A Conversation With Samual Jack
A Conversation With Samuel Jack
The UK singer-songwriter Samuel Jack has been releasing music under the radar for a while, but all that changed when his song “Feels Like Summer” unexpectedly became a viral sensation, leading to over 50 million streams to date.
Samuel now proves that the gritty, soulful, vocal, powerful emotions and evocative nostalgia that fans adored in that song traits that permeate the rest of his creativity too. He now shares his first single of 2023 in the shape of “Sun Goes Down” ahead of the June 16th release of his debut album ‘The Gold & The Glory’.
NSG caught up with Samuel to talk about his life and career to date.
NSG: Good morning Samual and how are you, what have you been doing today, and how’s that going?
SJ: Hi hi, hello there hi! I’m splendid. Today was a good one. Gym this morning ( oh joy ) then travelled to a writing session in North London. Wrote a banger. Drank a flat white. Came home, and I’ve just got off the blower with my high-achieving over the top manager. Lol.
NSG: What was your childhood like? I read recently that you lived a somewhat nomadic existence with your father in Johannesburg for some of it.
SJ: Honestly my childhood was a mixed bag. My Parents separated when I was really young, which led to a lot of travelling yes, both parents lived abroad in periods, my mother in Holland and my Father in South Africa – I was sort of all over the place as a kid, geographically and emotionally lol.. especially through my formative years…. But eventually settled in the southwest of England before moving to London where I now live – but there has been so much in between I wouldn’t know where to begin.
NSG: Your new debut album ‘The Gold & The Glory’ is due out in June. Could you tell us all about it?
SJ: YES IT IS!! Maybe I’m biased but I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It just feels like the right time to release an album, I haven’t had a chance to do a full-length record thus far and it’s been a trip … I’ve written this thing all over the world, Holland, London, Nashville, Memphis, and L.A over a period of about a year I’d say. I’ve been really lucky, in that I haven’t really been under any pressure, or operating on any strict timeline..no major label breathing down my neck for the record – my team are the best in the world and have just let me make this thing be the best it can be. It’s a collection of stories; ones of love, joy, some of sorrow and loss – an absolute s%£t ton of stuff has happened to me in the last couple of years, it’s been quite the journey – and that’s what this record is – it’s the journey.
NSG: You just released the first single “Sun Goes Down” off the album. I love it! What’s the song about?
SJ: I love this song. I had a blast writing it. It’s a fun one..but it’s a fun one about insecurities.. those insecurities you might feel..say..after a summer fling. It asks that question… “will you still love me tomorrow?” That’s a feeling I’ve certainly felt before… But not after a holiday romance per say… But I felt like that after the success of another song of mine called “Feels Like Summer” – so in some ways, this song is about the music industry .. ( there’s some goss ! )
NSG: How would you describe your sound and who would you say has influenced you along the way?
SJ: I’ve been heavily influenced by so much music over the years, honestly very diverse in the main part – in fact, I think that’s really reflected in what I do now, I LOVE SONGS, I love songs that stand in their own light and aren’t pushed around by any sort of genre bully. My albums are a bit of everything that I love, blues, soul, pop, hip-hop, gospel – I used to listen to BB King when I was 10, Sam Cooke, Paul Simon, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, Tupac, Biggy, Foo Fighters, James Taylor, Oasis, Foy Vance, Bach, Beethoven – I was just a dweeb for their songs.
NSG: It’s been said that you had been releasing music under the radar for a while, but all that changed when your song “Feels Like Summer” unexpectedly became a viral sensation, leading to over 50 million streams. How do you feel about the sudden success, and prior to this, did you believe you would eventually make it, or were there times when you felt like giving up?
SJ: I love this sort of question. This is the sort of question that needs a glass of whiskey, a log fire and a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.
Firstly, ‘Making it’ – ‘Making it’ to me, is waking up in the morning and doing exactly what you want, or what you love. I’d been trying to achieve that very thing for quite sometime before “Feels Like Summer” happened. I’d work in restaurants as a chef, write, tour, hustle – there aren’t the hours in a day to tell you the amount of, or the obscene nature of what I did to try and survive off music and get a door open – feels like summer did just that, a big ol’ creaky door – it meant that I could concentrate fully on music, – it’s certainly helped raise my profile no doubt about it, but as for ‘making it’ there’s still a long way to go before I’m all over your TV’s and playing Wembley, put it that way. The seat at the tables are nice, but I’m not getting too comfy.
NSG: How do you write your songs, do you have a specific process?
SJ: A.I does it for me. Lol. No. I have a couple of go-to methods, but it can happen in a few ways. I might have a strong lyrical idea, or concept, bring that to a piano and kinda use the words to inform a melody over a nice chord progression. OR more normally, I’d concentrate on some nice chords and chordal movement, then write a melody and THEN add some lyrics – although that last bit kinda happens at the same time. And then there’s the cult rituals of course..rain dance etc etc
NSG: We’re a Liverpool-based music publication, do you have any plans on playing here in the near future?
SJ: More UK Dates are on the horizon for sure. I love Liverpool by the way, I’m a diehard (Liverpool F.C.) fan, been a member since I was 8!
(Samual Jack)
NSG: If you could sit down with three people from history, past or present, who would they be and why?
SJ: Let’s flip this, three people that need a good sitting down and talking to are, Donald Trump – honestly, have you seen the recent interviews? Scary. Then, let’s be efficient about it and say Jedward. Jedward upset me.
NSG: How is your summer looking and where can we get to see you?
SJ: Summers looking hot to trot. Happy It’s starting to feel like it finally …. Dates coming soon – hoping to announce some festival slots on as well. Depending on the album’s success lol.
NSG: What do you think is the meaning of life? Lol.
SJ: It’s probably to have babies or something like that, isn’t it? Failing that, let’s go with.. downloading and pre-saving my album – that is the meaning of life folks. If you are seeking purpose, head over to my socials and pre-save my album for enlightenment and spiritual awakening. And the lord said ‘Let there be album’ and there was (Genesis 1:3)
NSG: Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Expect ‘Feels Like Winter’ on iTunes.
You can follow Samuel Jack on social media by clicking on the links below
