Introducing Interview: Samuel Jack

Born in London, but having spent his early years travelling the world with his father, singer-songwriter Samuel Jack is now based in Dorset, seeking inspiration from his natural surroundings.

We caught up with Samuel to talk influences, plans for the future and cheap cider…

Hi Samuel! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m Samuel Jack, a singer-songwriter. London born, Dorset bred via Amsterdam and Johannesburg. I currently live in a caravan in Dorset and have a huge passion for blues, soul and gospel music but I like to give it my own Samuel Jack treatment…

When did you first decide to start making music?
I first sat down at a piano in my late teens. I left university and was working in a local pub which had a piano that I used to mess around on and teach myself in-between shifts. It was really from this point I was inspired to write my own songs and the natural progression to perform them.

What were your earliest influences?
My earliest influences come from my dad’s love of the blues and old soul records. I grew up listening to Etta James, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, BB King to name a few – I remember knowing all the words to some early Van Morrison records and James Taylor’s deep cuts by the age of about 12! Actually, around that age I moved to South Africa with my dad, and I fell in love with the native songs of the Zulu and Choza communities in Jo-Berg – it’s that gospel-esque, group sing along kinda vibe that I love, gives me goose bumps. Also around this time I discovered Paul Simon’s Graceland which went on to be one of my all time favourite albums

What do you think about the music industry for young/aspiring artists right now?
Notoriously the music industry is a hard place to be in, but the internet opens a plethora of channels to reach broad audiences in ways never previously available. It’s far more accessible to get heard now, but you can lost amongst the noise, so building loyal fans, followers, supporters that will echo your voice wide and far is so important. Alongside an internet presence it’s important to get out on the road with a great live show and above and beyond all of this, great songs. It all begins with the song.

Your debut EP Let It All Out is out now– for those who haven’t heard your sound, how would you describe it?
Let It All Out is stories written through both good and difficult times in my life. It’s a journey of joy, self doubt, love, loss, and how I’ve come to accept and overcome all of the above. Sonically, you’ll hear my love of soul, my passion for gospel harmonies and intimate narratives but even though I’m definitely embracing the sounds and influences I grew up listening to, I try to keep the music relevant, and put my own spin and stories into the songs and how I deliver them.

It seems that a lot of your life has been spent travelling, how would you say your experience of travel influences your songwriting?
Hugely. As I mentioned earlier, South Africa had a big influence on me musically. But it’s not just the music I’ve discovered, the places I’ve seen, people I’ve met – these are things that inspire me to write. I love how a song can take you back somewhere, whenever I hear the Chilli Peppers I’m instantly transported to the roof of my friend’s garage back when we were kids. Listening to Californication and drinking cheap cider that we had to get his big sister to buy. Life experience is the ink in the pen.

I’ve heard that you were asked to play the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury after being spotted/heard playing at a local restaurant. Can you tell us a bit more about that experience?
It was crazy, absolutely surreal! It was literally 2 weeks prior to the festival that I was asked. At the time I had a bunch of material in the works, but nothing really finalised. I remember just locking myself away for the two weeks leading up to the show to get the songs in shape, and then rehearsing them up with the band. I’d never actually been to Glasto before, so for my first time attending to be a performer was just insane. I was really nervous before I went on, but what a fantastic experience it was!

What new bands and artists are you listening to right now?
Hmmm, Gallant – ‘Weight In Gold’ is epic, love it. Christine And The Queens, Foy Vance’s new album Wild Swan and also my driving song is ‘White Tiger’ by Izzy B – I did a show with her late last year, she’s great, love her voice. Apart from that I always squeeze a little old soul and blues in there – right now Johnny Lee Hooker is on the vinyl.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since starting to make music?
To keep on keeping on.

What are your plans over the next few months – are you planning any more releases?
I have some exciting things coming up actually. Next week I kick off uk tour, starting Thursday 27th Oct in London, then through Manchester, Brighton, Cardiff, Bristol and finishing the tour with a special home town show in a gorgeous spot in the South West called Bruton. Alongside these I’ll be popping in and out of radio stations around the country to say hi and maybe sing a toon or 2. Also, in each tour city I’m going to be doing a pop-up street performance and giving away a bunch of good stuff like tickets to shows and downloads to music. Locations will only be announced via social media – so please follow me and come on down for some good vibes. You can learn everything you need to know about the tour and the pop ups via the #livefrommytourvan tag on insta, fb and Twitter.

As soon as we wrap this little tour run, I’m back in the studio writing, finishing off some new songs and indeed I have a new release scheduled, which will all kick off with a song very dear to me that I’m very excited to share with you at the top of next year!

Huge thanks to Samuel Jack for answering our questions!

Let It All Out, the debut EP from Samuel Jack, is out now. Catch him live in London this Thursday 27 October at The Slaughtered Lamb. And find out more about Samuel at his website.