weBLOG

 

 

He’s a magpie, adorned in sparkles, creating an otherworldly stage performance with his Dragon, the sound and lighting designer. He becomes a puppet, a beautiful music box doll. Only animated by a few turns of the head and hand. But he doesn’t need much. The music carries you through into his world of diamonds and love and darkness. He makes you want to be in love. We went to see him and his Dragon at Barfly in Camden in the midst of teenagers in hoodies all waiting for the tang of guitars. Their sophisticated sultry sound is spreading like wild fire. We went to feel their shine- it was pretty warm. 

I like your sparkles.

It’s quite nice to leave them dotted round London.

 

How did you find the gig?

Honestly? (He pauses) Well if your hanging round for so long doing sound checks and then the sound is shit I find it really insulting. I know that is the way of the business, but I’ve always had a bad attitude so that’s fine. (He laughs, and I laugh that one off too.) That’s my Irish temper.

Yeah I noticed you swearing at the soundman.

Oh you where there for that bit, shit. 

 

Well you can play up to it if you’ve got the diva inside.

I think when you have a trauma like that it makes things a bit raw. You have to try a bit harder. It makes you more of a spectacle.

 

Where’s your Dragon by the way?

Oh, he went home early, took the car. Made me get the train.

 

 

 

Right, lets do this. Your from Belfast, and came to London when?

I first came to London when I was Seventeen. I grew up in care, so I was living in a homeless place. Like Barnardos. And there were auditions for this musical called Rent. And I loved it, and got the lead. That moved me to Dublin, I was there for about a year and then moved to London working in the West End. I loved the singing part, but the acting felt like lying. After four years I left to write songs and produce other artist. 

I think I disappeared up my own arse a bit. Growing up in the care system where you have no attention, to doing a show like Rent where your'e brilliant, it makes things really difficult. And then four years ago I fell in love.

 

Samuel and the Dragon is quite a new thing isn’t it?

James (the Dragon) and I have been working together for about a year. Before I have been writing music and working with producers but nobody had really appealed to that dark underbelly that I think I have. It sort of seeps out of me and James is quite dark. And he likes the dressing up and the whole show thing.

 

I wanted to ask you about that, the projection thing, where did that idea come from?

I’m quite nervy, always really aware of people accepting you, how you’re looking at me and everything, interacting with somebody. So you’re aware of the visuals as well as how somebody speaks and the tone of their voice. With the visual aspect of the show it just felt like natural. 

 

The diamond theme runs through a lot of your songs, where does it come from?

I love diamonds. I love how they reflect light, they are a symbol of love. It’s not vain, it’s not to do with money. People give them to someone they love. My music is about love, nothing else. I fell in love and I wanted to express it. Bring it out. I wanted to reflect out to others not just the shiny happy side, but all of it. All the love.

 

When is your album out?

When I’m happy with it. We’re not there yet.

 

When I was researching you, there was not much. But what I did find is one Guardian journalist compared you to Chris Martin, how does that feel?

I like Chris Martin. It’s interesting what people think is cool and not cool. I like his lyrics. 

 

 

 

But you’ve got a classically trained voice.

It’s not about the techniques you know. If you have an emotion that you want to express, it comes through the emotion, it doesn’t matter about his voice. It’s natural. I like Tom Waits and Bonnie Prince Billy, they are all about the song, the raw sound.

 

Do you have a process for writing?

A song can come from the rhythm of my walk. I use one chord and build on that and repeat it and strip it back again. Just putting one word with another word, it may not make sense but it picks up on emotions.

 

And your clothes…

I’ve always had people help me, who I make things with or make things for. From working in the clubs in Belfast when I was 13 putting shows together. For drag queens or actors or dancers, it’s always been a part of the show. It’s natural. Only when you stand next to someone you see the difference. That’s the good thing about London. People are so accepting. 

 

You just look fantastic. What are you listening to at the moment?

Hum, I like men singing about love. Tom Waits, Bonnie Prince Billy. People who scream a bit like Coco Rosie and Joanna Newsome and choirs. I like choirs, rough recordings in churches. Stuff that is captured, for that moment. Something that is just for that moment. 

 

Thank you Samuel, you have great hair. 

(He blushed.)

 

myspace.com/samuelandthedragon 

 

Words- Aquila Dunford Wood

Photogrphy- KT Chan