With spring around the corner, the Gigstarter team decided to have a warm chat with one of the coziest and inspiring musicians on the platform - Samuel Andryk. This bright and positive artist has traveled around the world and lived in 5 countries in order to find himself through love, loss and adventure. Samuel's style can be defined with pastel colours, candlelight evenings and intimate performances. We strongly believe he is a rising star with a very bright future, let's dive in the world and story of Samuel Andryk.
One sentence to describe yourself
Describing yourself in one sentence is the hardest thing, to be honest. I would say a creative at heart with a knack for business and branding, forever enjoying the hustle of exploring new things.
Teenage Years
Music was a part of my life from an early age, so I knew I would always be doing it whether it was in a professional setting or more of a hobby. When I was 8, I started playing the violin, and from that time until 18 I was in our school's orchestra, where I even composed a few pieces. Besides the violin, my parents got me a guitar for Christmas when I was 11 and over the years it has progressed into what it is now. It wasn’t until a few years ago in Amsterdam, when I decided to truly pursue it professionally and seriously. At first, it was quite scary, but I just went for it.
The perfect description of Samuel put into a picture
Family and music
The reason I got into the singing was because of my grandma and my mom. They both sang in choir during their high school years. I don’t know where my grandma learned it, but she can harmonize quite well. During my childhood I remember sitting at the kitchen table with her and she taught me how to sing a few verses with melodies that overlapped one another. After that moment it became an obsession. I couldn’t stop singing (I still can’t). Around that same time, my younger cousin started taking singing lessons. She was a natural. Her voice matured at a very young age, so me and her would sing together quite often and harmonize with the guitar. I remember I was always slightly jealous because she was a way better singer than me at the time. My voice was constantly cracking and straining, gotta love puberty. That became my motivation to get better at it though, and it’s been very rewarding to see how I’ve grown into the musician I am today.
Moving to the Netherlands
The Netherlands was never on my radar, to be honest. But after moving to Amsterdam I was pleasantly surprised at how great it is to live here. I was born and raised in the US; I went to university there as well. Fun fact about me - I am obsessed with languages, especially Spanish. I always told myself that I wanted to do half of my studies abroad, so halfway through university I enrolled in a study abroad program in Argentina. I lived there for a year with a host family. During my last month of living there, I met my first partner. For a while we were doing on and off long distance from the US to Argentina, but then he decided to backpack through Europe and eventually move to Amsterdam. Shortly after I followed. Although we broke up I decided to stay because I fell in love with the city, and I met so many amazing people. Side note, I’ve been in Amsterdam for 6 years now and I actually just applied for Dutch citizenship this past year. I love it here, but sometimes I feel that Amsterdam is a bit small, so I’m open to see where my music and career take me someday.
Creation of established brand as a musician
I don’t just consider myself a musician, as I also work in business and branding, and I love it. I’ve also began to coach other fellow creatives on their own personal brand. At one point I remember thinking, hey there are so many other singer-songwriters and artists out there, so how can I implement what I know about business and make my sound and brand as an artist more niche. I love treating music like a business. It wasn’t until recently when I realised that my superpower is the smooth, soft, and emotional aspect of my voice and storytelling when I perform, and that it best fits with intimate settings, like candlelight dinners and other cozy places. When it comes to the visual aspect of my brand as an artist, I had a dear friend help me who works for a PR agency. She is amazing at using visuals to create an aesthetic. She suggested some color ideas for my website and Instagram account and how that could help set the mood. We decided to go with that warm, cozy, innocent vibe that feels homey. It’s suiting me in real life also as I like to think of myself as a positive warm person.
EP “Oxytocin” and lockdown
Besides music, I’ve realized how important it is to have other income streams over these past few years. During COVID-19, people had to get creative and adapt to the circumstances at hand. Not only in terms of financials, but also because I genuinely think it is nice to use the brain in other ways that are not necessarily related to my music. During the lockdown, I was fortunate enough to travel with my producer to Gran Canaria where we recorded my most recent EP ‘Oxytocin’ using sounds from the kitchen (like pots and pans etc.) Since we were all stuck at home, we wanted to channel the collective experience of everyone at the time and show people what could be done in a home-setting.
EP 'Oxytocin' - Intro Video
Mental health and spirituality
I consider myself both a positive and mindful person. Of course that doesn’t mean that I wake up every morning and force myself to be happy, because there is also such a thing as toxic positivity. But just being mindful and aware of where painful emotions are coming from is important. This is what I love about songwriting and performing. Every time I have a show, I always try to weave the lessons I’ve learned into each song and hope that they will resonate with the audience and inspire them. I am not trying to position myself as a guru, but I love being able to associate the music I write with elements of mindfulness and be a guiding light for others during my performances. In a way, music has become a tool for me to raise awareness about certain things that happen in life that we can all relate to. In my latest EP, however, I didn’t go as deep lyrically as I wanted. So, the next project I'm working on will be different in that sense.
Best Gig with Gigstarter
Not going to lie, it was intimidating to get on Gigstarter at first, because there were so many other artists with infinite reviews. One thing that helped was this great feature of the PRO membership where you can send requests to former venues where you had a show and they can leave a review for you. One of the best gigs I got through the Gigstarter platform was a recent one for Valentine’s Day. A restaurant in Amsterdam got inspired by my candlelight video and wanted to do something similar during a 5-course French inspired dinner with romantic music. Each time they brought out a new course, I played a romantic song. It was awesome.
How do you naviagte on our Dutch version of the platform?
Generally speaking, my Dutch is okay because I have lived here for more than 6 years and passed all the tests for citizenship. Everyone has been very open so far, so it has been quite easy for me. It was a bit discouraging at first, but it will never be a reason that I stop.
We at Gigstarter would like to thank Samuel for opening up about his musical journey and sharing insights of being a singer-songwriter. We are happy to know that our platform is home to such wonderful creators as Samuel Andryk. Make sure to take a look at Samuel's profile by clicking here.
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