Dublin-based singer/songwriter Sammy Copley (pronouns: he/they) has grown up in a self-made spotlight. Inadvertently documenting his growth as a storyteller and a performer through weekly uploads to YouTube, his channel has almost a quarter of a million subscribers, in 2021 he independently released his first full-length body of work, the majestic Growing Pains. Pouring emotion into his soothing folk-inflected ballads, Copley is ready to grow some more as he embarks on a partnership with Tinpot Records to share more of his insightful stories with the world with his forthcoming EP Little Box set for release 16th September 2022.
On the sweeping ballad “You,” Copley reckons with the conflicting emotions of a teenage breakup. How is it possible to care for someone so much, while hating them? Copley’s impassioned singing and ethereal arrangement bring maturity to the song, elevating sadness ahead of anger.
Explain the title of your EP.
Little Box is the name of the EP’s lead single, and is a song about trying to mold yourself to someone’s expectations of you in order to get them to like you. The EP as a whole follows a journey of navigating different relationships and becoming more self-assured, so it felt right to give it a name that implies both being trapped in and later breaking out of that box that’s been set for you. I also just love the idea of a Little Box of songs that people can dip into!
How do you feel your queer identity ties into your music?
I write a lot about navigating relationships, so I think my queerness has a pretty big impact on how I express that. Growing up with an identity that you may be ostracized for gives you a different perspective on the world in some ways, especially when you feel your feelings may be “wrong” or “taboo”. I’ve written more explicitly about it in songs like “Marsha” or “Elizabeth”, but I think pretty much all of my music is inherently queer (which I love).
What’s a recent release you cannot stop listening to?
“Rushmore” by ash tuesday is incredible – her sound reminds me so much of early 2000s stuff like The Goo Dolls or The Fray, and her lyrics never fail to make me go “man, I wish I’d written that”.
Who would you love to collaborate with? Why?
A lot of my musical heroes would be writers I grew up listening to from the 60s/70s, so working with someone like James Taylor, Janis Ian, Paul Simon, Carole King, or Joni Mitchell would be a dream come true. I’m a massive fan of Gregory Alan Isakov and Phoebe Bridgers too; they’ve had a huge impact on my songwriting and are probably half the reason I do it in the first place.
Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off?
Doing headline shows! I’ve got my first ever two coming up – one in the Academy 2 in Dublin on Sept. 17th, and one in the Servant Jazz Quarters in London on Nov. 22nd. I’ve been making music since I was 14 and never in a million years thought I would have headline gigs, so that’s a #1 bucket list item for sure.