Meet Sam Phish

We were lucky to catch up with Sam Phish recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

Generally, I stand out in a room. Whether it’s the psychedelic suit I have on, the long and curly hair, or just my volume in general, most people tend to notice that I’m there. I use this to my advantage as much as possible; it makes networking a helluva lot easier.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Between Electric Sunnshine and L.E.A.F. Engineering, I try to keep myself busy in some aspect of music at all times. With Electric Sunnshine, I write, record, and produce my own music from scratch, all from a modest home studio in my basement. It’s nice to finally have the space and equipment needed to produce at the quality and level that I have dreamed of. Because of all of my work on my own projects, as well as having the space needed, I’ve also recently begun doing engineering and production work for other artists, such as the folk singer Liv laFluv out of New Orleans or the Chihuahua, Mexico-based Norah. I love getting to work with not only all types and genres of music, but with musicians from all over the world.

Personally, I heard tell that there might be some new Electric Sunnshine music coming out very very soon. It’s not confirmed, just incredibly likely. As far as L.E.A.F., I am always looking for new artists to work with to help bring their recordings to the next level. Electric Sunnshine can be found at electricsunnshine.univer.se and L.E.A.F. can be found at leafaudio.univer.se .

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the most important thing so far is just learning as much as you can. It doesn’t necessarily have to always be music industry-related, in fact I encourage you to take breaks during sessions to go learn about something for 30 minutes on your smoko. I’ve learned it helps to lock in whatever you were actually studying, and makes it easier to pick up and go from where you left off. As far as to the aspiring artist or producer, I would say the key is finding a day job that doesn’t completely sap your energy so that you can work on your business at least two hours a day, while also being able to relax and take care of yourself. Not enough newer artists or lab guys realize that this whole thing is a business at the end of the day, the product being your music and engineering, respectively. Finally, don’t ever give up. You want to be polarizing. If half the people love you, and half the people want you dead, you’re doing something right. Ignore the bullshit, listen to the good stuff. That’s the way to roll.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

I have been doubling down on learning the finer, more nuanced details about the mastering process. This has completely changed and revolutionized my music workflow, and has made it almost 1000% easier for me to put out incredibly high quality media very quickly. I haven’t released any music personally with my new setup, but I would keep an eye on miss Liv laFluv, as she has a single coming out Feb 1 that I mastered by hand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://leafaudio.univer.se
• Instagram: @electricsunnshine
• Other: https://electricsunnshine.holm.site

Image Credits

Kenneth Owens
Kennedy McKay Weaver
Minister Riley Phoebus (L.E.A.F. Logo)