I'm currently working out of my self-built garden studio on live material, a second album and writing for various commissions including dance, theatre and film. I'm also playing sessions on guitars, drums and keyboards and enjoying collaborating with vocalists. Please do get in touch for a wide variety of music-related work. Below is a bio written for the release of my debut album, Blind Theatre.
Sam’s remarkable musical journey began by being born into a musical home environment, his mother being a former opera singer, turned piano teacher. “I’m classically trained, to an extent, but I’m also into a lot of other things.” This parallel interest started with his mum’s Elvis, Beatles and Beach Boys records [the latter’s blend of ‘dreamy’ love songs infiltrating the calmer stretches of his music].
His next step was to take percussion lessons at the age of four, which then led to drum kit and involvement in various bands, orchestras, groups, choirs, ensembles and theatre productions all the way through childhood. By the time he was a teenager, Sam was teaching himself guitar, piano and bass [“in my own way, by ear”].
After leaving school, Sam undertook a commercial music course at the University of Westminster, learning about the music industry but, more importantly, it allowed free access to the establishment’s recording studios. “I just buried myself in the studio, I more than made back my fees with the amount of time I spent down there.”
Sam created music throughout university, playing in the band ‘Saiga’ and also composing grand visions that seem to have imbued his self-education and musical ambitions. Refreshingly, his diverse musical influences as a child left him with a healthy disregard for genre barriers and a fiercely original cinematic sound.
Armed with his university portfolio, he decided to shoot for a job in the music business. Sam heard back from studio owner and Barber Shop production company honcho Chris Smith who, intrigued by what he heard, offered work experience. Fate smiled when, on the pair’s first night out in Camden, they met Just Music’s John Benedict, who was also fascinated by Sam’s highly-individual style and gave the green light for an album – first day work experience, second day record deal! John thought the demo would be ready to go with some sprucing up. Enter producer Mark Sutherland, who declared that there was still work to do, Sam’s original recordings just the launch-pad for what turned into a studio odyssey, working at weekends for two years. The result was the album ‘Blind Theatre’, released October 2013.
Skills
- Logic Pro
- Composing
- Composing for Media
- Multi Instrumentalist
- Audio Composition
- Music Production
- Arranging Music
- Music Recording and Editing
- Guitar Player
- Drum Player