photography by Yvonne Reichmuth
The eclectic singer-songwriter, performer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Himself is an artist who clearly has a deep awareness of the fact that rock music is often attached to a bunch of clichés. “Anyone who makes rock music today, as I do, has to be aware of the genre’s hangover. All the pomp, pathos and excess, which is why rock’n’roll is always declared dead, quite rightly.” And he’s done a good job of sorting it out. Musically his releases are modern rock-pop, innovative, complex, and danceable.
The Basel native has just released his new single ‘Mr. Rocknroll’ where he reunited with his longtime producer Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) and mastering engineer Greg Calbi (David Bowie; Bruce Springsteen). They were joined by JD Werner (Ghostface Killah; Lee “Scratch” Perry) on bass and drummer Chris Egan (Solange; Blood Orange).
And as of today ‘Mr. Rocknroll’ is playing on repeat as we feel immediately connected to the feeling of the song. This track is a refreshing version of a rock rhyme scheme, easy-going, catchy and enchanting with its effortless ease. Sam tells us: “There’s a line in my new single – “it’s only rocknroll” – from the Rolling Stones song of the same name. Not their best, I’d say: the band were past their prime when they released it (1974), stuck in the past without any new ideas for the future. To me, that idiotically prescient phrase sums up a lot of the clichés I must confront as an indie rock musician ca. 2022. If I don’t, chances are I’ll make something stale, retrograde, and uninspired (kinda like Mick Jagger at the beginning of his first midlife crisis).”
The accompanying music video, was shot in an empty Zurich café, in collaboration with Swiss Courtier YVY, directed by the talented Raya al Souliman and photographer Horatiu Sovaiala. He had been away from Switzerland for a long time, and New York became his new home. But you know, life is a journey back to the roots and he fortunately fell in love with his homeland again. And we fell in love with him…
Enjoy the video below:
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