Sami is the type of artist that holds the world in his heart and wears that heart on his sleeve. To listen, in this interview, how and why his songs came to be is not only an inspiration for the musician but a lesson in humanity. I wish more people were like Sami. The world would be a much kinder place. and, in this interview, we get a history and reasoning behind his new single and video titled ‘This Majesty’ (video below) as well as his upcoming album titled ‘Extraordinary World’.
The video and track titled ‘This Majesty’ we get but a glimpse of Sami’s style and soul. As a musician, a person, and a world traveler. Filmed on location in India (details below) ‘This Majesty’ shows the majestic side of merging song, solitude, and serenity in ways that only a person listening with an open mind can truly understand. Open that mind and heart and inherit the message that we are all individuals that form a collective known as the world.
The video and single ‘This Majesty’ is out as of today (August 7, 2020). The full album ‘Extraordinary World’ releases on September 1, 2020, via all digital platforms.
Featured image by Alexandre Suplicy.
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ABOUT ‘THIS MAJESTY’
This Majesty was written in Amboseli National Park, Kenya shortly after the passing of Sami’s older brother Joshua. The production team felt the video for this song needed to be filmed in the most stunning and grandiose of locations of India, including Nahargarh Fort, Hawa Mahal, and the Taj Mahal.
Sami’s Personal Notes about the song: I remember my time in Kenya so very vividly, waking up in the morning to the most beautiful sunrises and gazing off into the majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro. When we lose the ones we love we feel an emptiness. I am reminded constantly that those who have gone from our lives are always with us. In our triumphs and failures, in our happiness and grief and in all the magical moments we continue to experience.
ABOUT SAMI CHOHFI
While Sami Chohfi is a Brazillian-American singer/songwriter based in Seattle, he is undeniably a modern citizen of the world. His upcoming solo debut, Extraordinary World, was written across six countries over the last two years. From his journeys across Cambodia, France, India, Kenya, and The Philippines as brand ambassador for the clothing line Be Good to People® to touring with his band Blue Helix across his family’s native country of Brazil, Chohfi’s songwriting takes a rock upbringing and spins it with musical influences from around the world.
His upcoming single, “This Majesty” is arguably one of the album’s most personal examples of how travel seeped into his songwriting, written in Kenya’s Amboseli Park in the wake of his older brother’s passing.
“He loved climbing the highest mountains and I was constantly reminded of him as I gazed upon Mt. Kilimanjaro,” Chohfi adds. “In my experience from the many cultures I have been exposed to over the last two years, most believe that when we lose someone we love, we never truly lose them. I don’t think I will ever feel like those I loved and lost are gone from this place… we carry them with us.”
With a video shot at world-renowned sites like the Taj Mahal and breathtaking footage of India in a pre-corona world, Extraordinary World serves as a timely reminder that, in Chohfi’s words, “all people just want to fit in, beloved, and be understood.”
LINKS:
https://samichohfimusic.com
https://twitter.com/samichohfimusic
https://www.facebook.com/samichohfimusic
https://instagram.com/samichohfimusic
https://itunes.apple.com/artist/sami-chohfi/1460610496
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xdpDgzzdLx365502fJweY?si=uTDiAQHiTpyR0iR_8zaKLQ
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sami-chohfi-45290879/
https://pandora.com/artist/sami-chohfi/AR7gVzlwtg77gzX
https://www.youtube.com/samichohfimusic
https://music.amazon.ca/artists/B001RWYDFS?tab=CATALOG&ref=dm_wcp_artist_link_pr_s
https://soundcloud.com/sami-chohfi
https://listen.tidal.com/artist/15568916
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Tommy Down Drops ‘Superficial’ (The Week in #Indie Segment)
With a smooth groove and sometimes staccato-like rhythm within the lyrics, Tommy Down delivers a memorable track in the form of ‘Superficial’, which is steeped in melody and simply memorable in the aftermath. And now matter and antimatter collide musically with the help of Decca Records artist Rhys Lewis.
This dynamic duo chisel out ‘Superficial’ in a way that is anything but. This song is deep. Musically, creatively, maybe even spiritually on a guttural level. The chorus has such a lyrical delivery of the song title that it is actually still in my head. That is the mark of genius. When a song stays with you and becomes a part of you. That is more than superficial.
About ‘Superficial’
Produced by rising Decca Records star Rhys Lewis, ‘Superficial’ sounds like the brainchild of Nile Rodgers and Sade scoring a Boogie Nights sequel. Managing to tactfully balance its glossy velvet-toned nostalgic influences with a raw and stripped-back production approach, ‘Superficial’ sees Tommy Down analyzing the psychological perils of a generation addicted to selfies and social media. It’s all captured in the contradiction at the heart of its narrative: guy judges a girl for taking a selfie with him, yet harbors a desire to see himself tagged in it the next day.Ultimately ‘Superficial’ navigates the complex, maddening, and circular logic of technological overthink by asking us if we’re even perhaps a little attracted to the idea of our own narcissism. Maybe the fact that we go into these things ambivalently makes us more woke anyhow? It’s three minutes of clever, concise and thought-provoking pop that puts Down both sonically and lyrically on a standout path. With Tommy starring as himself and his own conscience, alongside live bandmate and Cold Feet actress Sylvie Briggs, and Raffy Ellison, the accompanying video, (directed by Toby Harris), is a colorful, slick and tongue-in-cheek dramatization of the lyrics.
About Tommy Down
Tommy Down is the sharp-suited and incisive lyricist and frontman to Harker Moon. He started the project in 2015 with schoolmates Hal Briggs, Ben Phillips, Olly Jay, and Joe Caplin. The band peddles an uproarious blend of rock, soca, funk, and roots with a trademark relish for old-school feel-good vibes. Tommy has been writing music and recording since he was fourteen, and since leaving university a year and a half ago, has been dedicating himself to it fully. In that time, he’s already netted a few accolades and picked up a wealth of practical experience – winning an award for ‘Best Original Composition’ at the UK Open Mic Competition, for instance. He also started performing as the male vocalist for Bristol University Jazz Orchestra in 2015 and now gigs in venues across London including the Camden Assembly.Tommy’s broad knowledge of musical styles and emphasis on innovative stylistic fusions make him one of the most interesting emerging British artists. >From London to New York he has also been forging some eminent collaborations this year, including Jeff Silverman, Charlie Perry (who helped produce Jorja Smith’s Lost and Found), and John Shave & Jason Pebworth from the Grammy-nominated “Invisible Men” – the hitmakers behind songs by Britney Spears and Rita Ora. Both as a bandleader and as a solo artist Tommy unequivocally shines, but it’s in the latter category that we’re seeing his unique artistry in its full resplendent glory.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Tommy-Down-138191366266833
https://soundcloud.com/nii-amar-children
https://www.instagram.com/tommydownmusic -
The Dirty Dozen (JammerStream One)
The Dirty Dozen was a top 12 weekly countdown featuring the most listened to tracks on JammerStream One. It ran from 2010 to 2012.
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Rum Thief Premieres ‘Time to Make a Move’
Rum Thief is solo artist Jot Green with support from his band members Kieran Whitehouse on lead guitar, Gary Long on bass and Chris Hobbs on drums. Based in Chorlton, Manchester, the project began when Green, a drummer in bands for over ten years, decided to record some songs of his own. Booking into Manchester’s Airtight Studio, he played the drums, guitars, vocals and backing vocals on his first EP ‘Clouded Mind’. The titular lead track generated interest from media outlets across the north-west and, with the help of his bandmates, Rum Thief secured local gigs, festivals, support slots and airplay on the local and national radio.
Rum Thief’s second EP ‘Reach For The Weather Man’, characterised by Jot Green’s keen ear for melody and sharp observational lyrical content received widespread critical acclaim from the likes of Fred Perry Subculture and much more notable media outlets around the world. After successfully headlining the Manchester Ritz he got down to recording this third EP ‘Time To Make A Move ‘ at the legendary Hackney Road Studio with producer Shuta Shinoda (Ghost Poet ‘Shedding Skin’).
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/rumthief
http://www.soundcloud.com/rum-thief
http://www.twitter.com/rumthief
http://www.youtube.com/rumthief