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So anyway yeah this is the latest one. It was a relatively quick turnaround. From pitching this guy to Dummy, getting a glowing green-light, writing about his Falling Star EP for them, and then writing about it for me (here), and then actually sending him the below questions, it's been a week since I first heard Samuel's music. Who is he? Well, this no-surnamed enigma of a man is a singer who recently released an EP, co-produced by Okzharp, that not only pushed boundaries musically - with a super smooth intergalactic post-R&B feel - but that also acted as a showcase for Samuel's voice; it has dynamic fluidity and capacity for expression that feels fresh at all times.
In any case, let us read.
Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do?
I am Samuel and I make music bits. I live in Lewisham, from the green shores of Ireland.
Why did you decide to start creating music?
Just to feel better, really. Sadder, funn-er, detached-er-er, hopefuller. Lovinger. All the er's.
How would you describe your sound? What makes you and your style stand out?
I find it hard to process many things at once. I am loyal. I like clear bits. To hear fucking beautiful sounds and not want to overcrowd that beauty. Space to let the bits breathe. Milky. Milk with edge. Gangsta milk. Um, I don't know that it stands out. I don't know that it's good. I know that I am in it and that I feel that it is probably me within it, by the time I get to you hearing it.
Is there a perfect time and place for listening to your music?
At night. When your body settles and your mind starts to close out, in a field with a scotch egg and folk that you love.
What inspires you most when writing a song?
Love.
What is your most memorable musical experience?
Growing up in catholic convents, singing to the Jesus doll. If you allow yourself to believe in him, singing to him can blow your fucking heart out.
What are your favourite three songs at the moment?
Tramp and Tom Waits - Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet
The Abyssinian Baptist Choir - I Want To Ride That Glory Train
+ I really gotta settle on the third coz the finality of this is making me palpitate.
Who do you most admire in the music world?
I try to keep my blinkers in place. I guess music for me is glued into a therapeutic need/want/mess. I make it because I need to. I don't need to share it or have it dazzle out my ego but I do need it. So I find it hard to listen to other peoples music. I would like to have music friends but I can't. Ha! It's painful, doll.
In your opinion, what is the future of music?
I don't care to know this. Who could care? If I could know the face of my first born froglette, I'd probably just wait. Or the day to die. Yea, some things should be care-less.
What's the future of your music - what do you hope to do next?
I hope to keep making it. Maybe I could share it, or perform it to folk who like it. To keep making music.
What, aside from music, is most important to you?
Hair. I know a day will come when it shall leave me and that makes me sad. But then, there are sadder things to feel sad about.
Samuel seems to have appeared from nowhere, with nothing but the beautiful Falling Star EP under his belt - a mystery as much as he is a talent. The above at least sheds a little more light on him. A little more. He seems genuine - wanting to create music to enhance everything: to "feel better" in every respect. In some ways, excluding himself from the current music world by keeping his "blinkers" in place, it not only allows him to concentrate on his own development as an artist, but it also allows his sound to be unpolluted by anything as fickle as fashion, the transient trends in music not affecting his sound.
And what about his sound? Well, you'd better check out the EP if you haven't done so already. Then you'll see that he pretty much sticks to what he says about not wanting to overcrowd beauty - it is a stark collection of sounds, something that allows each note to breathe, each element of each song never goes too far, never suffocates other elements, everything growing organically together in stunning simplicity. All he is concentrated on is his sound, his music, or rather the process of making music, being able to leave part of himself behind in each song without worrying too much about the result, or even the future at large - doing things in the moment. He said it best: "I make it because I need to." When something is this necessary to a person, no real influence can be made on it. It's pure.
Losing one's hair is also a sobering thought.
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#17: BOTANY →
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