Australian Indie Artist Sammm. Talks Sophomore EP 'Fresh Sheet Feeling', Released Last Week
Photo by Phoebe Faye, featuring makeup by Jess May and garments by AUSTIN Design
Back in May, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brisbane-based musician Samuel Geddes over Zoom, to discuss mandarin fruits, music influences, and his latest EP produced under the stage name Sammm. His sound, which he describes as “moody, indie dance pop” continues to evolve from his older projects, although it retains the same lyrical rawness and emotion he has always been writing and singing with. Released last week on October 16th, the four-tracked Fresh Sheet Feeling EP can be listened to on streaming services, or purchased on Sammm.’s Bandcamp now.
Daniela: First of all, how are you right now with everything that's going on in the world?
Sam: Oh, I have to say, man... in Australia we've been incredibly fortunate. Just because our kind of style of living is very spread out and we're not super built up, especially in Brisbane. Everything's starting to come back to normal. Like I've been back at work, and I worked in hospitality for the last month now. After the initial kind of crash of the first month or so, everything's been starting to gain momentum again, which has been a really incredible feeling actually.
D: That's good to hear. A lot of independent and freelancing artists have had to shift and adapt to, like, migrating online and streaming performances online and just working online in general. Do you think that COVID will have a permanent effect on how we consume and create art and music?
S: I definitely believe that the COVID pandemic has opened up many creatives and consumer's eyes to the power of sharing online and the way that they've been representing their artwork and transferring it over to a different kind of... scenario may be the right word? I know a lot of people have really hit a bit of a slump, especially with the no live gigs and for a lot of us musicians, that is a big part of what we do and why we do it. I think that in the future, especially with venues starting to open up again, we will continue to see the trend of a lot of live streaming and a lot more creative, digital content, which is very exciting.
D: Right! Also, let me say congratulations on the sophomore EP, coming out soon. How would you describe the overall sound, and the significance each song holds to you?
S: It's definitely a time capsule of becoming more mature as an artist, but also growing up as a person and realizing where I'm at. Sonically, it has been a big shift in sound from my debut EP Mandarin Season. I really wanted to slow things down and connect with people on whatever level that they decided to, or they would like to engage with the music. Each song definitely has a little transition in between, different moods, but it really focuses on rebirth and acceptance and really coming to terms with personal growth and who you are as a person.
D: That's amazing. So, looking back at your own music and work ethic, how do you feel you've developed as an artist overall?
S: I think one of the biggest key developments has been learning to complete. To complete a project and to have that as what it is, and to move forward has been a big one, especially with not being too anxious about the way that you are representing yourself and just trying to be as true as possible to the art that you are trying to create.
D: That's something, a lot of people still try to work out and can't get there.
S: It never stops [laughs].
EP Cover photography by Phoebe Faye, design by Jasper Free
D: Absolutely, yeah. You're so involved in the music world. Have you been part of it for long? When did you start writing music?
S: I started writing music as a young child. I probably started playing guitar around 10. I grew up in a house where we had lots of exchange students. Like I remember... Was it a Japanese girl? Who taught me how to play my first Gorillaz song, which was Starshine when I was very young. And then I graduated into learning how to play At The Drive-In songs. I was into a lot of heavy music when I was younger and that kind of progressed. I wrote a lot for a band when I was in early high school, but as I approached 21, work got in the way and I started working full-time instead, and then it hit around 22 where we started to take things seriously again. So it's been about three, three full years contributing to the music scene now, which has been awesome because it's been growing now from just representing my own work, to starting to build a community around other artists. I believe in us supporting each other, which has been really heartwarming, dude.
D: So, Gorillaz. I heard that was the first group of musicians that you really looked up to and were captivated by. What are your other musical inspirations?
S: Oh, there are plenty of them. To briefly touch on the Gorillaz, I think they influenced our whole generation. They introduced us to a variety of so many different genres, I don't think that modern music would be the same without them. At the moment I'm very, very deeply influenced by bands like TOPS from Montreal. Absolutely love them. I'm definitely moving more from... back in the day. I was listening to a lot more emo-focused music like, um, At The Drive-In, The Modern Lovers... Pavement was a big thing for me. Likem all that shoegaze scene, that was huge, which definitely helped me grow emotionally and become comfortable with expressing myself that way. Nowadays the music that I listened to the most, is probably the music that my friends make.
D: That's so supportive!
S: Local bands..., Fraser Bell is a close friend of mine and bands like Dopamine, big influences too.
D: Staying with the theme of creation of art and influences ... I feel that sometimes people create art and music for different reasons, some do it to express or to document, or even as a love letter to certain people or places. What do you think aligns the most with you?
S: It definitely started as a little time capsule of my life to remind myself of the places that I've been and where I have come from. Mandarin Season was written at a time while I was dealing with heavy substance abuse issues and I really wanted to capture that darkness so I could revisit it for myself. Now as my music has progressed, I try to write, still stay true to those morals, but to be able to help other people who are experiencing the same thing. I know that Faye, one of the tracks of Fresh Sheet Feeling, does come across as a love letter but it is more of a message about coming to terms with your partners, ex partners and growing into a loving relationship that works two ways. Fresh Sheet Feeling touches on those themes throughout the whole EP.
D: Right, yeah. I see that transparency and honesty is a recurring theme, and let me just say, I really admire your openness and honesty about struggles with substance abuse in your earlier music. Backtracking even further to Fresh Sheet Feeling, do you have a favorite from the EP?
S: Fresh Sheet Feeling was my favorite for a long time, but now I really enjoy it as just the whole that it is. So it's been interesting because we're trying to decide what song is going to be the lead single at the moment and I realized that I don't mind anymore which order the songs come out or how they come out, as long as the full, complete piece of work is represented truthfully towards myself.
D: Wonderful. Picking songs is hard, but do you feel like there's a song you’ve written that you personally identify with the most? A lot of my artists friends, myself included, have that one piece that they made that they feel really possessive and protective towards. Almost like a baby, kind of?
S: There's a few now, like Break Me In was a very huge one cause it really marked the steps of trying to take things more... trying to treat things more professionally, from the whole studio process to the booking of the shows and everything. I think the two closest songs to me at the moment are definitely Mandarin Season from the debut EP. Fly is a very close song for me, that was the first song that I wrote from the Fresh Sheet Feeling EP. And I remember writing it on a little digital, 4 track at my mum's house at three in the morning and I had the lyrics written on pieces of paper, blue tacked everywhere in our living room cause I was house sitting and I still have those on my wall at the moment. I'm connected in the frustration of the knowing right from wrong, with a really raw edge to it.
D: I love hearing about stories behind songs, your answers have been really great so far. Going back to your Mandarin Season EP again, when I was checking out your older stuff, I just found myself so intrigued by the title. Is there a story behind the name, in and of itself?
S: It's mandarin season right now in Australia and it's always the start of winter, which is my favorite time of the year. If I was to move somewhere, I'd want it to be somewhere cold [laughs]. It also signifies that big life events always tend to happen to me this time of year. And, yeah, it's just, it's a very strange transient time.
D: Yeah. Transient times always get to you.
S: Yeah [laughs]. I also love mandarins. They're my favorite fruit.
D: I love mandarins too. I grew up in this city where they had mandarin trees everywhere. It was really great.
S: Where?
D: In Valencia, in Spain. Anyway, back to the questions, do you have a favorite venue you've performed in and what would be your dream venue to perform in one day?
S: My favorite venue to perform in is called The Bearded Lady in Brisbane. They have been a really huge support of me over the years, especially from one of their old sound engineers... took me to their studio the first time. It has just been absolute pleasure to play there as they really give back to the community quite a lot. So, my thoughts go out to them at the moment as they've been just refurbishing, itching to wait to get back on into the game again. I don't necessarily have a dream venue to play, but I would love to get involved in playing SXSW one year or even just touring the States. That's my kind of goal.
D: Speaking of performances, do you have any pre-performance rituals or habits you like to do right before a show?
S: I like to sit by myself for a little while. [laughs] I'm not... I'm really trying to get into my vocal warmups, but I tend to just like to sit in silence for a little bit away from everybody and then, yeah, come out and just see what happens.
D: That's fair.
S: Interesting, from originally doing nothing and just drinking all the beers and going out and screaming, to sitting back and just trying to reflect on the moments that led up to the performance and going out and expressing them honestly.
D: Right, self-growth! Any words of advice for other young musicians and artists who might be struggling to just create or feel productive within their art during the pandemic?
S: I think it would be... what's helped me is, with advice of housemates and friends and family, set small achievable goals to do each day and to get through them, not to judge yourself too heavily, and certainly to not place the importance of what you're doing against what you're seeing on social media and the creative others. There's no correlation between the two, of what you're doing and what your friends are doing or what your idols are doing. I think it's just to become comfortable... when you're ready to do you.
D: That's great advice. What's the best advice you've personally been given about music?
S: I think it is just to put yourself out there and to listen.
Photo by Phoebe Faye, featuring makeup by Jess May and garments by AUSTIN Design
D: Is there anything you wish you could change about the music industry?
S: I think that the music industry is what it is, and it is changing. And especially when you reflect back to the nineties, the eighties, and even before, the like huge major labels, rock and roll, big tour buses, girls, or guys... that whole scene is definitely dying and gone. I think if I was to change anything, it would be... or suggest anything, it would be for the local or the small acts to ban together more instead of shooting for the highest, aiming for the highest possible goal which might not be as realistic instead of forming a community with the other people around them who are all working towards the same things. I think that there's a lot of, everyone's being guilty of it, but I think there's a lot of competition and jealousy that could be solved, between parties that don't even know each other and would probably get on like best of friends, if they sat down at a party or were introduced the correct way.
D: Right. Lastly, what's next for you? After you release the EP, obviously.
S: Yeah, so we're already working on the next single, which is going to be a split single, which is very exciting. I'm just hoping that I can start booking shows again. My kind of collective have, we've been working on a little, stripped back singer songwriter sessions that we've been filming respectively around each other's houses on an old VHS cam. So like bringing back those home video vibes. Just, yeah, looking forward to knuckling down and just working towards promoting my friends' releases that are coming out soon which has been a whole new experience for me, which has been really fun, especially helping my close friends, who I believe in so deeply, achieve these small goals that they might not have had the confidence to chase out on their own and watching the way that has reflected on their own confidence has just been amazing. So that would definitely be my little thing at the moment. And yeah, just praying for venues to be at full capacity so we can hopefully go and sell out a show.
D: That would be great. Anyway, I don't want to keep you. Go enjoy your mandarin season out there.
S: Yeah! I'm going to get one right now.
You can keep up with Sammm. on Instagram and Bandcamp. Fresh Sheet Feeling is available to stream on all platforms, now. This interview has been condensed for publication.