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Blog Interview: Sam T

Hello Sam how are you? 

Heya, I’m great! I’ve escaped the cold in London to visit Sydney over new years so am enjoying the sunshine and relaxed energy here for another week.

Congratulations on the release of “Empty Home” how does it feel? 

It feels exciting to finally release this track. I wrote and recorded it almost 5 months ago, and actually have been sitting on a ton of recordings for other tunes while I figured out my sound and the right time to release them. It’s always very nerve wracking putting something creative into the world, but the response so far has been really positive.

It’s your debut single, what’s the story behind it?

My writing always begins with finding shapes and patterns on the guitar fretboard. This song actually began with a simple idea to write a song with chords that all share a common note – if you listen carefully you will hear it right at the top of the guitar – so there’s basically a drone that sits quietly on top of the guitar part. What came out was a kind of melancholic tune that really linked up with feelings of anxiety I was having from seeing so much conflict and violence on the news. I chose to write from an angle that had a universal perspective and tried to capture that emotion into the existing chord sequence.

You are a singer songwriter from London, how did it all begin for you?

When I was little my parents brought home an old creaky wooden piano and I just fell in love with it. I especially loved writing my own compositions. It wasn’t long after that I was begging for guitar lessons and playing in bands. The singer-songwriter material is a new path for me, and is really focusing on self-reliance and simplicity. I often get overwhelmed by the amount of technology and options at the fingertips of every aspiring musician, so this was a way to get back to the roots of solid songwriting, creative guitar parts, and anchoring vocals.

What did you listen to growing up?

I listened to a lot of progressive rock, and I think this is still apparent in a lot of my music. I still play an eight string guitar in a prog band which is very different to my solo work. Empty Home is probably my most conventional tune from a rhythm perspective, but everything else is in an irregular time signature like 5 or 7. That comes from listening to a lot of King Crimson, math rock, and even heavier stuff like Tesseract and Animals as Leaders. I also listened to a lot of newer jazz like Brad Mehldau and Phronesis. I’m a terrible improviser and jazz player, but it’s fun for gathering new ideas for harmony and rhythm.

You trained as a classical composer what was the catalyst for the transition from that to singer songwriter?

I actually have always continued to write just for guitar and voice while training in classical music but never released any of it. There’s a certain snobbery in that world towards pop music, or music that’s perceived as non-intellectual that threw me off releasing my music during my training. I’m actually grateful for that now because it allowed me to refine my sound and vibe a bit more. I only now just feel like I am able to coherently sew together that training and all my other influences into something I’m happy with.

You are a guitarist who are your top three favourite guitarists?

I feel like Elliott Smith is a really underrated guitarist. Everyone praises his songwriting, but his guitar work is really special, using his thumb to pluck out melodies while strumming. Mark Kozelek from Sun Kil Moon is another big favourite 

“Empty Home” is about a post apocalyptic world from the perspective of a sole survivor – If the world was taken over by zombies what is your plan of action?

If I was stuck in London then it would be pretty hard to survive. Get on a lime bike and try to make it as far as I can? I could use my guitar to knock in some zombie skulls but then would be all out of ideas.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Still haven’t stopped listening to Arooj Aftab’s last album.

What 3 things are you looking forward to doing in 2025?

Playing live gigs in the summer, releasing more tunes, and spending more time with friends.
 
 

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