Article originally published in Dutch newspaper 'De Andere Krant' on November 9th, 2024

Danielle van Wallinga

Armed with his ukulele and guitar, singer-songwriter Riccardo Vitalone, known by his stage name Roaman travels around the world as ‘artivist’. His previous album 'I won't comply' is full of sharp social outspoken lyrics that made him both loved and hated. His latest album, 'Stay open to life,' is all about spirituality and healing. “As humans, we have almost everything in common, except for some beliefs.”

In 2022 Roaman released his album 'I won't comply'. With songs like 'Go vacks yourself' (first sentence: You can keep your vacksination and your sick indoctrination, I don’t trust you, I don’t believe what you say) and 'They'll say I died of c***d' he made a clear statement against the covid measures worldwide. “Maybe numbers don’t lie, but I know people do”, he sang, “and when there’s money to make you bet they’ll hide the truth”.

The 35-year-old Italian is the first to admit that he was also confused at the beginning of the covid era. "I've always been critical of mainstream media and the narratives. But when covid happened, I was confused and scared as everybody else. But the more I looked into it, I slowly realized that something was not right and it was getting out of control. And whenever a government or institution uses terms like ‘for your safety’, it's just a way to do some shady stuff. I have no trust in governments", Roaman says, “because they prove over and over to not have the best interests of the people in mind”.

Ironically, he used to think of a career in politics himself. With today's knowledge, he could never have grounded there. “It's an uncomfortable process to come to terms with the truth, but it's a necessary step to then move toward positive change.” It wasn't comfortable for me, and I'm sure it was uncomfortable for a lot of people to realize that a lot of the things that we're told or we've been told are lies, not true or only partially true.” The biggest lie? "That we are different and separate as people", an idea that underlies a lot of conflict, tension superiority, inferiority and injustice in the world, according to Roaman.

These days, the singer-songwriter prefers to use his voice and influence in his music. He speaks out about much more than just covid. He also has outspoken lyrics about other anti-freedom agendas worldwide and wars like the one in Gaza. “Despite our differences, we’re in this together against the evil of this world that values power, money and sick ideologies over peace and human lives, he wrote in an Instagram post on October 7^th, honoring 12 months + 76 years of Palestinian resilience. Through his music, he tries to make people aware of injustice and calls them to action.

Source: Instagram post Roaman

His latest album ‘Stay open to life’ was released in August is about healing and the search for the spiritual meaning of life. It’s written “for anyone struggling with the cosmic trip of human existence”. There are also critical notes to be found, for example about the hypocrisy of people that also lies within himself.

Roaman shows that he is much more than a writer of protest songs. “The covid songs are 100% me, but the same is true for Stay open to life”. With his positive album he embraces the chaos (‘Bless this mess’), the beauty of life and all lessons that can be learned.

In these turbulent times, is he really as optimistic about the future as this album suggests? “Well, not always”, he admits. Sometimes Roaman sees the doomsday scenario coming true. “But I also want to give a sense of hope and explain that we’re going to be ok. Music is a great healing alchemy. So by just being able to play and express what I feel, I feel like I'm doing something to help. Being your authentic self is the easiest way to find your people. By shining my light people will see the light and they'll say I got a light too, let’s shine it together.”

He hopes that people will return to the essence of life. “My wish is that more and more will remember that we’re one big human family and let go of the things that are not good for us or the planet. And return to simpler, more natural ways. Because life could be so good if we stop being so stupid. We're very lost as human beings. We should be taking care of this place and each other instead of fighting, pillaging, destroying resources. We can be keepers and guardians of this planet. We can do amazing things or we can do the opposite. We have almost everything in common, except for some beliefs. People forget that a belief is a really strong opinion, not a fact.”

• roamanmusic.com
• Album 'Stay open to life'
• Instagram Roaman

Foto: Markus vdf Kamphuis | MKFOTOGRAFIE