Last week, I got the chance to see Sam Fischer at the Sony Music Entertainment Headquarters in London for a very exclusive Playback & Chat session. Whilst there, Fischer talked through the meanings behind some of the tracks that will be making their way onto his debut full-length LP next year and even played a few of them for us. Most importantly, I got the chance to sit down with him for 10 minutes for a quick interview to chat about mental health, TikTok and his favourite music moments of the year.
Tommy: Sam, you said earlier in your Playback & Chat that you dealt with some mental health struggles through the pandemic. What makes you wanna get up and sing despite all the bad thoughts?
Sam: It makes me happy to sing. I get to be a pop star! When I’m on stage, I’m my best self, my funniest, my most articulate, my most confident, and my most sexy. It’s my safe place, in a way. Singing has always been the way I get out of my head. If I’m in a shit mood and I start singing, I lift out of it.
Tommy: And is that the same for when you’re in the studio as well as when you’re on stage?
Sam: Yeah! I love being in the studio. But it’s totally different, I will say. The emotions you feel on stage and the writing process as well. It’s cool to write a song and sing it in the studio, but then to experience singing it live to an audience and feeding off the energy…I don’t know, it’s the same but different.
Tommy: Do you care about reviews? Do you look at reviews? If someone did a review and said your song was awful, would you obsess over it? Or would you not care?
Sam: Yeah…there was a horrific review of ‘Carry It Well’ when it came out that was so horrifically written I actually posted it! It said it made this guy hurl his eggs up in the morning or something, and I just thought it was so funny. But I don’t really care. Like, Rolling Stone Australia said (‘Carry It Well’) was a melancholic masterpiece, but it also made this random guy throw up his eggs. Is it cool that Rolling Stone loved it? Yes, obviously, it’s a milestone. I don’t spend my time Googling myself to see what hate I can find…I do that to myself already (laughs). Whatever someone else wants to write, at least they’re writing about me.
Tommy: And coming off of that, do you care about numbers? Seeing how many streams you get on a song, for example.
Sam: At the start, I think everyone does. When you put out a song, of course, you wanna see how it’s doing. I think right now in the music industry, algorithms are taking over emotions. And that’s a tricky place to be because you’ll find artists preview a song on TikTok and if the response isn’t good they’ll completely trash it or it won’t be on the album. But as far as numbers go, This City has done more numbers than I thought it would ever do. I’m excited to get back to those numbers, for sure. But is it the be-all and end-all? No. Look at artists like Nothing But Thieves. Huge fanbase, they play the O2 Arena, and they are beloved by their fans. Do they have the biggest streaming numbers? No. But they’re still living a good life and making the music they want to make. There’s no one right way to be an artist. You don’t live and die by numbers. I mean, look at Jason Derulo. He may not fill out stadiums but he’s still living a good life.
Tommy: Well coming on from what you said about TikTok, do you think TikTok is good or bad for music?
Sam: I think it’s a part of the music. It is what it is. I get asked questions about TikTok as if it’s a new platform. But it’s not. It’s what’s been dominating the industry for four years now. ‘This City’ was one of the first songs to go viral on TikTok before everyone even knew what to do with a viral song on TikTok. I didn’t even have it downloaded when it went viral! But it gave me a platform. I’ve met some of the most incredible people I know in my life now that were introduced to me through TikTok. Do I think it’s good for music creation? Maybe not. But it’s definitely levelling the playing field. I think it’s great at giving a new artist an opportunity. I’m grateful that I have ‘This City’ still doing what it’s doing, but I was still prepared for what came after that. I’ve been on tour and I have a new album coming out next year. But it didn’t start with TikTok. I had ten years in the music industry before TikTok. I’ve been called an overnight sensation, but it took me ten years to be an overnight sensation. I used to rally against (TikTok), but now I’m with it, and I enjoy it. It is what it is.
Tommy: You’re more excited than scared of what will happen with it.
Sam: Yeah, I’ve kinda just given in. I would love for artists to go back to just focusing on the art instead of focusing on content because now I feel that we’re all just content creators that make music. I think that the world is overwhelmed by TikTok right now, especially the industry. But it’s part of it. And just as MySpace was, just as Tumblr was…you know, Taylor Swift came from Tumblr. Shawn Mendes came from Vine.
Tommy: Arctic Monkeys?
Sam: Arctic Monkeys! They came from YouTube. Social media has always been part of it all.
Tommy: Okay, time for some more fun questions! What’s your favourite album that came out this year?
Sam: This year…I love the new 1975, but Jazmine Sullivan’s ‘Heaux Tales’. I think it came out this year. But whatever album she put out this year, that’s my favourite (laughs).
Tommy: Do you have a favourite song or single that came out this year?
Sam: Somebody Else – The 1975
Tommy: And did you go to any concerts this year? And if so, what was your favourite?
Sam: Rina Sawayama. Best show I’ve seen all year. Unbelievable set. Yeah, she’s amazing.
Tommy: And this last question…what advice would you give to music journalists that are just starting out?
Sam: Go to events, go to shows, just be out there. Do it because you love it, and support artists big and small.
Tommy: Awesome, thank you so much.
Sam: Thank you!
Sam Fischer’s new single Carry It Well is out now.
