Start Listening To: Sam Tudor
In our interview with Tudor, the artist talks about the process behind his new album, community, and why some life lessons might be worth ignoring.
Sam Tudor is a songwriter and producer based in Vancouver, BC. Mixing jazz, ambient, and folk elements, Tudor’s music can be at turns both peaceful and unsettling. This year, he and his band have embraced the multimedia nature of online releases — their new album, Two Half Words, was first put out as a virtual, video-game-like space where fans could explore the music on their own time. We caught up with Sam in our interview, where he opened up about some diverse topics.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from, and a little bit about the music that you make?
My name is Sam, I’m a songwriter and producer. I grew up in a very rural part of BC, and have lived in both Vancouver and Toronto over the past few years. I’m a songwriter who loves ambient & jazz records, so I think my music ends up being folk with a digital/spacey bent.
Your website says you are “an individual and a group” - can you explain that?
Yeah, I can see how that would be confusing. I think that’s my vague way of reckoning with my process of making music. I find it really important to be alone and work in isolation, but community is also a priority for me. So the album process is almost always a 50/50 balancing act — taking the time in isolation to work on ideas, and then saturating the recording process with friends and collaborators. The insular aspect is crucial, but it would feel inaccurate to go through the world labelling this as purely a solo act when there are so many players involved.
What are some themes from your new album?
I think the two main themes on this album are communication and trust. I always feel like I can never bridge the gap between what I want to say and what I’m actually saying. I feel the need to articulate a specific internal mood but often feel written language falls short of expressing it to others. It might be annoyingly meta, but this time around I just wrote about that difficulty. The trust part is connected - we have to trust each other and work together knowing we all perceive the world differently, and that process is an absolute trip to me.
You produce all your own music at home - why is that important to you?
I’m a really big advocate for self-producing, and I think I finally figured out why: when you go to a studio, no matter what your music is like, your recordings will have the DNA and sound of that studio. But when people record at home, not only do you get their songs but you also, unconsciously, get a feel for their space — you can hear the sound of “home” and what that is to an artist. All my favourite recordings are recordings where there is something personal about the actual sonic quality, as well as the lyrics etc. So I think self-producing and working at home just feels like a better and more authentic way of capturing “me”, and what I’m about.
Where do you want to be 10 years from now?
Hm. I bet I’ll still be making records and creating music in some form. I’d like to focus more on multimedia work, integrating music with digital space and film. I’m excited about stepping into roles where I get to support other artists, rather than just make records for myself. I’d like to be producing for other artists, facilitating the art of others who are doing exciting things.
Do you have any final life lessons or tips for our readers?
My biggest life lesson is probably that life lessons are totally bunk, haha. I was scrolling through Instagram the other day, and noticed that every 3rd post featured someone providing a life lesson and all the different life lessons were absolutist and conflicting. I’m quite easily influenced, and I too feel like trying to pay attention to life lessons has really convoluted the process of actually living. In that sense, I guess my life lesson is to create your own life lessons, recognize they are specific to you, and go with that. And be a good listener and kind.
