A Quick Chat With Sammm.

Sammm. has just released a gem of an indie-rock EP laced with fuzzy, psychedelic guitars, dreamy synths and some upbeat jangle pop energy. ‘Fresh Sheet Feeling’ is out now and we had a Sammm. run us through the EP.

Good work on the new EP Sam, can you briefly run us through the EP track by track, what it is about and what it means to you?

When I was in the middle of writing Four Eyes, I was moving house. The song is about casting off a double life, and processing my relapse which I was trying to ignore. Things were still quite rocky and I was visiting hospital quite regularly. What I realise now is that this was an important stage in my journey. Four Eyes reminds me to balance between the positive and negative.

Faye expresses love in a dreamlike state. It was written during the honeymoon period of a new romantic relationship and then was finished post-break up. The song itself changed direction numerous times - I’d probably say now it’s a break up song turned love song.

Fly was being written at the same time as Four Eyes, and Fly exposes a little bit of the instability I was going through. I was growing incredibly frustrated with myself and my behaviours. Fly is a letter to myself; I still have the original lyrics pinned on my bedroom wall.

Fresh Sheet Feeling was the last song completed for the collection and became the obvious title track. It is that warm hug you give yourself every time you are kind to yourself. Self-love and self-care wasn’t something I practiced in my life before last year.

These themes in the songs and these stories you are telling must be tough and emotional for you. Has the release of the EP stirred any of these feelings and emotions up again? If so, how have you managed them?

It has been quite tough. But, I feel lucky to look at the same experiences with a fresh mind. I have had a hard time with my anxiety, but reprocessing these emotions has been a part of my life. There are triggers for me everywhere I go in Brisbane, and including in the media. I’ve learned how to process them better and I’ll have to process them the rest of my life.

What was the writing process like for you for the EP?

I wrote the entirety of this EP in my bedroom on an old Zoom digital recorder. I find that I write the best when I am working though it by myself. The Zoom provided everything I needed to create multiple demos of the songs and a big key influence was the purchase of an old keyboard.

We understand you also run Real Feels, can you tell us more about that?

Real Feels started as a run of 10 acoustic shows that I organised at the end of 2018. It was focussed on bringing songwriters together in an intimate environment to share their work.

Now, my partner and I have been supporting a small group of local artists who are also our close friends. We all work together in releasing, promoting, and playing gigs. It’s become our artist-family and we see it now as the foundations of an artist-run record label.

The year's end is drawing closer, what do you have planned for yourself and Real Feels for 2020 and 21?

I plan on following the year through with a few shows now everything is heating up again!

I also have some unreleased visual accompaniments for the EP on the way, including a music video I cannot wait to release. And I have a few more songs ready to take into the studio over the Christmas break plus a very special collaboration with my good friend Nicole McKinney.

Real Feels also has some great surprises in store, so I’ve been busy on all fronts!

‘Fresh Sheet Feeling’ EP Launch

Friday November 6 - The Brightside, Brisbane w/ Lucy Francesca Dron, Sleeping & Bridget Brandolini - Get Tickets