Alt-indie rocker Sam Himself was on tour in Europe at the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020. Unable to return to New York City, his chosen home of the past decade, Sam set up shop in his native Basel, Switzerland, where he wrote and recorded most of the ten tracks on his full-length debut during the lockdown. Nothing Like the Night reflects the claustrophobia, pressure, and uncertainty of that time and deals with the temptation to surrender to the proverbial night of those days, according to Sam:
“My worst habits grew a lot stronger in the loneliness of the early pandemic. I felt pretty lost and uprooted, exiled without a witness to caution me against self-destructive behaviours that felt like coping mechanisms at the time. Nothing Like the Night is about ways of escaping yourself and losing control when you suddenly have a perfect alibi for self-indulgence: the end of the world as you know it.”
Sam recorded most of his new song in Switzerland, at various locations ranging from a studio he gradually built out during the pandemic to the attic of his mom’s house in Basel. When he was finally able to return to New York in early 2021, Sam finished recording the single and album together with his longtime producer, mixing engineer, and ‘Second Beatle’ Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) at Strange Weather Studio in Brooklyn.
Sam brings the vibes of David Bowie that we admire a lot! We can’t wait to hear the whole album in October.