A new generation has found their poet/muse in the songs and voice of Samuel Markus—a truth teller who articulates the hope buried beneath the despair of the human condition. He has the rare gift of hitting a universal nerve that transcends his age of 22. The studio musicians for the recording sessions of his first EP, No Mission, were shocked to learn that the songs they had been sent to prepare were composed by someone barely out of his teens. Simply put . . . Samuel Markus connects.
It was at the acclaimed Idyllwild Arts Academy in California that Sam began his pursuit of music. Observing the way in which music affected film — the power of the right song with the right image — inspired Sam to begin his path as a musician. This journey took another turn when he and future Geffen Recording Artist Trevor Hall, Sam’s Idyllwild Academy roommate, wrote songs (under the name “The Villagers”) for an album “Ruff Cuts,” some of which grace Trevor’s debut 2008 LP release.
After graduation, Samuel moved to New York and started a band with Eric Jordan called the Rosewood Thieves. Their EP, “From the Decker House,” was released in the summer of 2006 on V2 Records. Then Samuel decided to pursue his calling to perform his own music; he gave voice to some distinctive songs he had written during that summer, which became the acoustic EP “No Mission.”
After moving to Los Angeles Samuel spent a year in the studio recording a new set of poetic and compelling songs that evolved from the original EP’s acoustic atmosphere to the dramatic and multi-layered compositions on this new collection. During this period of intense recording sessions Samuel also started a band named “The Only Ones” who then started performing in the Los Angeles area in notable clubs such as Hotel Café - and in March of 2008 opened for Cat Power at the Wiltern Theatre to a sold out audience.
Samuel’s full-length recording debut is called “New Dawn” – a 13-song set that captures the essential songwriting talents of a true original. Featured are songs like “Another Way” which captures the most basic emotional trials of being human in a way that is so full of spiritual insight. In “The Only One,” Samuel takes on his self-revealing side and describes his search to navigate self-love in these difficult and complex times. And then there are the songs that don’t let you sit still, such as “New Dawn”, “Rosa”, “Jitterbug”, and “East End of the Bay,” which feature deep grooves, dazzling guitars, harmonica, organ, trumpet, and a dash of New Orleans barrel house boogie piano!
Through promoting his record, Samuel met multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, Jennifer Thorington as well as blazing guitarist Casey Mahoney. Casey studied jazz guitar for years before heading on a world tour with "Rent". Jennifer has been playing piano and singing since she was 5 and has always had a passion for expressing herself through song. Within a few months they began writing new material, creating an entirely different soundscape that includes digital beats and evocative loops.
Samuel is also unusual in that he has written and directed his own videos for this album (the songs Rosa, The Offering, Jitterbug, Eternally, and New Dawn) and has a short film that was played at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In this way Samuel is fulfilling a dream of having both music and film as a canvas for his emerging talent. With his most recect project, “Live At the Unknown Theater”, Samuel and Jennifer combined sonic and visual art created at the same time to take the viewer to the place and feeling of when it was being made and what it is being made for.
In a very transparent and intimate manner, Sam communicates what’s in his heart and soul and inhabits these songs in a unique style that encompasses folk, rock, and pop together, marking the debut of an important artist… Samuel Markus.
