With his love of music set alight by listening to Motown records in the car with his mother, corrupted by hard rock records handed down by his father, and finally formed by his own forays into jazz, folk and experimental music of decades past, Nicholson is a cathartic songwriter, an impassioned singer, and a gifted guitarist.
A regular on the UK music scene, Nicholson has enjoyed tours around the UK and Europe both under his own projects and others, including stints in live bands with Jemma Freeman & The Cosmic Something, Frankie Morrow and Jeremy Tuplin.
Nicholson’s forthcoming new album, Birthday Suit, comes after years of searching and longing. It serves as a dysfunctional self-portrait and a love letter in equal parts, dancing from electrifying guitar solos to naked vulnerability, as it brings the listener into the world of someone who has recently been diagnosed with autism.
“The record is a dysfunctional self-portrait of my life at a time when I was falling deeply in love,” says Nicholson of the album. “Having previously gathered that I am not easy to love, I began to write these songs as a way of warning this person about my nature, and a way of being realistic about my ability to love and support another human being at that time.”
Throughout the creation of the album and the beginning of his relationship, Nicholson began to experience severe and frequent panic attacks. In search for answers around the causes, and explanations for quirks to his nature, Nicholson discovered that he is autistic, and now has a medical diagnosis for the condition.
“The more I wrote, the more I found power in my mistakes, and the more I committed to making the record as honest as possible. I loved the idea of writing an album that rejected the odd ritual we adopt of disguising our flaws and malice when we’re trying to find a soulmate, and instead found power in honesty and candour.”
Ahead of the release on June 9th, Nicholson has shared two singles so far – West Coast Feeling and Black Dog Funeral. The former has received generous coverage from the likes of For The Rabbits and Tenement TV, while the latter (out April 5th) has already been picked up by Deb Grant on BBC 6Music covering for Gideon Coe.
Join Samuel Nicholson and his band on the 14th July for a very special night celebrating the hometown launch of ‘Birthday Suit’.
“absolutely brimming with raw excellence” – Tenement TV
“By becoming more openly himself, Samuel Nicholson has never sounded better.” – For The Rabbits
“Absolutely blown away” – Deb Grant, BBC 6 Music
