#risingartist: We caught up with Sam Himself after his latest song "Nothing Like the Night"
Credit: Stefan Tschumi
Hypnotic, catchy anthem Nothing Like the Night deals with the temptation to surrender to the proverbial night during times of isolation and uncertainty. Sam Himself wrote his new song both in exile and at home: the indie rock baritone had just embarked on a tour in his native Switzerland when the pandemic foiled his plans and prevented his return to Brooklyn, NY, his chosen home of the past decade. Packed for a few weeks, Sam ended up staying in Europe for the better part of a year, crashing on couches and writing the songs that would become his first LP, Power Ballads, due out in the fall. He made it back to New York in early 2021 and went straight to the studio with longtime producer Daniel Schlett (The War on Drugs; DIIV) to record the result, which was mastered by Greg Calbi (Bruce Springsteen; David Bowie).
We caught up with Sam who currently back in the states for a moment, for a little chat about the latest single, music videos, recording in his mom’s attic, and much more (Including the Cheese moment!). Just the video above, let us know what you think too!
Nothing Like the Night follows the album's first single, Cry. Both come on the heels of Sam's most recent EP Slow Drugs (May 2020), which features drummer Parker Kindred (Jeff Buckley; Elliott Smith), bassist Josh Werner (Iggy Pop; CocoRosie), and singer Denitia. The release earned Sam the Swiss National Broadcasting Service’s Best Talent award, international press, radio airplay, and DSP editorial features for singles Slow Drugs and Like a Friend, six-figure view counts for the accompanying music videos, as well as a nomination for a Swiss Music Award, the most prestigious national prize of its kind, in January of this year.
On his forthcoming full-length debut, written in isolation and recorded partly in his mother's attic, Sam tries to make sense of a mind-bending year:
In early 2020, the artist finds himself in Europe, on tour with singer Anna Rossinelli, when the pandemic breaks out. Suddenly stranded between Switzerland and his home base in the United States, Sam locks himself into quarantine at an Airbnb in Basel, his Swiss hometown. During this period of isolation, using the equipment he brought on his canceled spring tour, Sam starts writing new material as his return to New York becomes increasingly uncertain amid the early chaos of the pandemic. About his new single, Sam says:
“My worst habits grew a lot stronger in the loneliness of the early pandemic. I felt pretty lost and uprooted, exiled without a witness to caution me against self-destructive behaviors that felt like coping mechanisms at the time. Nothing Like the Night is about ways of escaping yourself and losing control when you suddenly have a perfect alibi for self-indulgence: the end of the world as you know it.”
For the music video, Sam once again joins forces with trusted collaborator Stefan Tschumi, the "eyes to Sam's ears", director and editor of Like a Friend; Slow Drugs; Maybe Allison and Cry. The new video juxtaposes a fully branded Sam trying to pitch his product to his audience against an equally Sam-branded alter ego on a mission to sell the artist on his own demons. Dialing up the beautifully weird aesthetic that has become a hallmark of Sam’s music videos, his latest boasts a line of bespoke Sam Himself Swiss dairy products, Sam-brand clothes, and no less than five poodles. The video’s over-the-top symbolism, toying with rock’n’roll cliché and absurdist humor, was informed in part by the artist’s experience with his own growing exposure:
“I appreciate how directly and immediately I can speak to my audience and vice versa; I can’t imagine what the past year would have been like in a pre-digital world. But for all the blessings of all the ways I can share the things I make, I realized that the relentless self-promotion artists are expected to engage in can take on a life of its own; if you’re not careful, all that stuff can cost you a lot of focus or, in my case, make you lose your mind a little bit.”
It's love at first sight when Sam Koechlin moves to New York in the early 2010s with dreams of pursuing music -- and a few lessons to learn. His love for the city all but unrequited, Sam attends college, works odd jobs, and embarks on a number of musical adventures before launching his solo project Sam Himself in 2016. The name is born out of necessity and a concert promoter's ill-timed sense of humor, one night in downtown Manhattan when the other member of Sam's band at the time fails to show up for a gig.