Irish-Portuguese Sam Segurado artist is set to release his new album, The Remainder, and plays the Workmans Cellar, Dublin with support from Navya on 25 February. we asked him the BIG questions . . .
Sam grew up in Portugal but he calls Dublin his home. That's where he cut his teeth on the open mic scene. From there, he released his fist album, Looking For The Fox, and his second album The Remainder, is out on 24 February.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I'm a hopeful romantic. My last name means 'safely held' and was bestowed on my Portuguese ancestor, a dab hand at swordsmanship. I bought a 77-year-old acoustic guitar to write my first album on, then sold said guitar to fund the recording of said album. It had such a beautiful sound I never got the chance to hear recorded!
How would you describe your music?
I'd say my first album was mellow indie folk, while with this new one we set out to make a straight-up night-time drive-time record. There's usually some kind of sorrow or nostalgia in my songwriting. My Irish grandmother wouldn't sing often, but when she did it had to be a sad one. And I never met her, so it must be genetic.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I love Jeff Buckley forever and always, not for the power or range of his voice, but for its phrasing and tone. Josh Ritter is a huge inspiration for his beautiful songwriting I aspire to. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver for blazing a path where I can play in the giant footprints.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Pixies, Lansdowne Road, 2005. I still have the ticket stub! Kings of Leon played support but I was only there for Pixies. They were so cool and really rocked out.
What was the first record you ever bought?
There were three I bought around the same time when I first started buying my own CDs, and I can't remember which was first: Daft Punk's Discovery, Don McClean's American Pie, and In Blue by The Corrs. Discovery is still an absolute favourite to this day.
What’s your favourite song right now?
I first heard it over three years ago now but I think it's still Dionne by Japanese House. Such a jam, but with really hard-hitting lyrics. Another recently discovered favourite is Iodine by Pinegrove, it's deceptively simple but so beautiful.
Favourite lyric of all time?
It's so hard to separate a great lyric from the song around it; some written down lose the same impact they have within music. I'll give it to Jeff, because the cadence and rhythm of these lines still work beautifully when spoken: "I am a railroad track abandoned/With the sunset forgetting I ever happened."
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Morning Theft by Jeff Buckley. It feels like three songs in one, and it takes me to all the places I want music to take me. It would be heartbreaking to only listen to one song forever but on the plus side I'd never have to hear Baby Shark again...
Where can people find your music/more information?
My new album, The Remainder, will be available everywhere from 24 February and I'm celebrating with an album launch in Workmans Cellar, Dublin the day after. It's going to be so wonderful to play my songs with a full band for the first time, I can't wait.
Alan Corr
