About
‘The finest English-style finger-picking guitarist of his generation’ Jon Boden
Since winning Best Newcomer at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2010, midlands-born singer, guitarist and songwriter Sam Carter has been more in demand than ever. From performances at the Royal Festival Hall for Richard Thompson’s Meltdown to sharing the stage with the great Nic Jones alongside Chris Wood, Martin Simpson and Jon Boden at Sidmouth Folk Week, Sam continues to impress audiences and fellow artists alike.
Armed with a ‘killer voice’ (Nitin Sawhney) and the ability to play his guitar ‘like a harp’ (Time Out), as well as an unerring ability to put his personal experiences into a wider perspective, the east London-based songsmith made his mark with his debut album ‘Keepsakes’ released August 2009. Sam is a former Emerging Artist In Residence at the Southbank Centre, where he collaborated with a wealth of talented musicians and artists including Nitin Sawhney, Riz MC (actor Riz Ahmed, star of ‘Ill Manors’), Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
During 2010 and 2011 Sam combined his own busy touring schedule with participation in the British Council’s ‘Shifting Sands’ project, a cross-cultural collaboration between English and Middle Eastern traditional musicians led by Bellowhead trumpeter Andy Mellon. This exciting international initiative saw the group performing in Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as peformances at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at Celtic Connections 2011. Read more about Shifting Sands in Kuwait and Glasgow.
Most recently Sam toured in support of Seth Lakeman and with Music Beyond Mainstream’s ‘Homage to Sandy Denny’ tour, where he performed to sold-out crowds both as a band member and soloist alongside singers including Joan As Policewoman and PP Arnold, most notably giving stunning duo performances with legendary fiddler Dave Swarbrick. This summer Sam performed a live score to newly restored Hitchcock film ‘The Lodger’, the bespoke score written by Nitin Sawhney who conducted the London Symphony Orchestra for a special one-off screening at the Barbican.
Sam now returns with highly anticipated follow-up to ‘Keepsakes’ with ‘The No Testament’, an album that sees Sam reinvent his contemporary narrative-based songwriting by infusing it with shapenote, gospel and work song influences. This ambitious album ranges from intimate solo performances through driving acapella chants to full-throttle electric blues. Features a performance by Neasden Sacred Harp singers and an expanded line-up including Will Pound on harmonica.
Sam is an independent artist and has three releases to date, all self-released under ‘Captain Records’ – Here In The Ground EP (2008), Keepsakes (2009) and The No Testament (2012) available on CD from HMV, Amazon and other online retailers. Downloads of all 3 albums are available from Bandcamp. All CDs are also available here.
