Miss Vogue

Samm Henshaw – The Gospel-Soul Artist Guaranteed To Warm Your Soul This Autumn

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Gospel-pop is having a renaissance and South London-based singer, Samm Henshaw is here to stay. With the success of his 2016 debut The Sound Experiment EP, Samm has since been touring and working with Chance The Rapper, James Bay, Pharell, Rag’n’Bone Man and Maverick Sabre. Casual. Now he is back with two singles, “Broke” and “How Does It Feel?” and returning to the stage with his highly anticipated gig at London’s Scala on October 30.

Gospel, to Samm isn’t just an influence, it’s at the heart of his artistry, having been raised by a Reverend father, growing up in church and listening to the likes of Cece Winans and Stevie Wonder. He describes his style as a “soulful mixture of gospel and hip-hop”, his love for Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye coming through in his latest singles.

Listening to Samm, you can’t help but have a smile on your face – his instrumentals and melody are intrinsically gospel in their production and feel-good energy, which he paradoxically matches with his darker lyrics. At first, you’re left rather perplexed as you find yourself relishing in what is a rather sincere song. But like some of the greats such as Amy Winehouse, Samm finds the perfect balance between his dark lyrics and uplifting instrumentals, luring you in with his rich, soulful vocals, asking the listener to enjoy what they’re listening to, but also to engage and think.

**Is creating a gospel track a different process to other genres? **

"For me, I begin with the chord progressions, melodies and instrumentals first. I like to know what the bulk of the song will sound like before I write lyrics. Sometimes it varies, but it’s rare. With this project, I was inspired by early Kanye West where his music is happy, timeless, makes you want to listen to it over and over again. But when you listen to his lyrics you realise it’s dark and about pretty real stuff. I wanted to use that same juxtaposition in my music so with this project, I definitely focused on the music first then wrote the lyrics afterwards."

**What are your singles “Broke” and “How Does It Feel” about and are they autobiographical? **

"Everything I’ve written has been personal. “Broke” was about having someone around that pushes you to being the best you can and prevents you from being lazy. For me, that was my mum always pushing me to be better, telling me I can’t sit around and no nothing. “How Does It Feel” was inspired by the things happening around me that I found frustrating. I want people to stop talking about love and start living it. They talk, scream about it, say it’s this and that, but when it comes down to it, they act differently to what they say. It’s not just romantic love, but kindness and love for others. I see someone getting mugged and people not doing anything to help them because they care about their own safety. I want to see people showing that sort of love that isn’t just kindness."

**What can we expect from your next album? **

"It’s going to be warm and have elements of fun, darkness, emotion but overall, it’s just going to be a very warm project. Sound-wise, it’s going to be me: very gospel, hip-hop and soul. I’ve got a song called “Doubt”, featuring Wretch 32 which I am excited about as he is one of my favourite British rappers. He was initially coming in to write a song for me, but we ended up writing it together and I think the verse he wrote is just brilliant. I just hope people enjoy it."

Watch the video for single "Doubt" now