With A spangle in the gear, Samuele is experiencing a sort of rebirth. First by returning to singing six years after the first album that made him famous, The good girls go to heaven, the others go where they want. But also as a trans and non-binary person who has finally “rediscovered her joy” after years of ill-being.
It’s a burnout which forced Samuele to stop after three years of intense touring and work. To the point of thinking of never coming back.
It no longer appealed to me, whereas music had always been my great joy. I worked too much, I said yes to everything… I stopped to take the time to transition, to take care of myself. This environment leaves no room for mental health.
Samuele
Starting from scratch, but taking into account past experiences: this is what is offered to Samuele, who took the opportunity to establish clear guidelines and readjust the balance between his career and his personal life. “Everything is more centered. »
Relief
Successful transition, stable couple, controlled anxiety thanks to therapy and medication: even if things are going well today, being Samuele remains “a lot of job “. “But I have my tools and I understood how to manage myself. Knowing yourself is a great freedom. The more it goes, the more it is chill ! »
We also hear a lot of relief when we listen A spangle in the gear, as if the 36-year-old artist had just dropped something very heavy. “Between raising a child alone, having a career, not feeling good about yourself, it’s a lot of pressure that I constantly carried. It’s like taking off a big backpack after a hike. »
The result is that after a rock and tormented first album, A spangle in the gear is lighter, shimmering and pop. “I say it’s dirty pop, because it squeaks a little bit. But I gave myself permission to do things fun, catchywith little riffs, shoulders that move in the same way…”, says Samuele, who has learned to no longer have pain as the engine of creation.
Among other subjects, the album poetically evokes the paths of transidentity and diffuses a kind of joy. That’s what Samuele wanted, by the way: to change perceptions around what is often seen as a difficult journey full of pitfalls. “I want to be an example. To say: look at what is on the other side of a transition, on the other side of the portal. It’s not just drama and pain. There are also great joys. »
Popularize
In addition to an album, A spangle in the gear is also a hundred-page essay, a mixture of personal narrative and theory that explains the basics of the queer world in a clear way. Samuele, who has a “little teacher” side – “I like to explain things, I could explain endlessly! –, felt the need to popularize all these notions, be it non-binarity or gender dysphoria (highlighted in relation to euphoria), to “bring the conversation further”.
“In French, it didn’t exist, a kind of Queer 101. I think there was a void. The goal was to deepen the songs with the text while being accessible. »
The book and the album are aimed at people who are like him and those who love them. Samuele long ago gave up trying to convince people “who don’t have the taste” to acknowledge his existence.
I thought for a long time that if I could explain, people would understand. But at some point, I understood that it was not a question of education, but of lack of empathy, and I managed to detach myself from it. Because it’s not about me.
Samuele
Samuele knows well that this second album looks more like a return to square one than a sequel. “When people remember me, I’m surprised! » No show is scheduled in Quebec at this time. The group arrives from France, where it played two weeks, and performed Tuesday at the Phoque Off, on the sidelines of the RIDEAU event, in order to interest broadcasters.
“I was told that transitioning would hurt my career. I believed him. And I know that being openly trans and non-binary is going to put people off. But I am there the same and I want to say that we can do it differently. We won’t have the same radiance, but we do it with joy. And people who need to hear it will hear it. »
Helping people to free themselves, sow joy, ignite sparks, make glitter fly: that, ultimately, is Samuele’s goal. ” Yes. Distribute glitter and make the little hearts shine. And if it upsets people at the same time… too bad. »
Pop
A spangle in the gear
Samuele
InTempo Music