3 minute read
Sam MacAdam: Singer-Songwriter, Composer, & Musician
Interview By Lauren Elizabeth Campbell Editor-in-Chief
Glasgow alt-folk singer-songwriter, composer, harpist, and violinist Sam MacAdam released her second single, "Longsands," on August 27th. The song, which MacAdam wrote, performed, and recorded, explores disappointment and lost love, juxtaposed with a rare and perfect English sunny day, and uses dovetailing string entries to recreate the undulating North Sea, with the harp providing rhythmic stability throughout.
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"I wrote this song following a bad breakup," said MacAdam. "I wanted to experiment with acoustic instruments and production techniques to create an intimate experience where I speak directly to the listener."
MacAdam's work draws on classical music, traditional Scottish culture, and contemporary innovation, and she holds a first-class honours degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
MacAdam is a member of The Willow Trio, a clarsach trio playing their own compositions and arrangements of classical and traditional music. Her recorded music has appeared on the Willow Trio's debut EP and compilation albums. But "Longsands" is MacAdam's second solo single release, following "Glow," released earlier this year. Get to know the Glasgow artist:
How would you describe "Longsands"?
"Longsands" is a walk along a beach with a chill in the air, a perfect day tinged with disappointment, and the loss of love. Using harp and strings to envelop the listener in the acoustic equivalent of waves, I try to recreate a specific snippet of time in song format.
Where did your love of harp music come from?
Quite predictably, I first saw the harp being played live when I was at Latitude Festival and saw Joanna Newsom. From there I was pretty obsessed! I started learning the clàrsach as a hobby whilst at university in Edinburgh and eventually studied Traditional and Classical harp at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. I think I'm obsessed with everything to do with the harp - from Bach etudes to the romantic composers, to traditional and contemporary Scottish music traditions. Mostly, I just love to sit down and play at the end of a long day.
The harp has been a mainstay in classical music since the 17th century, but your music gives classical harp music a contemporary twist. How do you experiment with the harp and your sound?
I think the combination of the Trad element and the Classical, plus a teenage diet of Radiohead, mean I want to play with interlocking shapes and awkward harmonies. Often I start by messing around with chord progressions and then gradually build the specific harp part from there - other times I have a particular riff that I build the song around.
As both a composer and lyricist, when you have a song idea, do you first head to the harp, or start to write lyrics?
I think lyrics and music are intrinsically combined so that's a difficult question! Oftentimes my songs are started from a seed of poetry that I've written, or I've been thinking about a particular situation and I find myself humming a melody that fits the emotional state. The magical moment of choruses that appear fully formed both melodically and lyrically does seem to happen whilst I'm driving - I have to pull over to make a wee voice note of them before carrying on my journey! I often do the original work on the piano before moving to the harp - I find it easier to visually see harmonies on the piano as there's no awkward pedal work to factor in. It's also not my first instrument, so it keeps my parts simple and delicate, allowing me to focus fully on creating the song before making intricate harp parts.
