compliment Uwase ever received came from her father, who once harboured musical ambitions himself. “He saw me during one of our rehearsals and thought I had a really unique sound. That was surprising to hear from one of my parents. But they’re really supportive, my mum too. Honestly, I was afraid people wouldn’t understand me and therefore wouldn’t believe in me. Because they would see me and expect something different based on that. I am really grateful to Frank Ocean for that; with Blonde, he made very different music from the R&B and hip hop people expected from him.”

As a black artist, you’re quickly pigeonholed, says Uwase. “Certainly at a Belgian level, but also in Brussels, although I do feel very much at home in the Brussels scene.” She does confess that she initially didn’t even want to show her face. She also long doubted about her stage name, a reference to her Rwandan first name. “If you don’t know it’s an African name, you might wonder what that word means. How should I present myself? How am I going to project myself? I had a lot of doubts.”

Her confidence has since grown, partly through performing more. “I really feel a lot of support. People also think my name is beautiful. And they’re surprised that I actually play the guitar. After a show, I feel that technicians often show more respect. As a woman, you always have to prove yourself in the music industry. I don’t just write and sing my songs, I produce them too. Women can do, and do, a lot more than you think!”

Hopeless romantic

“I’ve been waiting all my life to feel this way,” Uwase sings on Angelo, a line that refers both to her artistic and personal blossoming, as well as to her experience with love. “I had always been a hopeless romantic, and when I finally fell in love for the first time, I was completely head over heels. But the feelings weren’t mutual; that person ended up hurting me a lot. I had an idealised image of him that turned out to be completely wrong.”

In fact, she was trying to be someone else for him. “That experience mainly taught me a lot about myself. It is very cliché to say, but I found myself much more after that first crush.”

Uwase will showcase her third EP, Angelo, at the Ancienne Belgique on 30/1, abconcerts.be