In Love With New York: A Chat With Samuel

Hailing from Manhattan’s Upper Westside Samuel has been surrounded by music all his life. His mother was a singer and performer in her own right. Hence, it comes as no surprise that this ambitious young man decided to launch a career as a recording artist as well. Home recording sessions and attending talent shows was up next. Due to his striking voice Samuel gained the attention Ben “DJ BRoc” Ruttner, part of the production duo the Knocks, who has been pivotal in forming his vocal talents ever since. The crooner specialized in crafting catchy electro-pop bangers caught the ear of Executives at Columbia Records who did not hesitate to sign this promising artist. A soulful rendition of Ellie Goulding’s hit “Starry Eyed” and his bonafide ode to his hometown “I Heart New York” easily increased the hype surround Samuel. In order to get to know this musician better check out our interview with and listen his tuneful cover of Drake’s summer anthem “Find Your Love”. Also make sure to check out his Myspace to experience more of his music. His EP I Heart New York is out now on iTunes.

Thanks for your time. Could you introduce yourself to our readers and maybe tell them a little bit about your musical beginning and influences?

Deep down, I’m just a kid from New York City who really likes to make music. Growing up I was always surrounded by music and creativity whether it be from peers or my parents but it took me a while to decide that I wanted to make music professionally, as a career not a hobby. I think that was a big step for me. I was in school at NYU studying anthropology and music history and loved it, but when I started this project with Ben and James (The Knocks) I realized that it was really what I wanted to do no matter what. Our collective differences and similarities meant that the music we were creating was new to us and when other people started recognizing that it was really inspiring and I think helped motivate us to pursue it.

For those who are not familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound?

Its always been tough to describe the sound because from the start we never wanted to be pigeon holed. I’ve always been partial to describing it by the things that influenced the writing and the process that it took to get here. The Knocks and I grew up listening to different things, classic rock versus funk and soul versus punk and indie, so in essence the project is definitely pop-conscious, but encompasses and allows for all of those influences to be heard.

As you stated in previous interviews Your debut album “Trains To Wanderland” is a conceptional album that deals with your relationship with your home New York. You even dedicated a powerful ode to the Big Apple in”I Heart New York”. How do you manage to keep this subject up for a whole album?

When we started writing for the album, I realized that the songs had some common tropes and really started embracing them. The traveling motif is really important because almost accidentally the album deals with leaving NYC and being challenged by the rest of the world to love it but always come home. I think for anyone around my age its easy to identify with growing up and moving on and finding your place in the universe. The places range from made up (Neverland) to real but each is representative of that period in my life and what was going on. The album starts and ends in NYC as a testament to all the places I’ve been and been inspired by, its a musical as well as a physical journey.

How would you describe your relationship with The Knock, that produced a bulk of your debut album?

DJ B-Roc and Mr. JPatt (The Knocks) are my best friends and have been instrumental in making this project. We started working together a few years ago in their bedrooms recording demos and before we knew it we were writing everyday and playing shows. Being able to write and work with two extremely talented people and all be on the same page is truly a stroke of luck and I think without all of our inputs this album wouldn’t be what it is.

You recorded a very decent cover of Ellie Goulding’s “Starry Eyed”. Could you expand a bit on that? Any possibility that we will hear you on some collaborations in the near future?

I got to write with Ellie for a few days right before she came out in the UK. We had just done the cover and played it for her and she liked it so we decided to try and write some songs with/for her. Co-writing and collaborations have always been a big passion of mine because creativity flows in the most surprising ways and sometimes all it takes is the right person and the right sound to make a brilliant song. I would love to work with anyone and everyone.

Could you tell us a little bit about your future plans in the long run?

I would love to do just about anything musically. I’ve always wanted to do sound design for film along with writing for other people and maybe a little producing here and there. I’d like to consider myself a student forever because I think there’s always more to be learned and people to learn from. The academics of music are just as interesting as the creative processes and performing.

Can you delve a little bit into your cover of Drake’s summer anthem “Find Your Love” and your motivation behind it?

I’m a big Drake fan and love that such a simple song could be so catchy and driving. The Knocks and I wanted to take his version and flip it to make it sound more like me, so we funked it up with some yacht-rock guitars and a swing groove that make it less r&b but still keeping the sort of innate badass-ness that Drake’s original has.