The Ojai, California-based songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist and Mapache band member, Sam Blasucci, announces sophomore album Real Life Thing out November 1 via Calico Discos/Innovative Leisure.
The occult-dancer lead single "Witching Hour" pulses with feeling through a high energy chorus built around a beautiful and bold middle section of just percussion and vocals.
On Real Life Thing, shades of Leonard Cohen, Prince, and Bjork peak out behind Sam's new songs as well as the writings of Ariana Reines, John O’Donohue, and Edgar Allen Poe.
Having spent the last 10 years tinkering with his songwriting through his extensive catalog with folk/rock group Mapache, as well as his debut solo album Off My Stars, Sam works alongside co-producer Johnny Payne for his follow up sophomore solo album Real Life Thing. Sam and Johnny take a leap from everything they have done in the past into brand new territory for this collection of songs. Sam connects new dots and bends genres with unheard style and instrumentation on songs like "Death," with words adding to the conversation of gender and sexuality. In addition to new pathways, homage is also paid to Sam’s first loves of music through the notable Motown feel of the existential soul tune "Flower," as well as the vintage pop gleam of "No Magic."
These songs are two examples of the recurring lyrical themes of life and death on this record. “Something clicked before I wrote these songs that put me in a place of wonder and confusion and bliss that I had never experienced before.” Some of the lyrics found on this record have been previously released in Sam’s debut book of poetry "Guidelines For Dying," which quickly sold out of its first print.
While remaining quite elusive to genre or category, a few of Blasucci’s deepest influences can still be spotted throughout the musical and lyrical shape of his new album. New literary and musical discoveries seem to be constant for Sam, but shades of Leonard Cohen, Prince, and Bjork peak out behind this batch of songs as well as the writings of Ariana Reines, John O’Donohue, and Edgar Allen Poe. Sam notes that the many influences around him became heavier and more vibrant after falling extremely ill for two years between 2020 and 2022. “Gaining back my ability to be active, to travel, to live - it was all very much a rebirth in so many ways. Things emerged sharper and clearer from that period of my life”. Sam is healthy and moving forward at a seemingly fast pace with this new album and the accompanying conceptual concert film of the same name.
The film - directed by Sam and produced/shot by Bryce Makela - brings these influences and songs into a literal Real Life Thing through their collaborative visions and physical representations of the album. Filmed at the same studio where the album was recorded - Carbonite Sound in Ojai, CA - the film runs like a type of musical play. The album is performed live with stage hands and different set changes to accentuate each mood throughout the record - certainly Sam’s most ambitious project to date.
Sam was born in Los Angeles in November 1994 and currently lives in Ojai, CA. Having had residence in Los Angeles, CA / Coahuila, MX / Orem, UT & New Orleans, LA - it’s safe to assume Sam will be on the move again soon and with more fresh energy to give of himself through his art. Determined to live by creation, Sam is the type of artist that is always creating something, maintaining a sort of inexhaustible hunger to make his music. Expressing himself through sound has now gone beyond joy and into being second nature and Sam’s real first language.
Evelyn Champagne King’s classic “Love Come Down” gets the AOR Indie-Soul treatment courtesy of Mapache's Sam Blasucci. Inspired by the original version & Barry Biggs classic reggae version, this modern day cover is a culmination of genres.
As Blasucci writes: “This is really more of a Duvet than a cover because of how many beautiful versions there are of this song. Written by Kashif and made famous by Evelyn “Champagne” King, ‘LoveComeDown’ was also recorded by many artists whose versions also influenced mine making it a bit of a hodgepodge of genres all together. I wentdownto Kyle Mullarky’s and recorded it all in a day along with a little help from Derek Dosz on backing vocals.”
“Swinging Stars is an intriguing entry in Mapache's catalog. More than any of their previous releases, it highlights the individual characteristics of each songwriter, relying on their natural chemistry to glue things together” - All Music
“Their cosmic, carefree Californian country-folk seeds and sprouts from Sam Blasucci and Clay Finch’s close harmonies and sun-bleached guitar melodies, everything geared towards good vibes” - FADER
Mapache release their dynamic and ambitious fifth album Swinging Stars - an LP of calm, second-nature swagger, cosmic folk filled with distinct styles and the band's most cohesive album yet.
In connection with the new album, the band releases a new video for single, "Sammy Boy," which uses footage from a live performance in San Luis Obisbo during a 2023 tour.
The band are on tour this Fall with new dates added on the West Coast in November (all dates in the flyer below).
"If you've ever wanted to breeze up the coast highway from Los Angeles to Malibu in a convertible as the sun sets out across the glittering Pacific Ocean, Swinging Stars will take you there" - MOJO
"Mapache couldn’t escape who they are at heart: acolytes of the ’60s Haight-Ashbury scene as filtered through the more recent desert psych sound” - Paste
”worn-in and relaxed with a classic air” - Raven Sings the Blues
Mapache release a new video for album single "Encinal Canyon,"a song about singing to yourself on long windy drives through the canyons. It’s about finding a quiet place where you can gain some insight even when you feel like you’re always on the run.
Mapache share a video for single "What A Summer" - "a reflection on the times we are living through, and the sweet but aching trip back to flashes of life, the half waking half dreaming state in the early morning when memories bubble up unprompted in vivid detail - the sidewalks and houses on your walk to school, the inside of your dad's car, your first love."
"What A Summer" comes from the new and upcoming album Swinging Starsarriving August 18, 2023 an LP of calm, second-nature swagger - the natural result of a band that’s existed in one form or another for its founders’ entire adult lives.
