Eloi Youssef no longer feels connected to his old band Kensington. In the program Renze, the former frontman of the band says he is happy that he went solo. “It really feels like two different planets we’re on. That was already the case then.”
According to Youssef, he and his bandmates grew apart on multiple levels. “Eventually there was such a big mismatch in how we see life, how we see music and how we see the creative process, that it no longer works. It didn’t work anymore.” Youssef left the band in 2022.
The singer describes working within Kensington as more businesslike than he liked. “More business operations. It was more businesslike and tighter, much less personal. That was mainly what I was no longer interested in.”
Yet it remains strange to hear his old music sung by someone else, says Youssef. “That is an alienating feeling”, especially with songs that mean a lot to him personally.
The singer toured with the Kamerata Zuid orchestra this spring and will tour the country again in October. He calls his solo work “the opposite” of what he did with Kensington. “It’s very exciting and very free. I have experienced enormous freedom. I felt much freer as a person to express myself, to tell more stories with the songs I write and sing.”
Kensington, known for hits like Streets and Sorry, was founded in 2005 and won the Popprijs in 2017 and several 3FM Awards and MTV Awards. The band was also honored with an Edison Pop Oeuvreprijs in 2023. Since Youssef’s departure in 2022, the Utrecht band has not released any new music. Earlier this year it was announced that American singer Jason Dowd will be his successor.