Sometimes the impossible dream works out against all odds. In what feels like a lifetime ago, Samuel Jack sat down at a piano in the pub he worked at in England. From that first moment, it’s been a journey of learning, improving and wanting to make the most of every option. And now he’s an artist with hundreds of millions of streams, a viral international hit (‘Feels Like Summer’), and a whole new outlook on life, music and what success actually means. It’s a journey he documents with today’s release of his second album ‘One Last Dance In The Valley’.
Samuel summarises the album and his story so far explaining, “It took me quite some time to really appreciate the journey for what it is rather than worrying about the destination. There’s a lot of joy in this record and a lot of dreaming. The last few years have seen me get married, buy my first house and arrive at what is probably the happiest place I’ve ever been in my life. ‘One Last Dance In The Valley’ looks back on the wild ride I’ve had over the last few years, but it also celebrates love, the journey for all its ups and downs, and the thirst for adventure that took me to Nashville, LA and all over the world writing music.”
His influences are prevalent through the record, touching on Sam Cooke, BB King and Van Morrison. But its punchy, dynamic production roots in the present day, too. The new 60’s R&B influenced focus track, ‘Sweeter’, kicks off the album with aplomb, fusing classic soul and the rich, booming timber of Samuel’s voice with an addictive, pop-leaning groove. The rest of the record unfolds, turning between irrepressible positive vibes – the brass-heavy ‘Tennessee’, exploring dub soul on ‘Easy To Me’, merging pop and gospel with ‘At The Higher Ground’, the devoted love of ‘Brighter Days’ – with moments of deeper introspection, such as ‘Where Would I Be Right Now?’ and ‘It’s a Mad Mad World’. There’s also a reprisal of ‘Feel’s Like Summer (…Again)’, this new version feeling in tune with the rest of the album’s stylistic approach without losing the joyousness of the original.
He adds, “For the first time in a long time I feel like I’ve really come home with this record. It’s a collection of songs heavily inspired by my time and experiences writing in America and its unapologetically me. When I look back over the music I’ve written I think I’ve been pretty adventurous, I’ve never really stayed in one lane and I like that I’ve been eclectic and explored the craft of writing across different genres. But this new record feels like the one I was always supposed to write, it’s a soul record at heart and there’s no question in mind that I’ve never felt so authentically myself.”
The most recent single ‘California Sun’ was accompanied with a live video showcasing further that Samuel’s voice is phenomenal. The song’s searing soul is powered by warm, organic live instrumentation and the full-spirited soul of his gritty vocal talent. It’s a song that captures the big dreams of Los Angeles life – but also one that can be a simmering summer soundtrack all over the globe.
Samuel Jack made the entire record with his long-term writing and production collaborators Owen Thomas and Lily-May Young.
The ‘One Last Dance In The Valley’ title came from a conversation Samuel had with Owen Thomas about the expectations that come with songwriting, and the underlying doubt as a project comes to its conclusion as to whether you have the energy to go through it all (and the emotions that come with it). But music is an unstoppable compulsion for him, and the solution is to simply tell his story, his truths and make an album for the love of it: the creative equivalent of one last dance.
The emotional resonance of his music had made it a compelling choice to feature in numerous major TV shows including ‘Tulsa King’, ‘Walker’, ‘Lucifer’, ‘The Rookie’, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’, ‘Shameless’ and ‘Waterloo Road’.
Tracklist:
Sweeter
Tennessee
Wonderful
Bad Love
California Sun
Where Would I Be Right Now?
Brighter Days
Hold On
Forever On My Mind
Feels Like Summer (…Again)
At The Higher Ground
Easy To Me
It’s A Mad Mad World
LISTEN HERE