We had the good fortune of connecting with Samantha Powell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samantha, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
‘Never put a wishbone where you’re backbone should be’ I love this quote because it gets right to the heart of the matter in one swoop. Yes, I believe in positive affirmations, but I think you have to combine those with practical action, which initially can feel daunting. A good of mine told me that luck is where preparation meets opportunity, and so if you can muster up the courage in yourself to move through the fear, and fuse some gumption with belief, you’re going to go a long way. Be brave, go get it!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I’ve been in music all my life, and have been very fortunate to make a living from it, in it’s ever changing forms. I believe I got to where I am today, from a consistent desire to be autonomous. I never wanted to have to depend on anyone to get a record or song finished. So crafting my abilities and skills as a music producer as well as a songwriter, enabled me to work and earn money, and opened a variety of doors for me. This eventually led to becoming a composer for tv, commercials / promos and film which is the majority of my work today. Having that technical skill of producing, engineering, mixing, recording and composing music has saved me, first when streaming services significantly diminished songwriter’s royalty income and then again when the pandemic hit. Composers are used to being in a room alone working (usually from home!) To be able to program and record music and send those files to production teams whilst we were all isolating, was a life saver.

It hasn’t been easy being a woman, in the male dominated world of music production, (2% of music producers and 3% of film composers are female) especially in the record industry, but things are definitely changing.

Two lessons I’ve learned. The first, is to be open to even the smallest job. All those small checks add up, and all of those small jobs are attached to people that can connect you to more work. Secondly, whenever you feel as though you have a creative block, or you just don’t feel motivated, just stop for a bit and solely create for the reason that YOU think it’s beautiful. That’s it. Stop chasing the tails of A&R people, the Top 100, or what you think is going to get you the most views or what’s currently popular. That never works. Create what you believe is wonderful. That energy always goes further and helps you to get back on track.

I’m most proud of some of the records I’ve produced that weren’t huge commercial successes honestly. The ‘I Am’ album by Terri Walker’; the political activism song ‘World Could Be Yours’ by F1, that came out during 2020. Ricki-Lee Coulter and I wrote a song for her album ‘Fear and Freedom’, called ‘Burn It Down’ and a fan wrote to her to tell her that our song stopped her from committing suicide. You can’t beat something like that, it makes it ALL worth it.

In terms of new work, I’m super excited about all the work I do for Netflix. It’s a very diverse amount of work, but one of the projects I’ve been working is creating songs and remixes for a children’s show called ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’. It’s so cute, I’ve really had such a good time creating for them. I also have a single out in the coign months called, ‘Paper Hearts’. It was written during the pandemic, whilst I was also in recovery from thyroid cancer. It’s about how vulnerable we all are and how none of us really know what we are doing.

I feel that even though I’ve accomplished a lot, I still have SO much I want to do, so much more to learn, and I welcome any opportunity to connect with more film makers. I love creating a unique and recognizable audio identity to projects, whether that’s film and tv score, or music for podcasts, or musical branding for commercial campaigns, audio logos. Music is such an integral part of media, but also of all of our lives and I’m grateful to have the chance to contribute to that in any way I can.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I definitely recommend a day or two in and around Malibu: Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades
Carbon Beach in Malibu, with brunch on Malibu Pier at Malibu Farm
Cross Creek Country Mart, Malibu – go to Broad Street Oyster Co. and get a lobster Roll!
Point Magu Beach

Santa Monica bike path, stop at Shutters on the Beach for lunch

Hiking in Griffith Park up to the Observatory and then to Little Doms in Los Feliz for Lunch

Shopping at Century City Mall followed by food and supplies at Eataly.

LA has some of the best restaurants and bars and there’s a LOT of them. But I really like Bacari, Republique, Eveleigh, Ka’teen, Rossoblu, Pace, and an old favorite – Jones Hollywood. If you love Sushi – head to Studio City, Ventura Blvd has so many amazing options.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle, is a game changer. It flips everything you think about yourself inside out and ultimately helps you get out of your own way. There are SO many people that have shown me love and encouragement on this journey. How many shout outs can I give?
Let’s start with 2 women who are entrepneurs and beautiful human beings:
Louisa Barnett – Founder of LA based family run business ‘Bounce’. One of the most hardworking and tenacious people I know, with the biggest heart, a true and loyal friend.
Andrea Remanda – A Golden Globe winning songwriter who is also such an oracle of all things good, a wise and warm soul, who has talked me off the ledge many times!

Website: www.sjaeofficial.com

Instagram: @sjaeofficial

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-powell-33993912

Twitter: @sjaeofficial

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sjaeofficial/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvdzR3VsIWmSsJQvo3hA-WQ

Other: For Composer Reels, check out: https://vimeo.com/sjae

Image Credits
Photo 1 Credit: Mark Lutzker Photo 2 Credit: Jen Starr Photo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.