Sam Pence is a young acoustic singer/songwriter from Indiana. It's unlikely you've ever heard of him, and there wil be little to find on a Google search, bar his social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter etc. But the 19-year-old has just released his debut EP, 'Up And In' via Bandcamp as his first step in gaining wider reognition.
For many, acoustic guitarist/vocalists is something of a required taste, though the likes of Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran have done much over the last few years to bolster the genre. We first came across Sam when he contacted us recently to tell us of his EP release, and so gripped were we by the five tracks on it - in particular 'Loose Ends' and 'Wake UP', both of which you can hear below - that we thought he deserved a little bit of attention.
'Up And In' offers easy-listening for late night or a chillin' Sunday morning. Little touches, from the opening rain effects on 'Wake Up' to the hip hop rap take on 'Loose Ends', add to the smooth overlaying vocal which is engaging and velvety mellow.
In his first interview, we asked Sam how he got into writing and playing.
"I started writing music about 2 years ago and really got into it when I entered university this past year, although I might add that I've been playing music since age 7, when my parents had me start taking piano lessons. Guitar came a few years later, as did violin, ukelele and a few others, so I would say that music has more or less been a constant in my life."
Have you been inspired by any particular artists?
"My favorite band has always been Coldplay but lately I've branched out to some other, more acoustic acts like Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, etc. I've also always been pretty into hip-hop and I feel that there are some of those influences present in my music, my song 'Loose Ends', being an example. My favourite artist in that genre is constantly changing, as is the specific niche of hip-hop that I'm digging, but right now I'm super into Jon Bellion from Visionary Music Group. He's an amazing and inspiring artist and you should definitely look him up!"
You're stil at college, I believe?
"Yes, I'm still at college, right now entering my sophomore (2nd) year. I'm studying Latin American culture and economics at the moment, but that's certainly liable to change just as easily as my current music obsession."
So you haven't actually played any live shows yet?
"No, I've never done any live playing of my own songs, mostly because I'm just beginning to write them, but I have done a few covers with friends in local pubs, etc. and I have a few buddies at school that I go busking with every now and then to pick up some side cash."
For someone so young, some of your songs have great depth to them. Where do you derive inspiration from?
"I mostly try to connect my song ideas to real life experience, but in some instances I'll let the song take on a concept of its own, which I feel is sort of necessary for the creative process to be successful. I'm only nineteen and, though that gives me a good deal of life experience, I don't really think myself wise enough to speak authoritatively on some of the subjects I find myself gravitating towards with my lyrics. So sometimes fiction can fill in the gaps, if not also teach me a thing or two by way of the struggle that comes when we find ourselves confronted with something we have not yet fully addressed in our lives. It can be a very rewarding process...scary, maybe, but rewarding."
The proceeds to your debut EP, which you have just put out through Bandcamp, you are donating to a chidren's foundation. How did you become involved with that?
"The Riley Children's Foundation is something I've been involved with since I began high school 5 years ago. It's a foundation that raises money for pediatric operations, medicine and hospital care when a child's family cannot afford to pay medical bills for their son or daughter. These operations take place at a children's hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana called Riley Hospital, which is one of the best children's hospitals in the world and is located in the city where I grew up. Riley has done a remarkable job of involving the community and gaining their support for what I think is a very noble cause through many events and programs, one of which (called "Dance Marathon") I was involved in during my high school years. Though I'm away from home while in college, I wanted to continue to support the hospital in some way and realized, once I started weighing the options for how to sell my songs online, that my music would be a great way to do it."
BANDCAMP
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