Track of the Day: Sam Hardiman - ‘The Ava Sessions’

Sam Hardiman is a Dublin-based songwriter, producer, composer and sound designer. Having begun his musical life studying classical piano in The Royal Irish Academy of Music, Sam went on to graduate from Music Studies in Trinity College with a first class honours degree in November 2019.

In August 2019, Sam released a collection of original music written for hit theatre production ELECTRIC, written by and starring his sister Ali Hardiman, which enjoyed a 4 month tour of Ireland and the UK, culminating in a 3-week run at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

A Strange Kind Of Intimate is Sam’s first release as a singer- songwriter/producer. The 4-track EP addresses topics such as mental health, musical romance and an Ex-Machina-inspired comment of our society’s reliance on technology.

“For me, writing songs is a way of compartmentalising emotions and ideas that I want to be able to visit and then leave behind,” Sam writes. “Whether it’s anxiety or romance, I really value my thoughts existing outside of myself, so that I can sit down at the piano, indulge in them for a while, and then get up and separate myself from them again.”

There is a heavy emphasis on collaboration in this record; New York based singer-songwriter Alidade sings on 'WYA', with Anna Dalton’s original poetry being read on 'Composing Music' and fellow producer GEF featuring on the final track 'The Ava Sessions'.

'The Ava Sessions' combines classical piano with modern underlying beats and strong vocals that tie the song together.

Listen to 'The Ava Sessions' below.