User:Samruko/Sam Himself
Sam Himself (born Samuel Koechlin) is a Swiss-American musician from Basel.[1]
Life[edit]
Koechlin grew up in Basel.[1] At the age of 19, he relocated to New York. He currently splits his time between New York City and Basel, Switzerland. Before embarking on his musical career full time, Koechlin has worked as a bartender, songwriter and comedy writer.[2]
Career[edit]
Shortly after beginning his longstanding collaboration with New York-based producer Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs)[3] Koechlin release his first EP under the moniker Sam Himself in 2017, entitled Songs in D. He followed this with EPs Nobody (2018) and Slow Drugs (2020)[4], which were recorded together with drummer Parker Kindred (Jeff Buckley; Elliott Smith) and bass player Josh Werner (Ghostface Killah; Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry). Slow Drugs also marked Sam Himself's first joint effort with mastering engineer Greg Calbi (Bruce Springsteen; David Bowie).[5] In 2021, Sam Himself released his debut full-length album, Power Ballads, which charted at number 36 in the Swiss National Album Charts.[6] Less than two years later, the artist presented his sophomore album, Never Let Me Go (Sony Music Entertainment), charting at no. 23 and featuring drums by Chris Egan (Blood Orange; Solange).[7][8]
In April and October 2022, respectively Sam Himself premiered orchestral versions of eight original compositions together with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, arranged by the artist together with Emmy-winning composer and arranger Mark Bächle as well as Swiss-Polish composer and arranger Michael Künstle.[9][10]
Sam Himself refers to his musical as 'Fondue Western,' a tongue-in-cheek genre made up in jest by producer Schlett, in a nod to the late Italian composer and Spaghetti Western-Impresario Ennio Morricone, whom Schlett and Koechlin admire; as a metaphor for certain characteristics of Koechlin's preferred lead guitar sound; and a hint at Sam Himself's dual, Swiss-American identity (Fondue being the Swiss national meal).[11]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
Year Title Charts Notes
record label 2021 Power Ballads 36 (4 weeks) initial release date: Sam Himself / Oct. 8, 2021 Taxi Gauche 2023 Never Let Me Go 23 (1 week) initial release date: Sam Himself / Jan. 27, 2023 Sony Music Ent.
EPs[edit]
- 2017: Songs in D
- 2018: Nobody
- 2020: Slow Drugs
Singles[edit]
- 2020: Slow Drugs
- 2020: Dancing In The Dark
- 2020: Cry
- 2021: Nothing Like The Night
- 2021: What It’s Worth
- 2021: La Paz
- 2022: Never Let Me Go
- 2022: Golden Days
- 2022: Mr. Rocknroll
Features[edit]
- 2021: letters from nowhere (NOTI ft. Sam Himself, Anna Rossinelli)
- 2022: coda (NOTI ft. Sam Himself)
Awards and Nominations[edit]
Nominations[edit]
- 2021: Swiss Music Awards – Category: Best Talent[12]
- 2022: Swiss Music Awards – Category: Best Crushing Newcomer[13]
- 2022: Pop Prize Basel – Official Nominee 2022[14]
Recognition[edit]
- 2023: KCRW Best of 2022 – DJ and Staff Picks[15]
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b Olivia Fierz (2020-08-29). "Portrait. Sam Himself: Von Nobody zu sich selbst". bz Basel. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ Schimun Krausz (2021-12-01). "Brooklyn-Basler Sam Himself. «Meine letzte Beziehung wurde via Facetime beendet»". 20 Minuten (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ "Der Tränenkönig in Manhattan". Die Zeit. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Sam Himself". Spotify Mobile Web Player. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ "SRF 3 Best Talent – Sam Himself". srf3.ch. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Sam Himself – Power Ballads". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ "Sam Himself – Never Let Me Go". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ "Sam Himself liefert sich ein Duell mit den eigenen Songs Let Me Go". BZ Basellandschaftliche Zeitung. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "BScene: Ausgabe 25+1 des Basler Musikfestivals mit Neustart". BZ Basellandschaftliche Zeitung. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Junge lauschen im Stadtcasino der alten Musik". Basler Zeitung. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Telebasel Talk Interview" (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Swiss Music Awards 2021. Das sind die Gewinner und Gewinnerinnen". Radio SRF 3. 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ "Das sind die Nominierten der Swiss Music Awards 2022" (PDF; 149 kB). Swiss Music Awards. 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ "Die Nominierten stehen fest". Musikbüro Basel. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "KCRW Best of 2022 DJ and Music Team Picks". KCRW. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
[[Category:Swiss people]] [[Category:Pseudonyms]] [[Category:Sam himself]] [[Category:Swiss Music Awards]] [[Category:Indie rock]] [[Category:Greg Calbi]] [[Category:The War on Drugs]] [[Category:The War on Drugs (band) albums]] [[Category:Iggy Pop]] [[Category:Fondue Western]] [[Category:Basel]] [[Category:New York City]] [[Category:Sony Music]]