samxemma have just played Latitude Festival, fresh from a Friday slot on The Alcove stage and a well-earned stop at Two Magpies Bakery. It’s a brief moment of calm in a year that’s quickly turning into something bigger for the Manchester-based duo.
Made up of Emma, who writes lyrics, melodies and sings, and Sam, who handles all things instrumental and production-based, samxemma operate like a two-person creative brain. “Writing together is the easiest and best thing in my life,” says Emma. “I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone I get along with more than him.”
Emma’s earliest memory of music is as cinematic as their current sound. “When I was three or four, I was visiting my grandparents, and they put on The Little Mermaid. I perched on their couch, in mermaid fashion, and sang ‘Part Of Your World’ to the best of my ability,” she says. “After that, my mum did the classic parent thing of thinking I might have some musical talent and put me in a bunch of musicals.”
Sam’s musical path started with drums. “At age six, I went to one of my parents’ friend's house, and they had a drum kit. I couldn’t stop playing it,” he says. “Finally, when I was about 10, I got a drum kit for Christmas and played in bands ever since.” That early fascination eventually evolved into a deeper obsession. “I stumbled across YouTube tutorials of people making electronic music, and I was absolutely fascinated. I downloaded FL Studio soon after and started making electronic music constantly.”
Their new single 'HE’S SO GROSS' is a venom-laced, club-fuelled blast of glittery rage, inspired by a very real man and a very grim situation. “A friend of ours was seeing this guy who was 10 years older than her. We already thought he was kind of weird. Until we went on a night out with her and he showed up. It was his 31st birthday. He spent his 31st birthday with a bunch of 20-year-olds. Then his WIFE started calling our friend. Turns out he was married, with three young daughters.”
The song arrived the next morning. “That’s the real story of the song. Since then, Trump has been elected back in office, so we’d like to dedicate it to him because he is truly the grossest man alive.”
"We’d like to dedicate the song to Trump, because he is truly the grossest man alive"
Blending caustic one-liners with serotonin-drenched production, 'HE’S SO GROSS' manages to be both hilarious and furious, a night-out anthem for anyone who’s ever had to navigate awful men with a drink in hand. Emma puts that ability to translate feelings into sound down to survival instinct. “I definitely prefer to write love or breakup songs. I’m not very good at confrontation because I tend to freeze up and don’t get to say what I really want to say, so writing is definitely my way of telling people how I really feel.”
The new EP, 'HOT PEOPLE MAKE HOT MUSIC', is stacked with that kind of emotional cut-through. “Each song is its own world. We didn’t write any of these songs with the intention of putting them together; we just got lucky that they all fit into a neat 5-track EP.”
Despite the EP’s clarity of theme, the creative process did have its challenges. “Mostly just the creative side to it. I genuinely couldn’t think of any good ideas of how to promote the tracks. We’d written the songs so long ago that it put me in a weird position in terms of creating a world around them.” The breakthrough came with a mermaid-themed concept for 'GOSSIP GIRL'. “I’m just basing each track off different films or TV shows that I think fit. So far, I’m happy with it.”
Film is a major part of samxemma’s world. “My Letterboxd definitely isn’t as impressive as I would like it to be, mostly because what my dad showed me growing up was Adam Sandler films, which is why I think my humour mostly translates to the 50-plus age group.” Later influences include Red Rocket, Columbus, The 400 Blows, The Squid and the Whale and Coraline. “Another main source of inspiration is Pinterest. I fucking love Pinterest.”
"I’m actually the goat"
Musically, their sound sits somewhere between club bangers and bedroom pop confessions, and they've been described as sitting somewhere between Crystal Castles, Tirzah and Porter Robinson. “Out of those three, Porter Robinson is definitely the most accurate,” says Sam. “My other big ones are Charli xcx, Pluko, Madeon, Skrillex and Jon Hopkins. I like the idea of combining pop music with the production sensibilities of more extreme sub-genres of electronic music such as drum and bass, dubstep and UK garage.”
Emma adds, “As much as I like the sound of songs, I definitely listen out for lyrics more. The lyricists I look up to most consist of Joni Mitchell, Charli xcx, Belle and Sebastian, Mazzy Star, Yung Lean, Bladee and Ecco2k.”
That contrast between high-impact production and confessional writing creates a push-pull dynamic that defines the duo’s music. “I’m a violently anxious person, so sometimes I think too much about how other people will take in the songs,” Emma says. “But for the most part, it’s just about getting things off my chest. I usually hate my writing until I listen back a few days later and realise I’m actually the goat."
Their story starts at music uni in Manchester. “Sam approached me with his friends because I had worn a Charli xcx hat on my first day, and they were desperate to find other hyperpop heads amongst a sea of jazzers.” It took a year of parties and chaotic run-ins before the music started.
Since then, it’s been a quick rise. Their headline show at YES in Manchester sold out. They’ve played The Great Escape, Kendal Calling and Latitude. They’ve landed on Spotify’s biggest hyperpop and rave playlists. At Latitude, they even met fans from Greenville, North Carolina. “They said they always play our songs at parties, so apparently, we have a fanbase in Greenville. Shoutout Nathan and Matthew, you made us feel like we’ve made it.”
"We have over 70 mostly finished songs on our private SoundCloud playlist"
Outside the studio, samxemma keep things chaotic in the best way. There are game nights and gaming phases, spontaneous beach trips, Southside Tequila happy hours, and regular missions to Selfridges to sample luxury cologne without spending a penny. They’re not big on calling themselves foodies, but they’ll absolutely talk your ear off about a good toastie, even if they forget the name of the place ten minutes later.
As for what comes next, they’re already sitting on a stockpile of tracks that could fuel a mixtape – or a 70-song mega project, if anyone’s bold enough to ask for it. Either way, more bangers are guaranteed. “We want to release a mixtape after the EP. We have over 70 mostly finished songs on our private SoundCloud playlist,” they say. “Unless for some reason we get a high demand for a 70-track mixtape.”
There are no small plans ahead. “The Grammys, and a world tour. We want to meet a bunch of really cool people in places we probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet any other time. Also, we want to come to Brazil.” Big goals? Always. But the real thrill is in the world they’ve built together, where pop music hits harder, honesty wins out and no one gets away with being gross.
samxemma's new EP 'HOT PEOPLE MAKE HOT MUSIC' is out 21st August.
