Sam Winters

ByIanCargill

ars

Sam Winters is a local electronic music artist. Coming from a musical family, Sam spent his school years playing percussion in marching band. He got into electronic music at a young age and has since released a huge catalog of music. He also happens to be my co-worker, and one of my best friends. When he's not at his desk making new music, he's playing with his son, Finn, or he's downtown making some of the finest pizzas in Clarksville. I recently caught up with Sam after the release of his new album, "NIGHTSCAPE: EXPANSION".

What's up Sam. How did you get into electronic music?

"Around 2002 I started experimenting on freeware programs, writing a bunch of random 64th notes, and calling it a 'Battle Theme' (laughs). I was playing a lot of PlayStation and Nintendo 64 and wanted to make music like that, which was created electronically. So I naturally gravitated towards computers and synths."

Your Bandcamp discography has 8 albums, dating all the way back to 2012. What made you decide to release your first album?

"I saw a documentary about Scott Walker, a 60s pop singer that completely switched gears and became an avant-garde artist. That leap of faith of his, potentially throwing away a safe and successful career, inspired me to just go for it and not care if anyone liked it or not."

Your most recent album, 'NIGHTSCAPE: EXPANSION', has 24 tracks! Your previous album, 'Senescense'(June 2022) had 6 tracks and the one before that, 'High and Low'(August 2021), had 12. That's 42 songs in less than 2 years. How do you manage to create so much music?

"It seems like a lot, but when it takes you twenty years in your craft to reach that point where you can conceptualize something, then more or less execute it, there's no better feeling. You just want to create every song you've imagined for the past two decades."

What is your writing process like?

"Usually I start by working out the chord progression and melody on piano, then punch that into my computer. Choose .sf2s(SoundFont) and mix. When an idea hits me it's a 7-8 hour process. I spend a lot of time drinking coffee and walking while listening to my progress to help me come up with new sections. That one's hard to answer, honestly. It happens in so many different ways."

I definitely feel that. Most of my ideas come to me pretty sporadically. Speaking of sporadic, I feel like your music spans a wide variety of genre's....what are some of your biggest influences?

"Yasunori Mitsuda, who most people know for scoring the SNES game Chrono Trigger, and Ko Otani, the composer of the 1998 anime Outlaw Star are at the top, but really anything coming out of Japan from the mid-nineties through the early 2000s. Symphony X is also a standout inspiration, in particular their use of intricate orchestral midi compositions. Genesis. Depeche Mode. NIN."

Your album 'NIGHTSCAPE' has a couple tracks featuring Jarrod Jackson on guitar. How did that come about?

"I've known Jarrod as long as I've been experimenting with music, ranging back to us being in drumline together. He's a phenomenal guitar player and improvised the solos on my record. This collaboration inspired me to push for more complexity and recording a live instrument for the first time really transformed my work."

Do you have plans for any live shows?

"Ideally I'd like to design a live show and start performing this summer. Maybe something wild like a bunch of standard definition TV's behind me playing footage of retro games and anime. It's in the works."

That sounds sick!! What do you have planned next?

"All my albums are concept albums and I'm in the "idea" phase. It's either going to be NIGHTSCAPE 2 or something completely different. I'd like to write some poppy songs with lyrics sung by Vocaloid."

After the creative streak Sam has had over the last two years, I can't imagine how he has any more ideas up his sleeve. But knowing Sam the way I know him, he will no doubt deliver. The man is a machine, capable of a level of output that to others seems nearly impossible. His new album, "NIGHTSCAPE: EXPANSION" is available on Spotify, as well as Bandcamp, where you can find his entire discography. samwinters.bandcamp.com/ IanCargill

WyntonExisting"SexualDeath"LP

Vinyl

In Spring of 2020, Wynton Huddle began recording in the confines of his Pennsylvania home as a way to cope with the isolation he had during the peak of Covid. He took to the boiler room attached to his apartment bedroom and loud noises were made. In fall of 2020 he released his first Wynton Existing album of 10 years, 'Wicked Fabrications'. Playing just about every instrument on the record, Wynton showcased a wide array of genres spanning from Surf rock to Stoner to Indie. Fast forward to 2023 and Wynton

Existing is settled right outside of Nashville, TN with his now current drummer and engineer for the newest album, Gavin Gates. They are currently hitting the town running with their new album 'Sexual Death' and are frequently gigging to the east coast and back in support of it.

Beware: I’m a fan!

That being said, this album has several songs on it I’ve been hearing at their shows over the past months. I would consider many of those, including “Juicy Prevalence” and “Tom-Tom Song” to be some of the coolest fusions of today and retro late sixties acid bliss. It is some great high energy rock! I’ve seen them live a bunch of times, including Possomstock, Revel House, Wicked Good and the Basement in Nashville. They always deliver a killer live show. Speaking of delivery, this album does that with the goods. The recordings are right up there with the live show. Tight and crisp. “Wings of the Fly” “Sonic innocence” as well as the title track have a catchy timelessness that makes this a record I’ll be playing for a long time!

The album also boasts performances by Tyrell Williams, David Estes and Willy Davis.

SEXUAL DEATH is an interesting title for a record that is both sexy and lively. Seriously, I wasted no time getting my copy of this and recommend you do the same. What’s the worst that could happen? A great time? What the f*** is wrong with that??