As she prepares to drop her fiercely raw third album Bloodless, Minnesota-based artist Samia muses on the cultures of Nashville and LA, explores the power of projection and reminisces on a pretend manager...
INTERVIEW: Miranda Bardsley PHOTO: Graham Tolbert
You’ve talked about how your upcoming album, Bloodless, sees you seek ‘comfort in absence’. What did you mean by that statement exactly?
“I had a mission with this album; I was focused on writing poetry for it, which was similar to the process I had on my first album. The [comfort in absence] comes from the feeling that, in my experience, giving less allows you to be more, because the less you reveal, the more people can project onto you. There’s power in that, but it’s also infuriating, so I was playing with that dichotomy and how you can go between feeling so powerful but also misunderstood. I wrote it about personal stuff, but the more I think about it, the more that pertains to being in front of strangers as an artist. I’ve always had a desperation to feel understood, and this is the kind of career where you don’t have any control over that, so it definitely plays into that.”
You recently moved to Minneapolis after living in LA and Nashville – how do the songwriting cultures compare for you?
“I’m so easily inspired, I love being in a community with creatives, and everywhere I’ve lived, my friends who make art have rubbed off on me. In Nashville, it’s old-school, narrative songwriting, and I learned a lot from that. I also love country music and it was so cool to be in proximity to that. Then in LA, there’s still sort of this Laurel Canyon feeling. But here, in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities, there’s a real punk spirit, which I’m really open to. I would love to be here as long as possible, because I’ve been aching for roots for a while and this is a place that I’ve always loved. You always learn a little bit about every community you’re a part of, but for me, it’s the way people use language and mess with words that fascinates me the most.”
Since you started releasing music in 2017, you’ve racked up millions of streams and supported artists like Maggie Rogers. What has been one of your biggest ‘pinch me’ moments so far?
“I’ve got so lucky with who we’ve been able to open for, and I really try to learn from everyone. I love Father John Misty, I’ve basically been stalking him for years, and two years ago we played the same festival as him, and at one point we were both near the catering tent and I talked to him. He was like, ‘Look at what you’ve done!’ about my music, and I was just paralysed. I started talking to him about vaping, which I don’t even do! I just went somewhere else. The poor guy was just stuck with me, but he was really nice.”
Going back to Bloodless, this is your second LP release on Grand Jury. How did that relationship initially come about?
“When I was 19, I threw some songs on Spotify, thinking I’d have them to send out when I was trying to book little shows in New York. Then one of them got on a Spotify playlist, which was shocking! I had a fake manager at the time named Dave – he was just me [laughs] – which I used to email people. Then I got an email from Craig [Winkler, Grand Jury founder] who was like, ‘You should come in, we like this!’ about my music. So I did, I couldn’t believe I was in there, and I signed with them straight away! I’ve been with them ever since; they’re so artist friendly, and that’s always been the priority for me – being with people who respect and understand what I’m trying to do.”
KEY RELEASE: Bloodless
LABEL: Grand Jury Music
MANAGEMENT: Brian Winton, Foundations
INSTAGRAM: @samiatheband
