This piano/vocal ballad portrays some of my personal, internal struggles with a number of health conditions and the anxieties that encompass them. 

At times, I have been unable to sing (physically) and therefore have felt my "core" as an artist and an individual be stripped away. However, this loss of voice (and identity) has always been accompanied by a willingness to fight my way through. For me, the solution is both action in the physical and a willful, spiritual acquiescence to a higher power; a belief in something greater than myself. Please scroll down for LYRICS. 

www.samwinstonmusic.com

Lyrics: 
That hollow stranger in my house
First quiet as a mouse
Drip feeds me, drip feeds me deep down

That shadow hung upon my wall
Once tiny now so tall
It leads me, but never breaks my fall

God, where have I gone? 
My core has come undone
Lord, you hide my light I'm sure
Til I make peace
Til I make peace
Til I Make peace with war
Til I make peace
Til I make peace
Til I make peace with war

That fickle heart behind stained glass
Such an emblem of my past
Reminds me, reminds me to laugh
Those steady hands, unphased by time 
Strong, certain, unlike mine
They find me, off kilter, out of line

God, where have I gone? 
My core has come undone
Lord, you hide my light I'm sure
Til I make peace
Til I make peace
Til I Make peace with war
Til I make peace
Til I make peace
Til I make peace with war

[Instrumental] 

God, where have I gone? 
My core has come undone
Lord, you hide my light I'm sure, 
Til I make peace 
Til I make peace
Til I Make peace with war
Til I make peace
Til I make peace 
Til I Make peace with war
Til I make peace 
Til I make peace 
Til I make peace with war
Til I make peace 
Til I make peace 
Til I make peace with war...

-------------------------------------
All music written, produced, recorded and mixed by Sam Winston (www.samwinstonmusic.com). All Rights Reserved ℗ © 2021 Geppetto Records. Mastered by Adam Vanryne (www.vanryne.com). Artwork by Florian Popescu (www.florianpopescu.com).

Til I Make Peace With War

"These Golden Hearts" finishes off the album. I particularly enjoyed singing the many layers of harmonies in choruses, it was very fun!

The Fire & The Icicle

These Golden Hearts

Like many of the songs on the album, "Silhouette" is also quite autobiographical. It is a ballad about the pull of memory and time, and the often-biased nature of nostalgia...

Silhouette

Song 8 is probaby the most dramatic of the 10, both in terms of music and lyrics. I played a dulcitone (a keyboard from the 19th century), an autoharp (thanks to Pendle Poucher from Sounddust) and 3 different organs - a tapeloop, rotatry and church organ. My aim was to make the words playful yet dark. The result turned into something a bit unexpected and theatrical.

Defenceless (Your Move)

This track is the most stripped-back song on the album. It has just 2 main instruments - acoustic guitar and piano (and a bit of cello in verse two.) I chose the iconic figure of the Big Bad Wolf blowing the house down to reflect turbulence within a relationship.

The Bad Wolf

This song came together as a result of my passion for acoustic instruments. From mandolins to harmonicas, I really enjoyed piecing it all together. "Little White Lights" speaks of lost love softened by the power of hope. Percussion by Pete Diggens, Violin by Nick Gellner and backing vocals in the chorus by Lizi Foan.

Little White Lights

"Who Decides?" is a feel-good, uptempo track. It is orchestrated around questions of happiness, around the many decisions we make throughout our life. In the chorus, I bring in a banjo to drive along the chords in a lighthearted way. I was also lucky enough to borrow my uncle's 100-year-old accordion, used throughout the song. Violins played by Nick Gellner and backing vocals in the bridge + outro by Ben Longman.

Who Decides?

At the heart of this song is a message of non-violence, to act with "words" and with "heart". Written originally as a reaction to the 2011 England Riots, its message could be applied beyond that event. "Stand & Fight" contains a message of hope, to inspire us all to join up and rebuild what others feel the need to tear apart.  Drums played by Derek Coverley.


Stand & Fight

"Cherry Sweet" was written as a simple song about enjoyment and fun and not letting the little things in life bring us down. It started out with just my ukulele and vocals but soon evolved to have a larger big-band type sound. I used things like my parents' old honky tonk piano, a collection of penny whistles and recorders as well as Caribbean steel drums in parts. Percussion by Pete Diggens and horn section by Studio Pros.

Cherry Sweet

"Reach You" is one of the most poignant of the 10 songs and contains the album title within it. It recalls a lost love and my desire to keep this passion alive, however distant. I used percussion such as claves, African shakers, finger clicks and a pair of old bongos! I went for layers of classical Spanish guitar (rather than steel strung)for a gentler tone.

Reach You

This is the fastest track on "The Fire & The Icicle." It's a kind of gypsy swing. The song is autobiographical, telling of a love interest that didn't quite happen (the lyrics tell the story!) For the music, I layered slide guitars in the riffs, Indian bells and a harpsichord as well as a distorted bass throughout. I also sampled my Celtic harp - which was so slow to do (it was really out of tune at first)

No November Like It

Completed during the initial covid-19 lockdown, this track is incredibly personal to me but also resonates with wider themes. It hints at how we all have problems that may be better solved together. Scroll down for LYRICS. 

https://samwinston.bandcamp.com/track/damaged-goods
https://open.spotify.com/track/5nmDKNevQmNTfhYJMmQHHy
www.samwinstonmusic.com

Lyrics: Oooh oooh oooh oooh ooh 

What to do with damaged goods 
Of the mind, under this hood 
What to say of damaged goods 
Overlooked, misunderstood 

It's fair to say I get in my own way 
Let's get something straight 
I need to break away 
It's fair to say we get in our own way 
Day by day by day (yeah) 
Day by day by day 

Oooh oooh oooh oooh ooh 

What to do with damaged goods 
In a heart, battered and bruised 
What to say of damaged goods 
Seldom seen, misunderstood 

It's fair to say I get in my own way 
Let's get something straight 
I need to break away 
It's fair to say we get in our own way 
Day by day by day (yeah) 
Day by day by day 

It's fair to say I get in my own way 
Let's get something straight 
I need to break away 
It's fair to say we get in our own way 
Day by day by day (yeah) 
Day by day by day 

One way or another 
We're all each other's cousins 
In life, in the way we feel 
Will you hold me brother? 
Share the load? 
It doesn't matter or make us any less real. 
One way or another 
We're all each other's cousins 
In life, in the pain we feel 
Will you hold me brother? 
Share the load? 
It doesn't matter or make us any less real. 

It's fair to say I get in my own way 
Let's get something straight 
I need to break away 
It's fair to say we get in our own way 
Day by day by day (yeah) 
Day by day by day 

Oooh oooh oooh oooh ooh

-------------------------------------
All music written, produced, recorded and mixed by Sam Winston (www.samwinstonmusic.com). Additional pre-mixing by Colin Brain (www.sticks-studio.com). All Rights Reserved ℗ © 2020 Geppetto Records. Mastered by Adam Vanryne (www.vanryne.com). Artwork by Florian Popescu (www.florianpopescu.com).

Damaged Goods

THE JOURNEY TAKEN by singer-songwriter + multi-instrumentalist Sam Winston to his latest release ('Damaged Goods') hasn't been straightforward. It has been a circuitous route, with several hurdles to overcome including health problems and a self-imposed 4 year hiatus from releasing his first album The Fire & The Icicle (2016). 

However, as is frequently the case, it's in these very hurdles that Sam found new creative strength. A conscious expression of his vulnerabilities is what underpins the spirit of the new record. "Damaged Goods is a statement about losing my core and letting go...about being okay with not being okay."

In addition to supporting Boy George on tour in Amsterdam, Sam has toured Belgium and Scotland with the support of Scottish guitar makers Bailey Guitars, a company who only use 100% renewable energy. This fact is important to Sam who owns and plays various Bailey instruments. When they were losing their factory, Sam aided them by curating a compilation album of his and others' works. Profits from it helped secure the Bailey premises. 

Various notable gigs for Sam include Dartford Festival; twice selling out the renowned Mick Jagger Centre; Folk On The Dock Fest; supporting Henry Priestman of The Christians & headlining the BBC Radio Stage at Chatham's Steam Fest. 

--  REVIEWS  --  

"Sam’s earnest voice is equally at home in delicate folk music numbers, as it is to bolder pop-influenced songs" - RICHER UNSIGNED

"Heart-warming...Winston is soulful to the tips of his toes" - MATT BELL, THE SUN

"A voice both delicate and disarming" - BBC UPLOAD


"His tracks feature unusual instruments like a Celtic harp, a Victorian dulcitone, mandolins, even Sam's uncle's 100 year old accordion" - THE NEWS SHOPPER

"Winston is a class act" - THE SOUTH LONDON PRESS

"Intricate and big-hearted [...] a playful, soulful delight" - LEO ULPH, BBC RADIO KENT

"Damaged Goods is a great song with such a fine vocal from Sam, the lyrics are deep and perfect [...] it deserves to be heard and admired" - CHRIS DIFFORD

Sam Winston

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