THE JOURNEY TAKEN by UK singer-songwriter Sam Winston to his latest releases (‘Til I Make Peace With War’ and ‘Damaged Goods’) hasn't been straightforward. It has been a circuitous route, with several hurdles to overcome including health problems & a self-imposed hiatus after releasing his debut album. As is frequently the case however, it’s in these hurdles that Sam found new creative strength. A conscious expression of his vulnerabilities, and of the vicissitudes of life, is what underpins these latest songs. His new material focuses on the loss of self, along with the negatives and positives surrounding this.

IN EARLY 2019 Sam was diagnosed with LPR, a condition which can severely inflame the voice box. "I was in burning pain for months on end, for hours a day. It hurt to speak let alone sing." At Sam's lowest he wrote both Damaged Goods and Til I Make Peace With War: “I stood at the microphone with no choice but to surrender to all this pain. What resulted are statements about losing my self, about letting go…being okay with not being okay.” This is reflected in both songs’ lyrics, and their raw soundscapes. Through writing this material, the artist allowed himself spiritual acquiescence to a higher power; a healing belief in something greater than himself.

RESPONSES SO FAR have been extremely positive: The Music Mermaid label Damaged Goods “gorgeous indie-folk”; To The Point Music “could listen on repeat all day” to Sam. SEnine Magazine writes that his “soothingly melodic tones resonate with depth and meaning.” Damaged Goods has had over 100,000 Spotify streams alone. It has been lauded by songwriting maestro Chris Difford (Squeeze).

SAM’S DEBUT The Fire & The Icicle (2016) is a sonically-diverse folk-pop odyssey. Like his latest releases it too was written, produced and engineered by Sam in his self-built London studio. He began the recording process after finishing an English & Film degree, in between his job as a cover teacher. It took 4 years to complete, featuring a host of instrumental performances by Sam, who taught himself the bass, drums, mandolin, ukulele, Kalimba (African thumb piano), glockenspiel, penny whistles and panpipes. Since being taught the piano at age 6, Sam loves to “puzzle out” new instruments.

MIXING OF THE ALBUM was undertaken by Chris Brown (Muse's Origin of Symmetry, Radiohead's Ok Computer). Mastering was completed by Geoffe Pesche at Abbey Road. Initially released with no press campaign, The Fire & The Icicle swiflty gained support from BBC Radio Northants’ Bernie Keith, plus several Kent-based newspapers & radio stations. It won Sam ‘Artist Of The Week’ from Richer Unsigned. He was hailed as “soulful to the tips of his toes” by The Sun's Matt Bell and labelled “a class act” by The South London Press.

SAM FOCUSES ON performing as well as writing. In addition to supporting Boy George on tour in Amsterdam, he has embarked on a mini-tour of Belgium, plus toured Scotland with support from Scottish luthiers Bailey Guitars, a company who hand-make their creations using 100% renewable energy. This fact is important to Sam - he owns 2 of their instruments and knows the team well. When the company were losing their factory, Sam aided them by curating a compilation album of his and others' works. Profits from it helped raise the £20,000 needed to secure their workshop.

OTHER NOTABLE GIGS for Sam include playing Dartford Festival; twice selling out the renowned Mick Jagger Centre; opening the Main Stage at Greenwich's Armed Forces Day; playing Liverpool's Folk On The Dock Fest (with an ardent intro from Radio 2’s Janice Long); supporting Henry Priestman of The Christians, and headlining BBC Radio’s Stage at the Chatham Steam Fest. Sam has links with The Battersea Arts Centre who invited him to play a gig in support of mental health. The event was praised by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan.

BEFORE CORONAVIRUS, Sam was recovering well from his condition, gigging often and wondering how best to release new material. When COVID hit, ‘Til I Make Peace With War’ and ‘Damaged Goods’ developed new purposes for him. Both songs’ personal themes of pain & loss of identity could resonate now with people all over, a light to those going through their own turmoil. During the first lockdown, Sam also adopted a new look and shaved his head. “Everything was so unstable, I felt no control and needed to change something. Hair is a huge part of our identity, so it was my way of asserting to the universe: 'this is the new me, unshielded.'" Both acts of changing his appearance and releasing the new songs were part of the same cathartic process for the artist. Sam now embarks on a whole new creative period as we move through 2021. Ultra high quality downloads of all his songs can be found at https://samwinston.bandcamp.com/