In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.     

This time we speak with tape machine troubadour Will Samson.

Having made music for 7 years in various capacities, Samson’s back catalogue stands impressively tall, presenting a vast array of ideas that blend ambient, electronic and acoustic textures in elegant, shape-shifting combinations. These allusive compositions also reveal a deeply mindful artist, with a positively voracious appetite for analog equipment.

Samson’s latest, the sublime Welcome Oxygen, is his most stripped back and direct record to date, comprised primarily of amorphous analog flutterings, artificially-aged acoustics, tear-your-heart-out violins and Samson’s own hushed, glistening vocal that stands front-and-centre in a manner we haven’t yet witnessed from this increasingly forthcoming musician. It’s a vocal that gently beckons you in as if to impart some meaningful, age-old secret and is especially powerful on the album’s dusty title track and its glowing second single ‘Shimmer (Day Two)’.

We caught up with Samson to learn a little more about the making of this heartfelt, taped-recorded gem and here’s what he had to say…

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TMR: It sounds like you’ve moved around Europe quite a bit in recent years. Where are you currently based? Is it creatively inspiring? How so?

That's true. I am currently in Brussels and have no plans to leave for the foreseeable future. I became really tired of the constant moving and I'm happy to be staying in one place for the moment.

The recent album was finished before I arrived here, so I have not been writing or recording so much over the last few months. It's been necessary to take a little break from it – so that in itself is inspiring and refreshing.

Otherwise, Brussels is home to some of my favourite music venues (like Botanique) and I have a couple of other musician friends living here – so it certainly feels like a healthy environment in which to be creative. I also live very close to a beautiful little public garden, which helps a lot.

TMR: It’s been documented that some of your main musical inspirations include Devendra Banhart, Do Make Say Think and The Album Leaf, but what non-musical inspirations found their way into your new album, Welcome Oxygen?

The album was a something of a cathartic release, after some life changing events over the previous five years. I was dealing with grief, isolation and heartache – but when I fully acknowledged them, there came an opening of light.

The songs came from a place of love, rather than a wound and I think that's why they all flowed out so quickly and naturally. Funnily enough, a lot of people have mentioned that the new songs sound lighter to them.

It sounds like a cliché, but I really did record this album for myself. It was a rough time and working on these songs provided an anchor – and the whole process proved to be very healthy. We need to learn, particularly as men, that it's ok to be emotionally vulnerable sometimes (especially if dealing with something like grief or the inevitable consequences of trauma). This album felt like a step forward in that process for me.

TMR: Welcome Oxygen is all recorded to tape and features markedly minimal instrumentation (often only guitar, your voice and some violin). What prompted this shift from your previous, more electronic works?

I always worked with tape on my previous releases, so that's not new. I treat it like another instrument, and one that I cannot see myself ever straying too far away from.

The album was recorded in Lisbon, where I didn't actually have access to a lot of my gear – but that really came as a blessing. As much as I'm still proud of my previous records, I do feel that I had begun to hide behind cryptic lyrics and walls of sound. I knew I didn't want to do the same time and that it was a necessity to practice being expressive in a very open, honest and naked way.

It was also a case of gradually becoming more comfortable with having my voice at the centre of the music. It's definitely taken quite a few years of recording and touring before getting to this place where I felt confident enough to release such a stripped down album.



TMR: Despite the comparatively limited instrumentation on Welcome Oxygen, is there a piece of equipment you simply can’t live without? If so, which one and why?

I don't actually own one myself, but for the last several releases I always borrowed or hired a Roland RE-501. However, I don't use it for the delay. Recording with the dry tape signal produces a very specific characteristic, which I absolutely love for guitars and some percussion too.

TMR: In contrast with earlier records (which took significantly more time to complete), Welcome Oxygen is said to have been born out of a two-week period of intense creativity prior to your move back to England. Can you describe the atmosphere and process for us?

I think I inadvertently answered this in a previous question, but in short:

In July 2016, I had sublet a friend's Lisbon flat for a couple of weeks (in a quiet neighbourhood out of the centre, old wooden floorboards, a view of the water – beautiful) which I was initially supposed to share with someone else.

I was unexpectedly left with the place to myself and this also then prompted my decision to leave Portugal. I had moved there a few months beforehand with the intention of staying long-term, but many things changed upon arrival and it became clear that it was not meant to be.

So, I was left with this beautiful but empty apartment, where I sat with everything that was stirring inside. Making an album seemed like the perfect remedy.

TMR: What’s your favourite song you’ve written (on Welcome Oxygen or otherwise) and why?

On the new album, I have a particular fondness for 'Find A Little Light'. For me, it feels like a good example of the textures that I try to achieve, with the tape manipulated guitars and subtle electronics.

I've always felt close to 'Sanctuary' from my Light Shadows EP too.



TMR: You’ve just began a European tour. While your new album is primarily acoustic, it features a wealth of ambient textures and electronic manipulations, we’re curious, what can an audience expect from your live show?

Usually I will play with an incredible violinist named Beatrijs De Klerck, however there will be a few solo shows too. Basically, I am doing as much as I physically can on my own – bass synth with my left foot, effect pedals with my right foot, guitar / keyboard / triggering samplers with my hands and also singing! I also take my Watkins tape delay everywhere with me.

TMR: Are there any up-and-coming artists or bands you’re really enjoying lately? 

Brumes (who will play with me in Brussels on the 28th September), my dear friend Heimer (who makes some of the best electronic music I know) and Martyn Heyne.

TMR: What does the rest of 2017 and early 2018 hold for you? 

I have lots of shows coming over the next couple of months. I hope to be touring more in 2018, but the reality is that my schedule will really depend on how this album is received now that it is out... so let’s see!

Aside from music, I'll be spending some time with family and just trying to focus on doing the things that make me happiest.



Welcome Oxygen is out now via Talitres and catch Will Samson on tour now. We'll certainly be making The Islington show on November 19th.

-Karl Jawara