Sam Garrett Interview

Hello dear listeners and readers ! Summer is here and we are so full of energy and happiness. It has been a while since the last interview isn't it ? So here we are with something really special. We came across this incredible artist thanks to his friends Roaman, NyOh  and Nate Maingard. Beside their solo careers you might remember they belong to a fantastic collective: 'The Lyrical Nomads ' which I am personally very fond of, and our guest is part of this collective as well. So lovely RQL friends we are very glad to introduce you to Sam Garrett !!

 - Hallo Sam, would you like to introduce yourself for our listeners\readers ? 

Hi, well my name is Sam Garrett and I am a singer songwriter from England singing songs of love and of self realisation on my journey so far. 

-When did you start playing\singing?

I have always sung my whole life as far as I can remember but I started getting interested in the guitar around 7/8 years old and would mostly just sort of pretend that I was playing it walking round with it pretending to be a rock star. Then I started to learn around age 9 and would listen to old tapes that my parents had of different bands and singers and copy the sounds on the guitar. 

-How would you describe your music ?

The music is calm, peaceful, some reggae influences are in there, it's music from the soul for the soul. It's music to heal and to shed light, wisdom and truth to those who can connect to it. 

-What inspires you writing your music? Can you tell us something about your creative process?

What inspires me is life itself, along with all the great saints and sages and Awakened beings throughout the ages that have come and delivered their message of unity and love .....it is a continuation of that through music. Somehow when I am empty of 'me' the songs come from that space it's hard to describe but it's like the body is a vessel for something higher to use to bring forth this wisdom and universal truth. There is also love songs which have arose from experience and other things that I choose to say when I feel it is necessary. 

-Which message can we find in your lyrics ?

 As I said before the message is no different from the Buddhas or what Christ said, to me it is always the same message and that is that you are the peace you are looking for, that we do so many crazy things in this world to find happiness and peace yet we are the self. The self is that principle which is eternal consciousness, it is peace and happiness yet we look outside for fulfilment and pleasure but it is always short lived. Better to turn inwards and find the source of life itself and then true happiness will be revealed and has always been and will always be.

-We read that you have been living in an ashram for a while and then travelled to India. Can you tell us something about this experience ?

Yes it started when I was younger and had a real fascination for India, I started reading books like Be here now by Ram Dass and books written about Ramana Maharshi and Sri Ramakrishna and was hooked straight away. Reading those books something was being satisfied inside and I knew I would have to go to India to experience it for myself. It has influenced my life in such a big way and led me to my guru and deeper realisations within myself and for that I am very grateful. 

-Your first two EPs are truly beautiful, soothing, joyous,engaging. We know you're working on your first full lenght album right now. What can we expect from it ?

Yes, well this album is a lot different from my two previous E.P's because neither of them especially Namaste have any production and were quite rushed being recorded in very little time, Namaste was recorded in a day and so when it came I recording these songs I knew I wanted to take my time with them. 

There is 12 songs in the album some of them you will have heard as I have posted some very rough videos of me playing them on YouTube but a lot of them are new songs which people haven't heard before and like I said there is drums, harmonies, bass lines, keys, percussion lots of stuff going on which is what I've always aspired to have but its never happened before. Now I am lucky enough to have a great team around me who support me and believe in me and are taking the music to that next step which is really exciting and I look forward to sharing it with you. 

-Which is your favourite song among yours ? And your favourite song ever ?

My favourite song, at the moment is a song called shrines which looks like it could be the first single from the album. It's a special song to me because I wrote it in India and it just encapsulates everything that I want to say in music, it's just really honest and it is my heart layed out with no fear. 

My favourite song ever would be between Hara Hara Hara Mahadev/Om Namah Shivaya by Jai Uttal or Zion Train by Bob Marley but it's hard to say because there are so many greats. 

- Have you worked with any other artist until now ? If you could work\play with any artist, who would be ?

I've worked with Sway, a rapper from London who is now producing my album, errm Roaman, Ny Oh, Thomas James Smith, Nate Maingard we've all collaborated in some way or another but if I could choose someone to play with it would be probably Trevor Hall, just because I would love to sit down with him and I feel something would stir from the roots upward and magic could rise. Also Mike love I'm really into him right now and would love to collaborate with that man.

-If you could make a wish, which one it would be ?

Hmmm one wish to rule them all..... It would have to be peace on earth I can't think of anything else that I'd really enjoy. I think just to see it would be incredible, to walk down the street and give five our brother and give a hug to your sister everyone knowing the real deal. But I know in the greater picture life has to be like this and everyone shapes their own world out of their own experience but it's a nice wish ;) 

-Do you want to tell something to our listeners\readers?

Yes please go and check out Ramana Maharshi, go to Mooji.org and take a look at my baba, and be kind to yourself and to others and know there is really no others it's all you, you are the self and I love you.

-Where can we follow you (social network, web-site, youtube ... ) and where can we buy your music ?

It's all samgarrettmusic, Instagram, Facebook the lot. You can download my music from ITunes, listen on Spotify or sound cloud. Big love, Namaste

Thank you so much Sam for this interview. It has been so heart warming to get to know such a love-driven talented artist like you. Keep sharing your music and your wonderful thoughts. You're up for great things !