Sam Johnson releases new single ‘Stuck Under The Surface’ on September 27th through Made Records
‘Eastcote EP’ - out 1st November
Listen to ‘Stuck Under The Surface’ on Spotify or Soundcloud
Sam Johnson releases his new single ‘Stuck Under The Surface’ on September 27th through Made Records. ‘Stuck Under The Surface’ - an anthemic track hiding in a gentle setting - recalls the end of his six-year relationship with an Australian girlfriend, a love affair that had been sustained at long distance until the time that his heart began to let go. He records his inability to face up to the changes, “the scripted lines” and “vacant smiles” he gave, and now regrets.
Speaking about the new single, Johnson comments, “Stuck Under the Surface is a song born from the ashes of a long term relationship that didn’t quite work out. It came to fruition in the wake of a break up and felt like a very necessary form of catharsis. I knew it had to be honest if it were to be convincing, but naturally with that came a level of difficulty and unease that I’d rarely had to deal with when writing songs before. However, rather inevitably, it’s gone on to become one of my favourite songs on the EP. I’ve realised that its overarching message is one of openness. I found closure in being able to write this song, when previously feeling unable to articulate my feelings or ‘stuck under the surface’, and I hope others will be touched similarly when listening.
‘Stuck Under The Surface’ is the third single taken from Sam's forthcoming debut ‘Eastcote EP’ (out November 1st), produced with multi-instrumentalist Elliot James. It follows on from singles 'Medicine For My Brain' which was Track of the Month (August 2019) on BBC Introducing Shropshire and most recent single 'Trip On Gold', which was co-written with the renowned Irish songwriter Iain Archer. Sam’s music has also received support on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X as well as Spotify New Music Friday playlisting in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland amongst many other playlists and Deezer’s Brand New UK, Radar Weekly.
It’s a potent combination: a voice as big as George Ezra, and a sense of emotional resonance that has more in common with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Sam Johnson’s upcoming debut EP, is the product of a period rather more intense than most people go through in their early twenties: the end of a six year relationship, and the passing away of a beloved father. Far from being a record of sadness, his thoughtful, ebullient debut captures a young man’s growing sense of who he is, vulnerability and all.
And there has arguably been one stroke of luck in Johnson’s song-writing life so far: his accidental pedigree mentor, My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. After his uncle married Shields’ sister Anne Marie, Sam became a regular at their large, family Christmases in Ireland, and the “super-cerebral” Kevin took him under his wing. “He was instrumental in founding any kind of confidence in me,” says Johnson; each year, the teenager would save up songs to play him on acoustic guitar, and one Christmas, when he was seventeen, Shields took him to the famous Grouse Lodge recording studios in County Westmeath to record a handful of early demos. The songs got traction via the BBC Introducing scheme, and Johnson had his first real sense of focus, “all because Kevin was so kind.”
‘Stuck Under The Surface is out September 27th
‘Eastcote EP’ out November 1st
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