This Friday sees him play an intimate acoustic gig at the legendary Castle Hotel in what is fast turning into his second home in the nation as part of his Acoustic Nights tour. We caught up with him to chat about self financing, his inspirations and, of course, his home from home:
How pleased were you with how your album was received?
Really pleased, all the reviews were positive and said it was a brave album to make. It’s growing!
You’re quite open about your soul influences running from classical to more recent but what other musical influences do you think you take with you?
Definitely pop, in essence the songs are pop songs with a soul arrangement to them, but I think that’s cool and because the songs all began acoustic I think there’s a singer songwriter feel to it, I’ve lived those tracks.
As a self financing artist how difficult is it to get yourself noticed?
Well, if you begin with the expectation that you’re going to get to number one then chances are you’re going to find it pretty difficult. I think it’s a continual process of progression, you meet fans and interact with them, as opposed to pissing off after a show. It all depends on what getting yourself noticed really means doesn’t it ?
Evan Walsh of The Strypes has said that pop music now is “rubbish” – do you agree?
Not really, music is all subjective, his rubbish might be my brilliant and vice versa. It’s only rubbish when it’s not played properly or sang properly. I can see his point, perhaps music gets generic and doesn’t complicate itself? Music is just like sexual attraction, it’s all down to taste.
The acoustic tour is a prelude to a full band tour later; how do you think your work translates to each style?
All the songs started acoustically, just me and a guitar or a piano so they naturally lean to that. What’s interesting is people haven’t heard it like that before, so for the audience, it’s a different experience. The arrangements came about when I decided how I wanted the album to sound, I wanted it to hark back to the great soul peak or MoTown and Stax. A good song will suit many genres.
Manchester seems to be your second home – what is it about the city that draws you so much?
Everyone who has experienced my music in Manchester has welcomed me with open arms, it’s such a nice thing, they’re so into it. I loved the city even before I started gigging here but for me it’s a show I’m really looking forward to.
What would your dream collaboration be?
Easy, Gabrielle. It’s where my soul of British soul and soul in General began!
You can listen to Sam talk about his music on Wythenshawe FM (Manchester) on Wednesday 9th April at 5.30pm and also AllFM (Manchester) on Wednesday 9th April at 6pm. There are also a few last tickets available priced £5 for his show this Friday at The Castle Hotel, Manchester via the venue, seetickets.com and his own website, samdickinsononline.com Sam’s debut album “The Stories That Occurred” is out now.
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