sam lee

Songdreaming' finds Sam in vehement form - there's a bulging, barely simmering, emotional struggle emerging from his carefully constructed folk as Lee conveys his dismay and rage around environmental and political issues via exquisite yet melancholy verse and song.

‘'Songdreaming’ represents the latest stage in the development of Sam Lee’s music, from its roots in traditional folk song to a new way of imagining and performing these old songs, making them relevant for a modern audience. ‘songdreaming’ may be built on the backbone of double bass, percussion, and violin but is infused with a world of instrumentation including the Arabic Qanun, Swedish Nyckelharpa, small pipes, and more. Across the ten tracks, Sam delivers an album that ranges from more immediately identifiable acoustic songs to drone soundscapes through to the electric guitar and gospel choir propelled lead single, ‘Meeting Is A Pleasant Place’, featuring the recording debut of Trans Voices, a London based transgender choir. It is an album that can incorporate the beautiful balladry of ‘Sweet Girl McRee’ alongside the gospel tinges of ‘Leaves of Life’ whilst also housing the whiteout noise close of album opener ‘Bushes and Briars’, a song that details Sam’s rage at the treatment and condition of the natural world.