Samuel Interview: SXSW 2010

New York City native Samuel, 22, is making his performance debut at SXSW this year, as an artist who juxtaposes an indie rock mentality atop complex hip-hop beats. The soulful singer is getting ready to release his first album, 'Trains to Wanderland,' late this year. He spoke to Spinner about getting kicked out of school, dancing onstage and his biggest critic.

How did you get serious about music?

My parents are both pretty musical. My mom was a singer in the Seventies. She turned me on to a lot of the music I sort of grew up listening to -- Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and a lot of singer-songwriter stuff. My dad was into really into experimental sounds, like John Cage and Steve Reich. I grew up listening to my own music, which focused on pop-punk, hardcore, hip-hop stuff in New York or being played in the radio. Probably some stuff my mom wouldn't want me to listen to [laughs].

I was in a high school band, and we played some shows in New Jersey and Manhattan. I was young so I didn't take it seriously. I then met [producers the Knocks], and we started this project three years ago. They were doing hip-hoppy music, and my background was emo, singer-songwriter stuff -- but I wasn't making that music. I was making pop-punk band music. I wanted to try something new. I didn't want to get pigeonholed. Instead of trying to rap over these hip-hop beats, which is unnatural for me, I just sing. I wanted to do something that felt new to me that would be a challenge.

What are your musical influences?

I still listen to hardcore and emo. One of my favorite bands is Owen, which has Mike Kinsella from American Football. But now, being sort of exposed to the pop world that I've come into anyway, I'm listening to Marie and the Diamonds. Ellie Goulding, she's incredible. I'm a big Sigur Rós fan. I also still look for new stuff every day.

But if I'm at a bar, I have some guilty pleasures: Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston. Those are good, catchy songs. I wouldn't put it in my IPod, maybe, but it's still good to listen to.

How would you describe your sound?

It's this fusion, a mix of hip-hop and pop and funk and emo and singer-songwriter stuff but not in a traditional sense. I'm not a guy with a guitar, I'm not the guy with a piano. If you listen to the album, you'll hear a huge range of songs. From dancier songs to sad songs, more ballady songs. It's all very beat-driven, but it's also organic. At the same time, it has this analog synth bass.

Is it true you got kicked out of high school?

[Laughs] I got asked to leave. I grew up in downtown Manhattan, but I went to a private school in the Upper West Side because my older sister was there. I had been to public school prior to that, and it was a huge change. I was used to the artsy, downtown, liberal thing. My reaction to that difference was being a little more outgoing than the admissions people would've liked -- typical stuff like graffiti, not following the dress code. Eventually they were like, you should find another school.

How does having a musical mom affect you?

My mom comes to every show and is not only my biggest fan but also my biggest critic. She comes to the shows and says, "Oh, that was so great, but you were a little flat on this note." But my parents love it, they know I'm happy, see, and they can see that I've made real, tangible progress toward my goals.

What are your goals?

I want it so that as many people can hear my music as possible. I feel that music right now is such in a state of flux with the comeuppance of Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber, the fact that he's so young – it's a very transformative time for music especially in America. The fact that people like Ellie Goulding are getting to play in America, the fact that Arcade Fire's music is in commercials -- it points to a different perspective with the way things are moving, and I like to believe that I could be part of that. I want to push that transportation to a better place.

What's your debut album about?

It's called 'Trains to Wanderland.' It's pretty conceptual for a debut pop artist. It's a big journey through movement and growth and moving away from New York City and coming home and always being able to know that this is my home. The album opens with New York and comes back to New York, and throughout it's a big adventure.

How do you like working with the Knocks?

It's incredible. They're also my best friends. I see these guys 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They're off doing their own thing as producers. But at the start of it we built this studio, just started making music, almost not very seriously. But it just turned into this amazing friendship where we were constantly sending each other ideas and beats and lyrics and song ideas. We went back and forth until finally we approached a label.

What is your live show like?

My live show has gone through a bunch of incarnations. Because of the sound and the way we make the music, it was hard to figure out how to make it live. It's hard to transfer pop music unless you have a billion dollars like you're Lady Gaga. But we play with a backing track, a live drummer, four keyboards.

Is it true you're a good dancer?

[Laughs] I do love dancing, and I love performing. Part and parcel of this job is that you will be performing. A lot of artists struggle with performing. For me, it's just this thing I love to do. I get to turn on this other person who doesn't really act like me in real life. I don't normally dance that much. I'm pretty shy, but onstage I don't have to be. I choose to leave that on the side of the stage.

Also, it's incredibly embarrassing to watch your own videos when you know you're doing poorly. It took a lot of dancing in the mirror to my own songs. Eventually, you get really comfortable. You also want to watch other people. Watch anybody who is a really good frontman or frontwoman and see what they do and what turns the crowds on, and make it your own.

Who is a really great performer you've seen recently?

You know who was? Darwin Deez, and he is absolutely amazing. That dude has just such charisma and captures the audience. By the end of the show, the entire audience is dancing

Do you have any memorable show experiences?

We did a show in Maine at Bates College last year. It was one of those moments that you realize where there's this whole other world outside of New York where people dance. People in New York don't dance! These were college kids and young people who don't get to experience music as we did. We're spoiled by it, and these kids were totally losing their spaces for songs they've never even heard before, and they don't know who I am. But it was 200 of them in the middle of the night, just raging so insanely.

It was incredible. That's the kind of show that you play for. And that's why bigger acts like playing sometimes in the middle of nowhere. You can feel the energy. I've definitely been to all these shows that are so sterile and so quiet where you're just standing on stage, and people are clapping. For me, having feedback from the audience is the one thing every artist wants.


Sadia Latifi is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.