Sambea Cochrane: "Nothing But Love" (Reaches 8k + Youtube Views)
What inspires your music?
What doesn’t?! I think that just about everything I go through in my life affects my writing in some manner, and so I’m lucky to rarely ever run out of things to write about. Anything from life experiences to poetry, random daydreams to Shakespeare’s plays, I go out of my way to ensure that my creativity is never hindered nor forced in any particular direction and that I am able to get a huge variety of inspirations for my writing. I think that if I were to write solely and exclusively about myself, my life, and my immediate circumstance, it would be rather limiting in terms of both subject and quality, and would also make it more difficult to write songs in those times that there isn’t much going on. Say, for example, when I’m locked inside of my house for 10 months because of a pandemic! As such, I seek out many different art forms for inspiration, and I never hesitate to write about and become inspired by things that aren’t directly connected to my own life or even to the real world. I figure if I let myself obtain inspiration from anything that makes me feel something, I’ll never run out of topics to write about.
How did you start your recording career?
It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact moment or a specific reason that brought about this consistently exciting endeavour of mine, but it was after I began writing song after song that my parents (I was, after all, 12 years old at the time) realized that I needed a way to effectively and promptly capture the songs that I couldn’t seem to stop creating. Shortly thereafter, my dad stopped by a nearby music school called Beyond the Beat, and explained our situation to the owner of the school, Dave MacKenzie, who took me in under a brand-new facet of his school that he’d created to fulfil my unique request that was focused on music production. Within 2 years, I had recorded, produced, and released my very first album of just a few of my numerous songs with the help of this incredible studio. 8 years, 1 E.P. 1 full length album, and 4 singles later, I go to the studio at least once every week where I am provided never ending ways to continue to capture my writing, hone my vocal techniques, expand my range of musical capabilities, and feel the same boundless inspiration and love of music that I felt the day of my first session. In fact, it was during an open mic that Dave MacKenzie had told me about where I met the producer I’m working with now, the brilliant Roy Hamilton III. It was actually his equally talented father, Roy Hamilton II whose act I followed and, after the impossible task of following an act that belonged in a packed stadium as opposed to a casual East-end bar, Roy Hamilton III approached my family at our table and we chatted about the possibility of working together, which I am SO glad we did! Over the last couple of years, we have worked very hard together in production, and, alas, will be releasing the song he produced, “Nothing but Love”! I am endlessly thankful for the opportunities that both Roy Hamilton III and Beyond the Beat have given me and continue to give me; there is no doubt in my mind that my musical journey would have been very different if I’d never met these mentors, experts, and friends.
How did you come up with your single?
This song is essentially about deciding to strip away all of the expectations that people around us have of us and what our relationships should consist of, consciously going against the notion that physical items are the most important part of expressing or gaining affection, and simply getting back to the basic sincerity of meaningful human connection.
What is your genre of music?
Honestly, that is a very good question! In writing, I don’t tend to subscribe to a particular genre or sound type because, like in all areas of my life, I don’t want to limit myself by way of a restricting or arbitrary label. Given that I listen to such a varied collection of artists, songs, and genres on my own time, it’s only natural that my writing reflects this and so I choose to let my inspiration take me wherever it wants to go.
Who are your influences?
There are SO many, far too many to count! I’d say that one of the strongest influences are artists from the classic rock era, namely Queen, the Beatles, Billy Joel, Meatloaf, Elton John, the Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival just to name a few, but this genre is by no means the extent of it. I come from an Irish family and we are, naturally, keen followers of Irish/Celtic/folk music which is a fairly unique influence for an artist outside of that particular music scene to have. I also love musical theater, classical/choral music, whatever genre it is Taylor Swift is classified as these days, alternative, rock, etc. I think that just about anything I listen to and enjoy ends up influencing my writing in some
capacity which is the way that I’d like it. There is so much to be learned from so many abundantly talented artists and I feel obliged to constantly seek fascinating, new, or special influences.
How do you define success?
Within the context of my musical journey, I define success simply as reaching a state where I believe that what I have created/am creating aligns with the extent of my abilities; that I’m pushing myself musically (but not pushing myself so hard that I view music as a chore), engaging with sources from outside of my comfort zone as well as inside of it, writing about topics I’d never think to write about as well as reflecting on the older methods, taking a healthy amount of risks, and simply enjoying the process. I once had a guitar teacher who said: “I play guitar, I don’t ‘work’ guitar” and, although there is more than just guitar involved in writing my songs, I think that quote succinctly sums up the way I view music as a whole. I am lucky enough to seriously pursue something that I’ve been devoutly passionate about for as long as I can remember and so I can envision ‘success’ simply as never letting anything (not even the traditional hallmarks of success) nor anyone quell my love for songwriting. That said, reaching this state of success requires time and effort and I find that the more of myself that I put into music, the more I can get out of it.
What can we expect from you in 2021?
This year, I will be releasing ‘Nothing But Love’, and I am also hoping to release at least one after it. This past year or so, I’ve been busier in the studio than I have been in years and, given the sheer amount of life experience I’ve gone through since writing for my last album, it’s fair to say that my writing has flourished into something that I never could have foreseen. I have so many more new influences, new ideas, new topics of interest, and I’m getting even more comfortable basking in the depths of more complicated, thought-provoking, and unique lyrics. You can definitely expect at least one more single this year, and I hope that people will enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
SOCIALS:
Instagram: @sambeacochrane
Facebook: @SambeaCochrane
Website: www.sambeac.com
