Sam Buckingham Dear John Interview

As she began pre-production for her third album Dear John, Sam Buckingham came to the clear realisation that she had to start again.

The Byron Bay-based singer-songwriter had 12 tracks written for the album in May 2020 but after a toxic, long-term relationship ended, Buckingham was ready for a clean slate, both personally and creatively.

The turning point began with Run, a song that powerfully illustrates the internal battle between loving someone that's treating you badly, and loving yourself.

"I put a foot in the middle
The other one a little bit out, ready to run
I put a hand on his waist and another on his face
To tell him I'm coming undone
It's a cold heart reality, trying to get the best of me
That I feel like I'm never enough
So when lightning strikes and I'm standing by his side
I wait ready for another one
But I wanna run"

After writing Run, Buckingham scrapped 70 percent of the songs she had planned to record and started furiously re-writing the album, shifting away from her acoustic roots into a new world of alternative pop.

"I suddenly realised that I needed to challenge myself as a songwriter and producer, and that I wanted to tell my personal story in a very particular way."

For the next six weeks, Buckingham lost herself in feminist literature, trauma counselling and the process of translating everything she was feeling and learning into song.

Exploring themes of self-expression, gender equality, men's violence against women and female empowerment, Buckingham made a clear decision to use her platform as a creator to reveal her personal experiences of domestic abuse, self-censoring and the quest for self-actualisation while speaking to a broader experience of being a woman.

"The songs just poured out. Bang, bang, bang, one after the other," she says. "I was writing this album for myself, almost like a map showing me where I was, where I was heading and how to get there. But I also felt like I was writing it for another woman. I didn't know who she was, but I loved her, and I saw that we were the same."

Although the album stemmed from the breakdown of a relationship, at its core, Buckingham insists that Dear John is anything but a break-up record.

"It's not a breakup album, it's a wake up album," Buckingham says. "The relationship itself was emotionally and psychologically abusive, it was super toxic, but I didn't know that while I was in it. I thought I was the problem. So I had to unlearn so much of what I thought I knew about myself, about love, and about being a woman. And then I had to find new information, to help me rise."

The album, which will be released on April 8, represents a rebirth for Buckingham, not only as a woman but as an artist.

Her past work has been centred around acoustic guitar, and is best described as acoustic folk or Americana. But this time she threw out the rulebook and experimented with new sounds and influences to create a 10-track album of hook-heavy alternative pop that makes you hang on to every single word.

With Kate Bush, Solange, Coldplay, Cyndi Lauper and Phil Collins all serving as reference points for the sound on Dear John, the shift in direction even surprised Buckingham herself.

"After we did pre-production of the title track "Dear John", I was playing it to all my friends and asking, 'Hey, do you think that this sounds like me?' because it felt lyrically very bold and the production didn't sound like anything I'd made before." Buckingham says. "It took a while for me to realise that I was allowed to say anything I wanted, and make any sounds I wanted on my own songs. Once I really understood that, I felt a huge sense of freedom and I stepped into the real essence of what the album is about …. Allowing yourself to be fully expressed, to completely be you."

Produced by Buckingham alongside long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Kent Eastwood, the album was engineered by Paul Pilsneniks (Angus & Julia Stone, India Arie, Eric Bibb, Silverchair) at Rockinghorse Studios in Byron Bay. Featuring trumpet by Ross Irwin (The Cat Empire, The Bamboos), Bass by James Haselwood (Tim Minchin, Kasey Chambers) and a who's who of Northern Rivers musicians, Dear John is a potent and self-assured statement, showcasing the full power of Buckingham's voice.

The album's first single Something More, released in April 2021, slapped fans in the face with a captivating one-take video that saw Buckingham marching down a Byron Bay laneway, commanding and demanding respect. She launched the indie-pop anthem with a six-date sold-out tour last year (no mean feat in the height of the pandemic). This was followed by tour dates supporting Kate Miller-Heidke, Paul Kelly, Tim Freedman and Ben Lee.

The next single Let It Burn was shared exclusively with hundreds of fans that signed up to a five day online experience, where Buckingham invited the select group into her process of grieving, healing and rising up.

Run, the third single to be lifted from the album, will be released February 25, and is the final single before the full album drops on 8th April 2022.

Dear John is Sam Buckingham's third studio album and follows the release of I'm A Bird (2013) and The Water (2017).

Interview with Sam Buckingham

Question: How would you describe your music?

Sam Buckingham: Alternative pop, poetic, fierce


Question: Can you tell us about your upcoming album 'Dear John'?

Sam Buckingham: I wrote the album for myself, while I was healing and rising up after the dramatic end of a toxic relationship. I was writing my future, and the future that I wanted to see for women all around the world.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Sam Buckingham: That we can take our personal power back at any time.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Sam Buckingham: They're such different experiences, I don't think I can compare them against each other. I love them both. Recording is such a creative process - I love building songs and paying attention to the tiny details that help tell the story. Performing live is more about sharing the story in real time. Both experiences feel freeing, in very different ways.


Question: What should we expect from your upcoming tour?

Sam Buckingham: I'm touring solo and using Ableton Push to sample sounds we created in the studio and live loop my vocals. The show helps me bring the album to life as a solo touring artist. There's so much going on musically, but it's the most emotionally raw I've ever been.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Sam Buckingham: Telling the truth. I'm always looking to be the most real and self-expressive I can be in that moment.

Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Sam Buckingham: Beyonce, D Smoke, Ainslie Wills, Kate Miller-Heidke, and a lot of acoustic soul and African music.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Sam Buckingham: I remember being at Bluesfest when I was 16. I was watching all these incredible artists from the audience, and I felt like I was standing in the wrong spot. It became very clear that I needed to be on stage too.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Sam Buckingham: Dolly Parton


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Sam Buckingham: Making real connections with my fans and seeing how my work is impacting their lives. I've had women tell me they left miserable, toxic relationships after seeing me play… Storytelling is so powerful.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Sam Buckingham: When I'm not on tour or in the studio, there's a lot of planning and project management happening behind the scenes… it's not very glamorous but as a self-managed artist I spend a lot of time with my laptop and phone at my kitchen table. If I'm in creating mode, then the days are a frenzy of inspiration and repetition as I nut out ideas. When on tour it's drive, eat, play, sleep and repeat.


Question: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Sam Buckingham: Trust your vision and be willing to constantly up-skill creatively and in your business. Find people who know more than you and learn from them - but always remember you're the one in charge.


Question: What's next, for you?

Sam Buckingham: I've been waiting so long to release "Dear John" so, now that's finally happening, I just want to tour as much as possible and share these songs with the world.


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)

Sam Buckingham: Instagram 
Facebook 


Interview by Gwen van Montfort


SAM BUCKINGHAM DEAR JOHN TOUR DATES 2022

5 May | Birtinya, QLD | Malt Shovel Taphouse
6 May | Gold Coast, QLD | Dust Temple
7 May | Brisbane, QLD | Junk Bar
13 May | Bellingen, NSW | Bellingen Brewery
14 May | Murwillumbah, NSW | The Citadel
19 May | Cronulla, NSW | Brass Monkey
20 May | Marrickville, NSW | The Great Club
21 May | Bulli, NSW | Heritage Hotel
22 May | Canberra, ACT | Smith's Alternative
27 May | Newcastle, NSW | Stag & Hunter
28 May | Bathurst, NSW | Little Alberts
4 June | Northcote, NSW | Wesley Anne
10 June | Hobart, TAS | Republic Bar
11 June | Launceston, TAS | Royal Oak
17 June | Fremantle, WA | Aardvark
18 June | Perth, WA | Four5Nine
19 June | Thebarton, SA | The Grace Emily