Alex Sampson

Alex Sampson wears his heart on his sleeve. As one of pop’s most exciting rising voices, Alex has built a loyal following through his emotional honesty, vulnerability and authentic sto-rytelling. An undeniable talent, Alex has a magic about him when turning some of his most personable moments into songs that resonate far beyond his own experiences. Fresh from a year of touring, Alex is entering into a chapter of new music, a headline tour and his debut al-bum. As he opens up about the importance of vulnerability, the memories intertwined within his music and how his music falls into a form of therapy, Alex explains why authenticity feels more important than ever.

Alice: How are you doing being home and having been on tour so much this year?

Alex: I'm doing great. I wish I could be back on tour right now. You know, it sucks waiting five months, knowing that it's coming. I wish I could do it now, but I'm doing well. I'm home now for a little bit, and then I'm heading back to LA.

Alice: Do you think your music catalogue feels the most personal to it ever has?

Alex: I feel they all feel very personal, because every song that I've ever written is about something personal to me. I guess " Growing Pains " on my new EP feels the most personal to me, because it really is about me and my life. The beginning and ending of the song have an audio recording of my mum and me when I was a baby, so I think that song is probably the most personal to my family and me.

Alice: Do you think you're more observant when you write your music, or do you find your personal life and feelings come through as a priority?

Alex: I think a bit of both. If I'm writing about somebody, I'm very observant. If I'm writing about my girlfriend, there are lyrics in there that are specifically about her; I pick up on the little things, but obviously a lot of my music is written about how I'm feeling about a certain situa-tion, whether or not it's a love song, or I'm going through something. Feelings are definitely the main part of what I write about, but I tend to put in certain attributes about them in songs; “Wash You Off” is a great example of that or the song on my new EP Misery.

Alice: I guess there's a tug-of-war between how do you keep precious moments for yourself but also be vulnerable and open.

Alex: I think a lot of people, me included, write songs to get them off your chest, not neces-sarily to put them out. I've done that unintentionally, where I've written a song that I loved but decided I probably can't put it out. Writing for me is definitely a way to get my feelings out. It's funny looking back on songs that I've written when I was going through a tough time, and just laughing at it now. I think that's why I was upset about that. But it's cool because it's almost like a time capsule. When I'm going through something now, it's almost a way to box that feel-ing up in a time frame and then move on. It’s kind of like you're going to therapy. My new EP, There She Goes, was the first song I wrote about my girlfriend right before we got togeth-er. We’d been best friends for seven years. I wrote it about the night that we felt different about each other because that timeframe was so special to me. The feeling is now captured in that song, and every time I listen to it, I remember how I felt. I remember the feeling of see-ing her again for the first time, kissing her for the first time, and that week of my life. The vo-cals of me singing in that song were captured that week, and I think it’s really cool to think about them that way.

Alice: That must be magical to look back on and feel connected to those moments.

Alex: I remember every song. When I think of every song I've written, I remember what I was going through, how I was feeling about it, the people that I was writing it with. It's a really cool way to look at it, especially songs that are really, really old. I remember my very first time in the studio; I remember who it was with. I'm still close to them today, and they’re two of my greatest friends.

Alice: How has your process changed, in terms of writing, since you started? Do you think that your approach to music has changed and grown?

Alex: I think it's changed quite a bit. As a songwriter, I'm constantly going into rooms with tal-ented people. The more sessions I do, the better I become at my craft. Watching these people that I look up to write songs, seeing how they do it, I honestly take what they do and mimic it in a way when I'm writing a song. When I first came up, I wasn't writing many of them, but I would write song ideas down all the time, whether in the form of a voice memo or lyrics in my notes. I'm constantly thinking about songs; I'm writing songs after being on tour and being on stage. Ever since being on tour, I will say, I've noticed a change in when I'm writing a song, for sure.

Alice: How do you prepare when you go out on tour, taking things from the studio to the fans?

Alex: I'm heavily involved in what songs I perform live. I like to change things up in my set. I don't want it to just feel like I'm singing a song, and then another song, and then another song. I like adding certain transitions and new things to the song, so people ask what song is coming next. I like to be heavily involved in what we're doing, how things sound, how things look and what order the songs are in. I think I'm used to it now; I don't really get nervous be-fore I go on stage. That being said, I am now going on tour with Freya Skye, and the venues are massive, so that's probably going to go out the window when I get there. I like to just say a quick prayer beforehand. My band and I will do a little huddle; it's cute, and then we'll just go for it. I used to have terrible stage fright. It used to be terrible. I used to not even be able to look at the crowd. AGT was really my first time performing live in front of a crowd that big. I don't really think there is a way to prepare, you know? I don't think anybody's ever truly ready for that.

Alice: You are very emotionally transparent in your music. I’m all about vulnerability. How does honesty play a part in your songwriting process? Has it become easier to maybe be more vulnerable and open about things, or harder?

Alex: I think what people are looking for nowadays in songs is vulnerability. I think letting people know who you are, how you're feeling, and why you're feeling that way is so im-portant. I don't want to feel like a celebrity; I want to feel like a friend, like someone you could chat with and relate to. I think being honest, open, and as vulnerable as possible in songs is super important to me. There's rarely ever a case where I'll write a song about nothing. That’s why Growing Pains is so personal and so vulnerable, because I wanted it to be that way. I want peo-ple to understand that I'm not just a shell or an industry plant; I do have feelings, and I make songs about that.