User:Samruko/Sam Himself

Sam Himself (born Samuel Koechlin) is a Swiss-American musician from Basel.

Life
Koechlin grew up in Basel. At the age of 19, he relocated to New York. He currently splits his time between New York City and Basel, Switzerland. Before embarking on his musical career full time, Koechlin has worked as a bartender, songwriter and comedy writer.

Career
Shortly after beginning his longstanding collaboration with New York-based producer Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) Koechlin release his first EP under the moniker Sam Himself in 2017, entitled Songs in D. He followed this with EPs Nobody (2018) and Slow Drugs (2020), which were recorded together with drummer Parker Kindred (Jeff Buckley; Elliott Smith) and bass player Josh Werner (Ghostface Killah; Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry). Slow Drugs also marked Sam Himself's first joint effort with mastering engineer Greg Calbi (Bruce Springsteen; David Bowie). In 2021, Sam Himself released his debut full-length album, Power Ballads, which charted at number 36 in the Swiss National Album Charts. Less than two years later, the artist presented his sophomore album, Never Let Me Go (Sony Music Entertainment), charting at no. 23 and featuring drums by Chris Egan (Blood Orange; Solange).

In April and October 2022, respectively Sam Himself premiered orchestral versions of eight original compositions together with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, arranged by the artist together with Emmy-winning composer and arranger Mark Bächle as well as Swiss-Polish composer and arranger Michael Künstle.

Sam Himself refers to his musical as 'Fondue Western,' a tongue-in-cheek genre made up in jest by producer Schlett, in a nod to the late Italian composer and Spaghetti Western-Impresario Ennio Morricone, whom Schlett and Koechlin admire; as a metaphor for certain characteristics of Koechlin's preferred lead guitar sound; and a hint at Sam Himself's dual, Swiss-American identity (Fondue being the Swiss national meal).

Albums
Year  Title                       Charts                   Notes

record label 2021  Power Ballads        36 (4 weeks)        initial release date: Sam Himself /                                    Oct. 8, 2021 Taxi Gauche 2023  Never Let Me Go    23 (1 week)         initial release date: Sam Himself /                                    Jan. 27, 2023 Sony Music Ent.

EPs

 * 2017: Songs in D
 * 2018: Nobody
 * 2020: Slow Drugs

Singles

 * 2020: Slow Drugs
 * 2020: Dancing In The Dark
 * 2020: Cry
 * 2021: Nothing Like The Night
 * 2021: What It’s Worth
 * 2021: La Paz
 * 2022: Never Let Me Go
 * 2022: Golden Days
 * 2022: Mr. Rocknroll

Features

 * 2021: letters from nowhere (NOTI ft. Sam Himself, Anna Rossinelli)
 * 2022: coda (NOTI ft. Sam Himself)

Nominations

 * 2021: Swiss Music Awards – Category: Best Talent
 * 2022: Swiss Music Awards – Category: Best Crushing Newcomer
 * 2022: Pop Prize Basel – Official Nominee 2022

Recognition

 * 2023: KCRW Best of 2022 – DJ and Staff Picks