Today, the spotlight is on British electro-folk singer Samuel Gough! Born to an artistic family in London (his father was a writer, and his mother and grandfather were actors), music was introduced in his childhood relatively early, mostly classical. At seven years old, he began singing in a “very strict, terrifying school choir,” but at 14 he branched out and put a band together with friends called STUBBLE, as his boarding school. He was in boarding school at the time, but got permission to hit the local country pubs on Saturday night to play covers of old Cream, B.B. King and Allman Brothers songs. He ended up starting another band at 16 with his sister and cousins once based in Spain, on the island of Mallorca, playing the local summer fiestas!
Read more about Samuel below!
Yet what Samuel calls the “lighting bolt” moment of knowing he wanted to pursue music was at the age of 17, as he was on a train to London to start training in opera. While reading an old Allman Brothers article in Rolling Stone, and the imagery of Duane Allman pulling out his motorcycle from the tour bus and taking off on the open road inspired Samuel. “Something just lit me up,” he said. Inspired by artists like Simon and Garfunkel, Queen, Mozart, as well as Ry Cooder, Paco de Lucia, and, of course, the Allman Brothers, Samuel has a pretty eclectic taste in music. The London music scene also sparked his creativity. “My sister ran a little kind of “speakeasy” in town, The Asylum, filled every night with all the local musicians who’d come down and let off steam after a show,” he said. Close by, were blues and country music clubs, all of which had great musicians that just played from the heart. Samuel was even inspired from visiting different flamenco bars. “I guess this gave me a sense of no limits in my music,” he said of the various styles he heard, “not following any one style, and sticking it in a box.”
Samuel recently released his LP Day Broken on September 30, 2013. The singer worked with producers Sleep Deez and Aidan Clarke, which he calls a “humbling experience.” “[They are] two guys who give so effortlessly--passion, creativity, understanding, and, above all, no bulls**t,” he said. When asked what his favorite tracks are from the EP, Samuel chose lead single “Morning Light,” and the title track “Day Broken, “both for how easily they were written. Both [were] created at day break.” Samuel added, “Words and music flew out as if they'd always been there. They lift me up, these tracks.”
Currently, the singer is in Paris, working on an electro-folk project for French TV with French jazz composer and maestro horn player Gnowee. He’s also writing new songs and arranging old tracks for a re-release of Day Broken. This artist is truly fearless, and doesn’t want to put any limits on his music and creativity! “Coming from a classical background, being deeply influenced by Flamenco and also albums like A Meeting By The River [by Ry Cooder and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt], I feel things cinematically, and every visual has a different soundtrack to it,” he said. “As the long as the music is TRUE, there is nothing that cannot be done.” In the future, Samuel would love to branch away from the norm for his career. He wants to play around the world, but in unexpected expected places. “Ancient ruins, Greek temples, out in the desert,” the creative artists is thinking, “using local sounds and players to color my brand of cinematic country-folk, in so giving the music new life at every turn.”
You can check out more about Samuel on his official website. He is truly a talented artist with a unique voice, beautiful lyrics, and amazing sound! Definitely an artist that you want to check out for those who love electro and folk, and even those who want to branch away from their typical genres!
Image via Samuel Gough
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