13 April 2023
What was the inspiration behind the EP?
During my 2nd year of studying music production at university, I had a whole genre change from producing tropical house to synthpop. I wanted to explore both genres in this EP, by combining the energised synthesis, funky basslines and lush vocals found in synthpop with the warm and percussive instruments in tropical house. I also wanted to experiment with sound design too, and the lead single Video Games from the EP shows this.
Did the pandemic have an impact when recording the EP?
I didn’t start creating the EP until February 2021. So the EP is definitely post-pandemic. Though because of the pandemic, I did start to utilise remote collaborations and Zoom songwriting sessions, and incorporated this into the writing process of the EP when artists and musicians couldn’t make it into the studio.
During the first few months of the pandemic, I had so much time to just sit down and produce. All day every day. It was very productive and I loved it.
How long did the EP take to create from start to finish?
A year and a half, near enough!
Which track was written first?
The first song I created was Addicted, and this was for a second year uni assignment where I had to make a commercial pop track. This was the turning point for me as a producer to decide to carry on down this commercial pop route, but to still incorporate my love for tropical house.
Do you have any personal favourite tracks?
I do love the Nu-Disco remix I did of my song Just Friends. Though the writing and recording process for Cool was the most enjoyable as it has the most live instruments.
Were any tracks difficult to write?
Love Was Lost was a tricky one. The singer Harriet and I, had weekly songwriting sessions spaced over a month (maybe longer). The lyrics are based on a real situation between a couple and so we wanted to tell the full story of the night from start to finish without it sounding like a narration. That’s why we got Maxen involved, to show the guy’s perspective of the night and have this back-and-forth, call and response between the two sides.
What do you have coming up in the next 12 months?
I have a remix coming out tomorrow (14/04/23) of Jamie Moorehead’s track ‘I Never Told You’. And on the 19th May, my new synthpop single Wild Strawberries is being released. I then have a few summer bops I’m hoping to release over the next few months too and to continue to collaborate with new artists and musicians in the UK!
Wild Strawberries is fairly slow track, and more on the darker aesthetic with strong, reverby vocals, rich synths and a beautiful saxophone solo too. The inspiration for this one is very much on the same level as The Weeknd.
Genre: Synthpop, Nu-Disco, Mainstream Pop
Released: 25th November 2022
You can find out more about Sam on his website or via Amazon Music, Apple Music, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify or TikTok.
You can read my Independent Music Monday interview with Sam here.
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