Sam Sure

Life is good for Sam Sure right now. Not only has he just eaten a steak sandwich moments before our interview, but since signing to Black Butter Records last year the London-based singer/songwriter has received praise from tastemakers left, right and centre. Add to that bagging a support slot on BBC Sound of 2015 winners Years & Year’s sold-out headline tour last month, receiving a fair bit of Radio 1 airtime (Sam’s been championed by Annie Mac more than once) and seeing his SoundCloud play-count soar to six figures, you kind of get why, right now, as Sam puts it, everything’s “wicked”.

Not only lauded by critics for his affecting vocal talent, Sam’s lyricism stands out on tracks such as “Hunger” and “Cracks”. Through his words and melodies, he taps into a perspective that feels universal, channeling emotion to which we all can somehow relate. As Sam tells us, “nothing resonates better than the truth”.

Today we’re exclusively premiering Sam’s brand new video for “Cracks”. Here we catch up with the talented newcomer to talk electronic music, Black Butter and Years & Years.

You seem to be receiving a lot of attention all of a sudden…
You spend a lot of time waiting to be busy. And now I’m busy, it’s cool. Everything’s going great. Internally I feel in the same place creatively, but since I’ve teamed with Black Butter, in terms of public response, it’s been quick. I wouldn’t say “whirlwind”, because they keep you on the ground, and don’t let you get carried away. I’ve been doing my thing for a while.

How did the signing with Black Butter come about? Why was label the right fit for you?
Black Butter were looking at me for a little while, tentatively; this was before they were the big deal that they are now. They had a couple of really mental things going on and then I just stayed in touch with one particular member of their team, Joe. He came in and started looking after me and developing me. By the time it came to signing, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else. They’re like family. It’s one of the few labels out there that are able to compete in the market, but still have a family vibe and let artists have creative control.

Is maintaining creativity control important to you?
It’s the only way to have longevity as an artist, and I want that. I feel like the only way you can survive and have authenticity is to do it your way. Then when it changes and evolves, it does so naturally, rather than it being a campaign change.

Did you always want to pursue music professionally?
I’ve always wanted to. I was always really influenced by hip-hop, which meant that my dreams were small. Although hip-hop is probably the most ambitious, I was grounded in the sense that I knew where I was coming from; British hip-hop had its limits. I always wanted to do music professionally, but I never really aimed it at a wider audience. As I developed and got into writing lyrics, I realised that more people might be interested in it than just my mates and my circle of people. Once people start liking what you are doing, it gives you confidence. - Hunger

Following the release of his recent Catching Feelings EP, British crooner Sam Sure says he's glad fans are finally hearing his new music because the songs "only mean something to me when they’re sitting on my laptop, but once others hear them, it’s totally different."

Speaking with Variance after the EP's release, the emerging singer recalls the "unexpected" response to his 2014 breakout single "Hunger," explaining that it "happened sort of organically." He admits, however, had he known how well it would be received, he would have rushed to release this EP.

"I would have tried to piggyback off it," he says with a laugh. "But it’s part of the journey. And I’m trying to keep myself focused on that journey instead of constantly looking to the destination."

While Sure is based in London, his music has found ears across the globe, including in North America. Ironically, he visited the States just before releasing "Hunger," not knowing he'd soon have plenty of fans in America.

"I had ‘Hunger’ written and I came to L.A. for a few weeks and hung out on Venice Beach and did graffiti," he remembers of his time, highlighting how much his focus has changed. "I just drank beer and ate burgers and played basketball. It was wicked."

Fast-forward to 2016 and Sure says it's wild to think people are playing his music at home and in public "in places I can’t even pronounce."

"The fact that there are people in the States hearing my music—I just got a call from a friend of mine who was in Toronto and he said ‘Hunger’ was playing at a record store," he explains. "That’s sick! That’s crazy! I’ve never been to Toronto! I’ve never been to all these places in America. I’d be in America now if they would let me go, but the reality is, you have to be at a certain level before you can go and do all that. For the people to show up."

He's working on that part as well. And he's already thinking of big names he'd love to collaborate in the future.

"I’d love to collaborate with Drake," he says somewhat bashfully. "If you know him or could let him know, that would be great. ... Or let’s say Rihanna said she wants to do a duet. Even if I met her and I thought she weren’t very nice—but no, that sounds like a lie. I’d just apologize. She could be terrible to me and I’d drop everything if Rihanna wanted to collaborate."

For now, Sure will be promoting the new EP, with plans to get to other countries over the next year. The goal is "to let this record have the longest life it can have," he says. "I want people to fall in love with one of the songs and then discover the others. And I don’t care in which order." - Variance Magazine

London based Black Butter Records boy Sam Sure has drawn the attention of just about everyone in the last 12 months. Swept up into Black Butter’s arms last summer to stand alongside Gorgon City, Rudimental and Clean Bandit on their dance roster, Sam was championed by Annie Mac and Zane Lowe long before, following a collaborative release on London label, Greco Roman. Previous release, “Hunger” saw support from genre-spanning maestro and mega babe Pharrell and following track “Cracks” bumped Sam up to over a million plays on Soundcloud. Fast-track a couple of months and he’d won himself spots at The Great Escape, Glastonbury and Ibiza Rocks and a support slot with 2015 chart darlings, Years & Years. Let’s not forget his mammoth graffiti artwork in the back of Fekky and Skepta’s video for “Way Too Much”. And you thought you’d had a busy year.

With barely a moment to breathe, Sam released “Me & You” in September, a bright and breezy dance track made memorable by Sam’s soulful vocals. “I wanted to make a song for the underdogs,” says Sam of the song, “I had just been to Love Saves the Day Festival and all the girls were dancing with really muscular guys with tattoos and vests. It made me want to make a record for them, but subliminally about them… Not in a negative way, just in an observational underdog way. ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ for the dance floor.” Self-directing the video, Sam broke into an abandoned college and created his own version of a lyric video, painting and spraying near enough every word onto the walls, doors, windows, anything. “The place was amazing, like some zombie movie, totally smashed up but really cool. So in the end we just started running around writing on everything and filmed it. My mate Ralph was shooting it and he had great stamina. He was chasing me round all day going ‘Mate that’s shit, do it again’.” We appreciate it Ralph, even if Sam didn’t at the time. - Wonderland