Frequency - Sam Brookes
Always one of favourite London male vocalists and a very impressive singer-songwriter, our next LCM featured artist Sam Brookes is heading out on a UK tour in April. A perfect Sunday song our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the sublime 'Frequency' taken from his excellent 2014 'Kairos' debut solo album. https://youtu.be/FB4Llv5DvzE
Sam is coming with a full band to The Borderline on 25th April, with the promise of new music. Not to be missed.
Sam Brookes is a seasoned veteran of the live music circuit. Not your stereotypical ‘folk bard ‘ his love of singing and performing has been evolving since his days as a chorister, singing for the Queen at her private Chapel in Great Windsor Park; add to this his training as a gilder and Sam already stands apart from his contemporaries.
Brought up in a creative family, his love of music was encouraged from a very early age. He attributes influences such as Joni Mitchell, Bert Jansch and Davy Graham to his father as well as more recent influences: ‘Travis’ and ‘The La’s’ to his own musical journey of discovery. His upbringing in a sleepy Wiltshire Town couldn't have been more different to the frenetic pace of life in London, where he has spent the last 4 years of his life. Both have impacted greatly on his career and contributed to his musical style. Sam has become part of the burgeoning folk scene gigging in and around London to an ever increasing audience of enthusiasts.
Sam cites his training as a gilder as a positive influence on his guitar playing as well as his approach to song writing. ‘I approach my music with the same ethic I held whilst gilding - working hard to create something beautiful’
These influences amalgamate in Sam’s songs to create something truly unique. He sees himself, first and foremost, as a storyteller who claims John Steinbeck as one of his major influences. His songs are, fundamentally, beautifully crafted stories about familiar subject matters which captivate the listener. Musically, his immaculate phrasing and beautifully modulated delivery reach easily beneath the skin of his audience; the magical space he creates, with the elasticity of his writing, has the echoes and jazz arches of giants like John Martyn and Tim Buckley.
His self titled release produced by Chris Hughes (Tears for Fears, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney) bought him recognition in the form of high profile support slots with Joan Armatrading, Ray Davies and Newton Faulkner; this combined with an entrepreneurial spirit and a close kinship with other musicians such as Lucy Rose, Pete Roe and Emily & The Woods has allowed his live and recorded sound to evolve in to a more powerful and provocative body of work. Thoughtful lyrics add poetry to his tracks, something that sets his work apart in an increasingly saturated area of music.