Five Questions With Sam Levin:

Sam Levin started his career in music when he was 5 years old, pointing to a Fender Mini Strat on the wall of a local music store and saying, “I want to do that!” At 7 he wrote his first song, at 10 he wrote, recorded and released his first single and video, “I Sure Hope Not,” at 11 “Being With You is Easy,” at 12 he released his debut EP titled “I’m In Here.” Now, at 15 years old, Sam releases his first album, “Frame of Mind.”

Sam writes the music & lyrics for all of his songs and he is a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing almost all of the instruments on all of his tracks.

“Frame of Mind, it’s really about the last year and a half of my life,” according to Sam. “It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just what happened.” His music has been called “upbeat, soulful” and “startlingly introspective,” and “Frame of Mind” is just that. It’s full of loneliness and love, friendship and struggle. It’s about choices, changes, reflection and joy. Most importantly for Sam, “it’s about music’s place in all of that, in my life.” The sum of it all, a wistful optimism best expressed in the title track, “It’s all gonna be all right, right, right.”
Sam has performed on many stages; from his first Open Mic when he was 7 years old, to his more recent 1 and 2 hour sets at coffee houses, community and arts festivals; and his 1-week London Open Mic Tour. He always plays a great mix of originals and covers, and makes great use of his loop pedal.

Sam Levin (artist submitted)

In an age where young musicians aim to please by singing other artist’s songs on talent shows and TV competitions, Sam, having grown up on artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, would rather write and record his own songs. Nowadays Sam’s musical tastes cover a broad spectrum of unique artists and songwriters, from Herbie Hancock to James Blake, from Courtney Barnett to Bon Iver, Alt-J and Childish Gambino, and throw in some Galactic, Gorillaz and JJ Grey for good measure.

Sam Levin (artist submitted)

When he isn’t writing songs and playing music, Sam likes to read and write stories, discover new music and cool TV shows, listen to vinyl, watch old movies, play video games, and generally “chill hard.” When he isn’t doing those things, he’s probably doing homework.

As you see yourself, who is SAM LEVIN?

I’m a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and appreciator of all things musical. I’ve been playing music for 10 years and I love to listen to all genres and experiment with the music I make. When I’m not songwriting, I read, I write, and I’m teaching myself animation and game design. I like to create.

Tell us about your current project?

Frame of Mind is my first full-length album. It represents where I’m at musically and personally. It’s kind of the story of the last year or two of my life, what I have learned musically from playing and listening to as much different music as I can, and what I have learned personally from starting high school and finding my way.

What’s on your bucket list to accomplish as an entertainer?

Well, a Grammy would be nice, but I am just starting what I hope will be a pretty long career in music, so almost everything is still on my bucket list. A world tour, a movie score, sign a few autographs, that sort of stuff.

Will you be finishing out 2017 on the road or what’s on your horizon for 2018?

I’ll be finishing out 2017 in high school, so I’ll probably stick to local gigs, and I just started recording my next album, so that’s what’s on my horizon for 2018. If all goes well, maybe a tour next summer.

The Hype Magazine wants to know: What’s been your CRAZIEST “Where they do that at?! Or “WTF?!” moment thus far in your career?

Breaking the top 100 on the DRT National Airplay Top 200 Chart was pretty crazy. Seeing my song “Metronome” on the charts above Clean Bandit, Imagine Dragons and The Chainsmokers was very cool.

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