RS: "Rise" recently hit number one on the Billboard Club Chart.
How did you react when you found out about that?
Samantha James: There's no words to describe having one of your songs make
it to number one on Billboard it's kind of a surreal feeling. I was
shocked but I was also kind of relieved. After years and years of
making music, something finally became a success for me.
RS: You definitely got the indie cred with Urb Magazine calling
you one of the "Next 100."
Samantha James: Absolutely, oh my god, that was amazing. This has all be
so crazy for me to be completely honest. When you're an artist and
you've been working with music for seven to eight years and then all
of a sudden overnight people start to recognize it, love it and say
wonderful things about it, it's such a humbling experience. There's
no words to really describe the way that you feel when it finally
starts to happen and everything starts to finally come to life.
RS: With the Enchanted Life, was there a specific story behind that song?
Samantha James: I wrote that song with Vikter Duplaix and we wanted to
write a song about being in love and finding a person that you connect
with and just going for it with no inhibitions. The song is about
realizing that tomorrow isn't promised to anybody and that you
shouldn't really hold back in any way when you find that person that
you have a connection with. That song was inspired by love and
finding that person for me and the one for you.
RS: What was it like recording "I Found You" with Celso Fonseca?
Samantha James: It was amazing, it was incredible. Meeting him was such a
big deal for me because I love his music so much. That experience was
also surreal and the whole process has been surreal for me. It was
incredible and like a dream come true for me. He's an amazing man and
an amazing musician and it was magical,
RS: With this album, are you going to be touring at all with it?
Samantha James: Absolutely, we're trying to figure out right now a tour
schedule. We did some shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles for the
release and I think it's going to be more like an organic-type
process. We're trying to plan a tour but I think that it's going to
be based upon how people respond to the album and where people want me
to perform.
RS: Will you be performing with a live band?
Samantha James: We are putting a band together – a live electronic band.
That's what I really want to do - a full show with a live band and a
DJ.
RS: The Om sounds has a real West Coast vibe to it. How do you
think your music is going to translate across the country?
Samantha James: I'm hoping that's what it does. Our intention when we
were making the album was that it was eclectic enough and worldly
enough to cross over to all different types of music listeners.
RS: What kind of responses or feedback are you getting from your
fans on MySpace?
Samantha James: Amazing feedback, I've been receiving some of the most
amazing messages from some of these people, I can't even believe it.
Especially with my song Rise, I'll have people write me telling me
about experiences that they've had in their lives where Rise has
helped them through a traumatic or difficult situation. It's so crazy
to think that I have fans, they write me amazing messages and I'm
blown away every day by the things that people write to me.
RS: What would you like to say to all your fans out there?
Samantha James: Thank you for your support and for giving me such
positive energy. The comments on MySpace and the response I've had
from my fans has definitely helped me so much along this process.
It's not the easiest thing to break out as a new artist, and it
definitely helps when you have people out there rooting for you. When
an artist says I do this for my fans or because of my fans, I never
understood that until this point in my career because they really play
such a huge role in your wanting to sing and your desire to get up on
stage and to create music. I want to say to them that they are
definitely a huge reason why I love doing this and thank you for your
positive energy and all of your amazing support.
Posted October 5, 2007
