Sam Johnson delivers the soaring new single ‘Changes’ on September 25th
Lifted from the forthcoming new EP
‘Are We There Yet?’
Announced as a member of the Ivors Academy Youth Council
Following on from the success of his previously shared single ‘The Kids Are Alright’, which landed on Spotify editorial playlists Fresh & Chill, Pop Right Now and New Music Friday in the UK, Germany and Switzerland; Apple Music’s New Music Daily in eleven countries, and named Record Of The Week on BBC Radio Shropshire, and its follow-up ‘Peter Pan’ which found a home on Spotify’s Easy playlist, British singer and songwriter Sam Johnson continues to build momentum for his forthcoming EP ‘Are We There Yet?’ with the release of his soaring new single ‘Changes’.
Listen To ‘Changes’ HERE
Much like his recent material, ‘Changes’ sees him adopt a fresh and emboldened sound, filled with a bright and euphoric atmosphere. Opening up with a smooth and supple piano-led direction, the single quickly kicks up a gear and sees the frontman deliver a huge and anthemic vocal performance that cements him as one of the more captivating names on the new music landscape right now.
Speaking about his new release, he said, “This song was almost inevitable and a needed bit of closure to the ‘coming of age’ sentiment running throughout the EP. It starts with the realisation that a long distance relationship I’d had for 6 years wasn’t going to work out, but then beckons in the change that comes with that decision and the ramifications it will have on my life. Both exciting and daunting, this song really is, at its heart, an optimistic look to the future and all it might bring. Moving to London, falling in love again, and following my dreams in music are the real touchstones of this song rather than a mournful look back on what could have been. It can be summed up by a little clip of audio that I’d ripped from a video on my phone and placed deep within the song's emotive middle 8, where my girlfriend says “You’ll be fine Sammy, you’re in safe hands”.
Taken from Sam’s forthcoming EP ‘Are We There Yet?’ his latest collection is set to see him grow more as an artist and a human being throughout. “I create characters influenced by what I see around me,” he says. “A lot of the lyrics are touchstones of my childhood, and where I grew up... and the people that I grew up around.”
In recent weeks Sam Johnson was announced as a member of the Ivors Academy Youth Council. The newly formed Youth Council is made up of sixteen young creators from the Academy’s Youth Network, acting as an advisory group, which will form a central role in shaping the future of the Academy. The Academy’s Youth Network, which was established last autumn, is a growing and connected community of young creators and a hub of partnerships with Universities, Colleges and other non-academic organisations. The Network aims to empower and educate young songwriters and composers of all genres, and provide a platform at the Academy to voice views on music industry issues.
A driven and relentlessly ambitious artist, Sam Johnson’s story also owes a debt to chance. Fate dealt him an unusual card when Kevin Shields – My Bloody Valentine auteur – crossed his path, taking the fledgling talent into the studio for the very first time. “That was a real moment for me… that developed my backbone. It made me want to have that element of legacy. And he made me realise that it could be done.”
A country boy lost in the big city, Sam’s music has taken him from a rural setting to the London metropolis, but he’s driven by an extraordinary sense of purpose. ‘Are We There Yet?’ is a tightly bound EP, one where each passage speaks to the next. Overseen by My Riot at RAK Studios, the production is left deliberately raw, almost unfinished, so that the songs “could breathe, without over-cluttering it too much”.
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