The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced artists all over the world to re-think and re-strategise their approach to the trade of a musician under the STAY AT HOME regulations.
This is also the case in the United Kingdom (UK) where Gospel artist Samuel Nwachukwu also known as CalledOut Music has been using social media to interact with fans.
The UK has 240 000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 34 466 deaths.
Speaking to SABC News, Nwachukwu says that no one saw this pandemic coming.
“It’s almost like those things that no one saw coming. Everyone had to stop including everything we had on the cards to do in 2020. It was a bit disruptive, however, I learned to take myself out of the situation – that it’s not about Samuel and it’s not about CalledOut Music. It is bigger. It’s about humans, people and empathise with everyone going through this.”
On social media he has also enlisted the collaboration of fans and in some cases even compose songs during his Live Instagram sessions. Samuel says that this is attributed to his strong social media presence that his team has always encouraged.
“This whole season has really adapted how I had to work. Thankfully with CalledOut we have been heavy on social media for a long time now. So this is a time that connects people virtually. With CalledOut my manager gave me kind of a task to make sure that we have a strong social media presence from the get-go. So I was always active in communicating with people.”
On May 1 Samuel released his latest album, Portraits, digitally. Samuel started working on the album before his tour in Africa in August last year and developed it over time.
“The heart behind Portraits is as a Christian when you come to know Jesus, the person you are at the start ideally you should be progressing and knowing more about Christ and being changed. The songs talk about each moment that I felt, I took a snapshot of my life. There were days when I felt the weight of the world was all over me and I couldn’t hang on any longer, there was a snapshot of my life for that day. There were days when I felt on top of the world and that is another snapshot. But ultimately leading me closer to an image of Christ.”
Portraits •
? – @absabzabi pic.twitter.com/Gx9IF5Agvk
— CalledOutMusic • (@calledoutmusic) March 31, 2020
Samuel encourages artists and everyone to keep their heads up and keep praying.
“We will get through it and it is difficult cos what we do is centered around movement and traveling. Even for an artist who doesn’t have a home studio, they can’t record music. I encourage everyone to stay strong and keep praying and take the time to think about why they are doing this and stay encouraged.”
He adds: “For everyone else going through this pandemic keep your head up and we are all praying together and I feel that this has brought the whole church together. It has brought people closer together. We are all together in this and we will get through it.”
In the video below CalledOut Music shares his experience with SABC News
