Sam Swancot: Tracks That Shaped My Sound

Sam Swancott is a Bristol based Soul/ R&B singer. Her newest song "Karma", releasing on Friday, has already debuted across BBC introducing and BBC Introducing South and West. Sam's presence in the Southwest music scene is rapidly growing.

Her intention for “Karma” is one of self-empowerment, and the bittersweet feeling of watching the downfall of an ex who did you wrong in a past relationship. Sam has shared with Babystep Magazine 4 Tracks that shaped her sound: 

Flip a Switch - Raye 

This was the first song we referenced when we sat down to create “Karma”. Raye’s album is just a dream to listen to, it’s full of interesting instrumental with her incredible jazz like vocals throughout, and I’d hoped to make something that even had a hint of that vibe. “Flip a switch” is full of sass and we used that energy to shape “Karma”, and as it’s about a cheat, it needed to be full to the brim of bad b energy. We used the “trap” style beat of this track as a starting point for “Karma”. We also loved the use of guitar being plucked throughout the song, so this was another component we pulled out.

Bad Behaviour - Elli Ingram 

“Bad Behaviour” has been my go-to shower song for months now, Elli’s jazz inspired vocals sitting on a RnB tracks pairs so well, and I loved the use of brass throughout, but especially it bringing the track in. This was actually an element that came later on during the process. I always sneak some brass in somewhere, but originally, we wanted to stick to the more Trap beat like “Flip A Switch”, but the instrumental was missing the sultry element that the vocals were bringing, and once we added the brass, it truly brought the track to life like Elli’s. Using it at the start of the record, immediately set the tone and it worked great.

Therapist - Mae Muller

Mae Muller has been a major influence on me for the last few years when I discovered her track “Therapist”. Her lyrics are taboo, interesting and I almost love how specific they are in comparison to most pop tracks. “Karma” is based on true events, someone actually did cheat on me (hard to believe, I know), and I wanted to use Mae’s honest and brutal tone of voice to bring the emotion into the song

Escapism - Raye 

Back to Raye, I told you I loved this album. I can’t talk about the album without talking about Escapism. When the track was being mixed, the vocals were lacking an edge to them. The bridge of Escapism is full of subtly distorted vocals that create a harmony which we used as inspiration for the final chorus of “Karma”. While it’s not as in your face as Raye, it added a cool dynamic that worked well as the chorus has less instrumentation than the rest of the track, so it meant we ended it strong.

Swancott’s latest track “Karma” is out NOW, available to stream on Spotify here. The “Indie Boy Back” singer recently performed her music LIVE for the first time with a full band at Cheltenham’s “Frog and Fiddle”, playing that night alongside other Cheltenham based artists. Her song ‘Karma’ being the standout performance. The ‘Indie boy back’ singer was the first act to take the stage, opening the show with one of her earlier works ‘Infidelity’ drawing in the largest crowd of the night and receiving a huge ovation. 

If Karma left you wanting more, keep your eyes and ears on the Cheltenham based singer songwriter as she has new music coming, as well as more many more opportunities to hear ‘Karma”, amongst other tracks, performed LIVE in early 2024. Sam Swancott is soon to explode onto the Southwest music scene, and we are all seated, buckled in, and ready to hear what this artist has in store for us.