Sonic Elevation With SAMANTHA FISH

Interview by Kris Peters
Guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Samantha Fish is rightfully
recognized as one of the premiere guitarists of her generation.
With a blending of emotion, finesse, and raw aggression, Fish
encapsulates the essence of musicianship while also allowing
herself creative room from which to grow and flourish.
Her sonic output features, and draws from, multiple genres
including rock, country, funk and bluegrass, but it is her ability
to integrate genres and manipulate musical styles that has seen her
forge a successful career which includes a Grammy nomination for
Death Wish Blues (her 2023 collaboration with rocker Jesse Dayton)
and opening for The Rolling Stones on their final 2024 U.S. tour
date.
Fish's upcoming album Paper Doll is the culmination of years of
commitment to the music scene, delivering nine tracks with enough
scope and musical disparity to appeal to lovers of many forms of
music. But it's not the amount of strings to Fish's metaphorical
bow. It is the way she unites each delicate moment, drifting
between lashings of hard rock staunchness to softer, more intimate
confines with a Delta Blues spine.
It is a coming together of genres that in many hands would sound
forced, or contrived, but Fish manages to find not only the balance
at the core of her music but also pushes the parameters of
experimentalisation over convention. Put simply, Paper Doll is
Samantha Fish's most accomplished body of work to date, and
something that brought her music to the attention of HEAVY on the
other side of the world.
We sat down with Fish recently to go over the album, starting by
asking if the pressures of an album release cycle are something
that affects her as the release date approaches.
"There's this weird feeling when you finish a record, at least for
me," she smiled. "I know every artist feels this way. You walk out
of the studio and this giant weight has been lifted off your
shoulders. It's almost euphoric when you're done with the record
and thank God, because it's always fun. But for me, it's always
like this mountain that I have to climb to get through it. It feels
great. But then It feels like you have this secret that you have to
keep for 6-9 months to a year that you can't share with anybody. So
I finally feel like I'm able to let people in on the little
secret."
We asked what her focus was on going into the musical side of Paper
Doll.
"With this record, I wanted to lean into my strengths," she
replied. "What are my superpowers? What makes me different? What
makes me unique, leaning into my voice, my guitar, my songwriting?
I wanted to make something that felt urgent, felt like rock and
roll, but was still rooted in the music that I love and inspires
me, which is blues music. North Hill Country blues specifically.
It's a deep well of inspiration for me. I just wanted to write
great songs and write and record with an urgency that people would
hear and want to listen to again and again and again. Timeless
records, that's my goal."
In the full interview, Samantha described the completion of the
album as a euphoric experience, emphasizing her aim to create
timeless music that highlights her vocal and guitar skills while
incorporating a hard-edged rock and roll style. She noted that this
album is more aggressive than her previous works, with the opening
track, I'm Done Runnin', serving as a strong introduction. Samantha
also highlighted the importance of track sequencing in engaging
listeners, aiming to encourage them to experience the album as a
cohesive journey rather than just individual songs.
She shared insights into her writing process, revealing that much
of the album was created while on tour, where she draws inspiration
from her experiences. This album is particularly significant as it
is the first she recorded with her touring band, capturing the
energy and chemistry developed on the road. The conversation also
touched on her rumoured plans to visit Australia in 2026 and
more.


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