VI.BE

“I became a musician by accident,” Rwanda-born Chrysanthe Rukebesha reveals. “Growing up in Kigali and Brussels, I used to be pretty serious and introverted. No one in my family is into music.” Naturally, fate wanted to have the last word. It was a friend’s father, a motorcyclist by all means, who introduced the young African to the exciting world of music.

So he ended up helping out in at jam sessions at the age of 14. There he got the chance to support his friend by playing rock and acoustic covers. He quickly absorbed the music around him. “Those days filled my veins with the love of playing the guitar,” Chrysanthe says

It is fair to say that his formative years were no fairy tale. Refugee life and parental divorce have left their scars on the young man. But his history is also a story of a musician overcoming hardship and pouring his feelings into his songs “I don’t want to sing about the Rwandese genocide or politics,” he says. “My music is about everyday life, love and relationships. My life is here.”

In 2006 he began writing his own lyrics. Initially for C.A.R.M., his band at the time, later for his solo performances trying to emulate his idols Ben Harper, Jeff Buckley and Jimmy Hendrix. And instead of, doing a music degree he enrolled in an audio-engineering course to be able to produce his music himself. “Basically I was just looking for recording studios,” he says with a big smile on his face. “Over the years I’ve been a real studio rat.” But thankfully, he has not forgotten his roots, and instead started fusing them together with more contemporary acoustic music.

‘Under my skin’ will be one of his first creations. “After breaking up with my girlfriend, I was really down”, he says. He even thought about moving to London just to forget her, but it didn’t work out. Chrysanthe did not have enough strength to leave Brussels. “She’s like a tattoo underneath my skin. Someone you really love, cannot be washed away that easily.” But he eagerly points out that the song is not only about her. “It’s also about the friends and family who died along the path of his life.”

Now the Brussels-based singer sees himself recording an EP in the near future. “I’m looking for a recording contract. Hence, music is my life,” he points out with strong determination in his usually lofty voice. “If it means waking up at five and going to bed at two at night, I don’t mind. It’s only about the music and me.”