Not Your Average Millennial: Five Minutes with Indie Talent Sam Fender

Pheonix caught up with the Newcastle native to talk tourbus secrets , biscuit conspiracies and saving the NHS

01 Oct 2017

"The most significant memory would have to be watching my dad’s band when I was very young. I never had ear protection, it used to be super loud, but I loved it."

Sam Fender is a welcome bit of grit in the indie singer-songwriter shoe, and just as hard to ignore. With a knack for socio-political comment, depicting his thoughts on modern society through his music, Sam’s fresh take on the genre has lead him to support some of the biggest names in indie music, from Hozier to Bear’s Den, Daughter, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Declan McKenna.

Stand out tracks include ‘Millennial’ with its social comment about youth, ‘Greasy Spoon’ which references sexual harassment, and his breakthrough ‘Play God’ which speaks of the dangers of fake news and went to #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart and spent several weeks at no 2 in the Spotify viral charts.

The sound is infectious: raw and passionate vocals apparently recorded in a garage are given a radio friendly mix by the brilliant producer Barny Barnicott who has worked with Arctic Monkeys, Stereophonics, Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, among many others.Now, at only 21, Newcastle native Sam is gearing up for his debut UK headline tour in February and March 2018. Just announced as one of the BBC’S Sound of 2018 Long List artists, Sam is well on his way to becoming an indie-rock powerhouse.

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