Trap metal artist Sam Kallan joins us on Close-Up Culture to give us a window into his unique sound and style.
Hi Sam, welcome to Close-Up Culture. When did you start to make your own music and what shaped your sound and style?
I started to write my own music when I was about 13. I had a middle school and high school band in which we wrote original music and even attempted early self production. We played many shows so I developed a stage presence and image that is very edgy and heavy. Same thing can be said about my style of fashion and music as well.
What was your upbringing like in California? How did you discover and stay true to yourself?
There are a lot of cookie cutter people in California but I had no trouble being different. Genuinely, I believe that my love and drive for music kept me always thinking about how to be more original while still being myself. I learned that through expression of music and fashion I can be uniquely myself.
Can you tell us about your creative process and what goes into your work?
Most of my music is written based off of personal, past to current experiences with a dramatic twist. Combined with my personal experiences is fictional stories or TV that I get inspiration from to add dimension to the meaning of the songs.
How do you reflect on the process to make Skyfalling?
At the time that I wrote this song I was in a bad place. This song is about being at your lowest point and feeling like the world is on your shoulders. At the time of writing this I felt this way, but the moral of the song is no matter how hard you mess things up you can always fix what you’ve broke even if that means yourself.
How do you hope to use your voice in the coming years?
Though my current music style is very dark and violent that isn’t the message. The meaning behind this is very simple, we all feel anger and frustration towards the people around us whether they deserved it or not. That being said, I would hope to use my voice to make people aware of the fact that you cannot contain your emotions, but you can control them. The anger in the tone of my voice is meant to convey rage but to show that I can express it in music rather than take it out on others. I hope to inspire people to do the same, to take your negative feelings and emotions out in expression rather than the people around you.
What are your plans and ambitions for 2024?
In this new year I have a few big things planned. The first being my new collective’s first show, which should be happening between March and April. Second, I have a couple collaborations with some big artists that are beginning to be in the works. Lastly, I am dropping a whole plethora of new music this whole year including with my band, Half Dead Trio, and the collective, Graveyard Cartel.
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