The multi-faceted performer continues his artistic journey with his third full-length solo release, and we're lucky enough to follow him around for a bit.
While many musicians spend a lot of time and energy pinpointing their exact space within a crowded musical market, others couldn't care less. Those musicians truly follow their heart and create sounds that come from within; market stats be darned! When I first spoke with Sam Blasucci, it was in relation to his first solo album, Off My Stars which was akin to hanging with Sam in his apartment as he rattled off originals (in both English and Italiano), covers and more on a piano in the corner. It was a parlor piece.
When he’s not serving as the part of the alt-indie-folk group Mapache (man, do I love that Swinging Stars album) he continues to find his own way as a solo artist; honing his voice both musical and lyrical. He’s just released a new album called, Real Life Thing which broadens his worldview and also tightens up his sound and presentation. The record was co-produced by Johnny Payne and is released on the Innovative Leisure label.
Below, Sam answers some questions about the new record, talks about his favorite music and the influences that shaped his journey. As you’ll learn, the fun thing about Sam Blasucci isn’t so much what he’s doing right now, it’s guessing where he might end up next.
Evan Toth: You’ve said that your new album Real Life Thing is "more for the creatures than for the humans." Can you explain what you mean by this, and how does that concept influence the overall feel and energy of the album?
Sam Blasucci: I made the conscious decision to be a bit more flexible in my human nature while making this record. I let go of what I had previously learned about music and art, especially within my own taste, and wanted to slip out of my skin as much as possible while making this record. I wanted to get in touch with those that are not within the human world and in that sense, it’s more for the creatures than the humans.
ezt: This album represents a significant shift from your folk/rock roots with Mapache to something more genre-bending and experimental. It’s also a departure from your first album, Off My Stars. What pushed you to take this creative leap, and what new musical elements did you want to explore on Real Life Thing?
sb: Something clicked that made me realize how much more there was out there that I could identify with beyond the sounds I’ve previously been into. It’s like there were these areas in my personality and spirit that I had just never shined any light on. When I felt the door open to these other styles and ideas, it gave me an insane amount of energy and I felt so seen by myself, almost as if for the first time. It set me off on a spiral and I was finally expressing myself in these new ways that I had never done before. When you feel like you’re really tapped into yourself all of a sudden, it energizes and excites you and that’s what happened for me.
ezt: What was the process like working with co-producer Johnny Payne on this album? How did the two of you push each other creatively, and what new elements did he bring to the project?
sb: Johnny and I had numerous phone calls. Long talks going back and forth on ideas for all the songs for months before the sessions. We really put in a lot of time talking about our inspirations and ideas for each song and what kind of things we could do to them in the recording process to make them feel good. I rehearsed the songs over and over every day and kept writing and rewriting a lot of it as I kept playing through it all leading up to the recording. If we would have waited another month or two to start tracking this album, I suspect it would probably be totally different in its arrangements and lyrics given how much we really tweaked it on a daily basis. It was so satisfying for me to work like that because of how free and special it felt. It all felt like it was very important and worthwhile which I think gives life to the music.
ezt: Motown/Tamla influences appear on the track, "Flower." What was it about the Motown sound that resonated with you, and how did you incorporate that influence while staying true to the album’s broader sound?
sb: Motown was a huge part of my childhood. Both my parents, but mom especially, played a loooot of Smokey & Marvin & Stevie. I became enamored with the sound of a snare drum because of Motown.
As far as the rest of the album goes, I didn’t try to really keep any sort of thread going stylistically. I’m always happy with an eclectic collection of styles within one album.
ezt: Having faced a challenging period of illness and recovery, you’ve described Real Life Thing as a kind of "rebirth." How did that personal experience shape both the themes and the sound of the album?
sb: It’s hard to say how an experience like that actually changes you. Maybe it made me a bit more interested in existential themes in my writing, but maybe that’s also just where I was headed in my life. I think it’s a culmination of so many experiences that peak your interest in new things. The one thing I think is directly related to my illness, is my outlook on the value of time and where and how I’m spending it. It is now much more urgent to me to be where I want to be and say what I feel should be said than it was before. I suppose this record was the biggest step I’ve made, so far, in the direction of standing in my place in the universe. I think that’s a type of rebirth.
ezt: Your album is heavily influenced by icons like Leonard Cohen, Todd Rundgren, Prince, and Björk (I hear Billy Joel is in there, too!). How do these influences manifest in your songwriting, and do you feel their presence more in your lyrics, your sound, or both?
sb: I love all of those artists, Todd included. For me, it has been all about timing. I’ve known and liked Leonard for years, but really felt a connection to him almost suddenly and randomly years after having known his music. It just sort of hit differently one day. Same with Bjork and Prince. Those three artists have been easily my most played records for the last two or three years without question and three people that I consider some of my favorite artists I’ve ever heard of. My heroes for sure.
For whatever reason, what they left behind has really touched something in me that has made me want to create more in a way I’ve never felt before. So I hold a lot of reverence toward them just because of how they’ve made me feel through their records. It makes me feel a sort of yearning to unravel new parts of myself that are real and that had been left in a blind spot to me until now.
ezt: The album is paired with a conceptual concert film that you directed. What inspired you to expand the project into a visual experience, and how does the film enhance the storytelling of the album?
sb: I spend something close to as much time watching films as I do listening to records, so a lot of what I feel inside manifests in music as well as visually. I sort of just had a wave of visual ideas at one point and illustrated them all out in my notebook. I brought them to a friend of mine who is a very talented filmmaker Bryce Makela and he and I worked on fine tuning it over the course of a handful of months and then finally shot the whole thing one day in August. It was all very conceptual in relation to each song and scene on the album. It runs like a sort of musical play with stage hands and set changes throughout. The film cuts in between some songs, but we see the whole day unfold and the sets change live. It feels like you’re there with us which is a quality I wanted it to have. To me it feels like an exact visual representation of the sound of the album and for that I am very grateful to Bryce and all those that were involved in helping bring it to life. The film will be available very soon.
ezt: The album’s final track, "Witching Hour" is an energetic and dynamic track, especially with its bold percussion-vocal breakdown. What inspired you to structure the song in such an unconventional way? I love that guitar solo, by the way!
sb: I wanted to let my words and voice sit alone within the heavy rhythm of Andres Renteria’s percussion tracks. That breakdown feels a bit like a bullet train to another place within that song. It felt like the most expansive way to arrange it and to let it be as exploratory as possible.
ezt: After living in so many different places—from Los Angeles to Mexico to New Orleans—how do you think these locations have influenced your music, and does Real Life Thing carry the shadows of these diverse environments?
sb: All of those places are hyper present in my music and personality I think. Growing up in LA obviously influenced me a lot in how I saw the world from a young age. I lived in Mexico for two years at a very intense turning point in my life and it was equally inspiring as it was traumatizing for many reasons. The most encouragement I’ve ever received, as far as my music career goes, came from the people I met in Mexico. They really encouraged me to always play and sing, especially in Spanish. That will always be with me. Same with New Orleans. It’s just a magical, colorful, alien-like planet within this country and has so much beauty and wildlife energy that is impossible not to feel if you live there.
ezt: In your debut poetry collection Guidelines For Dying, some of the lyrics from this album first appeared. How do you see the relationship between your poetry and your songwriting, and how do you decide when something belongs in a song versus a poem? Or, vice versa? And when is Vol. 2 coming out?
sb: Guidelines for Dying 1 & 2 were sort of my ‘first steps’ in writing words on a page intended for that purpose alone. It’s really just a moment that I was being creative and playful with my thoughts. Some songs feel like they have a melody within them and some feel like they should live on a page only. I have stacks of words and poems that I am editing down into a collection that I’ll hopefully release as a new book soon. Sometimes you jump off the rock for no reason other than to hit the water.
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