A Quick Chat with Sam McGovern

“Memory” is your first really big step into your most optimal sound then previous releases.
What was the creative process with this track?

I am definitely proud to bring this track out! It's a step forward in the direction of a bigger production & sound! It was also my first time co-writing a song. I wrote the track with a good friend Matt Gresham, we unexpectedly wrote this while rehearsing another track. Me and Matt work so well together, it was a great experience.

The past few years have been a journey for me musically, spending as much time in the studio and slowly learning the process behind it all. I’m finally starting to feel my experience grow in this area, creating a good relationship with my producer Dan Carroll, trusting the process & learning what works for me & what I like / dislike.

With this track I took a lot of production inspiration from artists such as John Mayer, Dean Lewis, James Bay & Tom Odell, just to name a few. We spent around 3 days in the studio creating this track, just me & Dan, it was great!

What is the song about?

For me “Memory” has a few embedded meanings. Recently life has been pretty fast paced, with so much change, although having its ups and downs, it has been exciting & an extreme period of growth. 

I recently went through a hard & heavy breakup, also knowing the fact I would be moving out of my home state soon. This hit like a tonne of bricks, as I questioned who am I now after removing myself from what I was for so long? Its so strange when change happens so fast, for me it was for the best, but I found it hard to see that at the time.

I also go through a lot of phases in my life & questioned if this relationship was one of them. Ever gone into a relationship / situation full force & removed yourself as fast as you got into it? This song’s for you.

What would you like this song to reflect about you?

I’d love this song to reflect my intimacy as a songwriter. I really love to dive deep into my feelings and express them through my craft. Im not the type of songwriter to manufacture songs such as an Ed Sheeran, where he can write a song a day etc, I really need to be feeling the feels to write something, that’s when I know I'm truly connected to the track, & connection is important.

I also love to be incorporating electric guitar into my songs from now on, Im a very guitar based artist & also a huge John Mayer fan, so can’t wait to bring more solos into my upcoming tracks.

What are your biggest achievements over the past 12 months? 

Wow, I'm not shy to say that the past 12 months I’ve definitely smashed some major goals & am extremely proud of myself. Being on “The Voice” Season 11 2022 was definitely a huge achievement for me, it was something I always considered from a young age but thought id never “actually” do, it seemed like a fairytale, but we got there!

Doing my first Australian tour is definitely a huge achievement too, there’s been a huge amount of hustle & hard work lately to get all this organised, although hard especially being independent & without management, its been so worth it.

I’m also extremely stoked with releasing “Memory”, especially being so proud of the song & wanting too show everyone I meet, it just shows how happy with it I am & that for me is an achievement in itself.

 Can we expect any live shows coming up?

Definitely! I’ve just come off of my first Australian tour supporting Jordy Maxwell in October / November. It’s definitely time to plan my own headline tour for 2023. I’m keen to bring the full band around the country & play some amazing shows. Maybe a couple local WA shows here & there, but expect to see me somewhere soon around Australia in June/ July.

Is this song part of a bigger project?

Hmmm, that is a great question, see, I can say I am recording a new EP during December, whether this song becomes apart of it or not, we shall see. Im honestly so driven to create every new track I release better and better than the last, so lets saw the new EP hopefully has 6 fresh songs!