I began my journey into music just less than 10 years ago after I found that it helped me overcome a bad depression. I have been rapping and producing independently for a number of years now. I work on my own instrumentation and vocal recording. People have variously referred to my sound as “alternative”, “lo-fi”, “left field” and “emotional”.
My new single, Broken Mirror, marks my reappearance on the scene as a solo artist, after I spent the past few years pursuing collaborative ventures. These included performing with The Charles Géne Suite ensemble, working in my group Cold Chinese Food, and self-producing some music videos and short films. I’ve been privileged to have done many shows and still have a lot of music to release in the coming months.
Broken Mirror is the latest in a string of singles that I’ve been teasing out as part of my upcoming solo project, Syncope, which I am producing entirely on my own. I would say that being independent has the advantages of full creative control and personal time management, although it does require a lot of discipline, because there is the disadvantage of not having an entire team working for you. You really have to check in with yourself constantly that you are doing enough and that can sometimes be taxing.
The song itself serves as a reminder for us all to try to do good in the world, with the lyrics warning of the dangers of getting caught up in oppressive systems. At the same time, I instilled a message of karma in the chorus (the idea that what goes around comes around is repeated by the vocals over the clatter of instruments). That’s also where the title of the track came from.
I think that a broken mirror bringing a person bad luck is a metaphor for the consequences that our behaviours and decisions can have down the line. With this song, I wish to send the message that each of us should try as much as we can to live better and treat each other better in our day-to-day lives. To me, the message has to be just as important as the sound itself. I believe that the creative arts in general are an important platform for precisely that: to send messages and try to reach people on a deep level in a way that uplifts them.
The music on this song is a blend of traditional sounds, using folk instruments and contemporary beats that lean to the left of a hip-hop centre. I think that this particular sound is more palatable and relatable than my previous work, so I’m excited to see how people respond to it. Also, I’m not usually known to do the choruses on my songs myself, so this is quite new for me and hopefully will be intriguing for people to hear. I’m hoping to release the full-length project later this year, while continuing to collaborate with the various other projects that I’m involved in — we’ve all got some very cool things on the way.
Broken Mirror by Sam Turpin is out now on all streaming platforms.