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VIDEO PREMIERE FOR ‘BONES’ VIA HAPPY SITE

30 Apr 2018

Read about and watch the new clip for ‘Bones’, via the Happy website.

“Sydney is a beautiful place…that you can spend a day getting lost in. The history and the culture has an ability to make you feel comfortably at ease yet its enormity instills a sense of isolation too. It’s these qualities of this fair city that the supremely talented Sam Shinazzi uses in his video for Bones.”

Read the whole story and watch the video for Bones here.

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REVIEW – 4/5 THE BRAG

15 Apr 2018

Sydney street press and website The Brag have given Sam’s new album Forever & For Now a glowing 4/5 star review.

“I feel it in my bones, the fear of being alone,” sings Sam Shinazzi on ‘Bones’. It’s a moment of startling rawness, but typical of the intimacy and directness of this record, which benefits hugely from its heart-on-sleeve candour. On ‘Go’ he’s weighed down with regret as a relationship flounders, while ‘Grieving’ is matter-of-fact statement of loss.

Yet it’s not too long before light starts seeping in. Forever & For Now may be a confessional record, but it’s far from a mopey one. By the time it reaches the Lemonheads-like ‘Everything’s Alright’ and album highlight ‘The Day We Met’, it’s positively rousing.

A veteran of the inner city scene with a cultish following, Shinazzi’s music has evolved from initial lo-fi efforts that recalled the thrilling scrappiness of early Sebadoh to the more lush, polished sound heard on ‘Ballerina’, where the guitars jangle and surge with optimism.

The influences lean to the less bombastic end of classic rock; think Bruce Springsteen in bedroom pop mode И la ‘Candy’s Room’ or The Replacements when they sobered up and bought some Gram Parsons records. It’s gorgeously reflective stuff.

Forever & For Now is a gem of rough-around-the-edges romanticism, a warm reflection on life’s disappointments and consolations.

Forever & For Now is out independently here.

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HAPPY SITE REVIEW

15 Apr 2018

Sydney music site Happy features the new album with amazingly kind words.

Sam Shinazzi shines as a storyteller on Forever & For Now

Somewhere in Sydney, hidden deep beneath aspiring rappers spitting rhymes about their ex’s and every local DJ’s latest chill house mix, Sam Shinazzi picks up his acoustic guitar. Now I’m not saying these fine musicians aren’t creating something special for the future of our music industry, but I’d just like to take a moment to appreciate what feels like the underrated sound of the moment; classic Australian alt-rock.

Sam Shinazzi proves his worth as a deeply moving and inspirational storyteller on his latest release Forever & For Now, weaving great personal narratives.

Like a long lost uncle, this twangy guitar ridden sound is probably one you’ve grown up with and whether you like it or not, it’s familiar. But somehow with the rise of killer beats and fierce raps (sometimes all of the above. I’m looking at you insanely lovable Tkay Maidza), there’s a little less of that iconic sound. So upon hearing Sydney singer songwriter Sam Shinazzi for the first time, it was like a breath of fresh air. The familiar twangy guitars, the raw and genuine emotion, it all came flooding back. Shinazzi masters alternative rock in all its authenticity, having heart and soul at the core of each song.

His latest album Forever & For Now is his fifth in an already impressive discography, and this only adds to his reputation as one of Sydney’s most honest songwriters. The ten song release takes a minimalistic approach compared to past releases which lean more towards a folksy sound. Either way, Shinazzi’s signature throughout the years has been his storytelling. With his heart on his sleeve, this is one singer who comfortably waves a string of narratives throughout his music. Listening to Forever & For Now feels like an intimate experience, providing insight into his life, and I can only imagine seeing Sam Shinazzi live would feel the same.

Bones is filled with warm echoing guitar reverb and soaring vocals.  The singer is effortless in his storytelling, never seeming cheesy or desperate as he croons “I feel it in my bones, the fear of being alone, can you feel it in your bones?” It is by no means the most ground breaking sound, but the soul this singer injects into every release is not an easy feat.

Sam Shinazzi has crafted a distinct sound for himself throughout the past 15 years and has created a body of work that can easily appeal to a range of people. So hats off to you Mr Shinazzi for persevering all these years to produce beautiful music.

Sam Shinazzi’s new album Forever & For Now is out now, available through Laughing Outlaw Records.

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Forever & For Now – out now!

13 Feb 2015

Sam’s fifth full-length album Forever & For Now was released in the first week of February, 2015!

Both physical and digital copies are available from the links below:

Laughing Outlaw

iTunes

CD Baby

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Rip It Up Interview – Adelaide 2011 by Robert Dunstan

31 Aug 2011

Sam Shinazzi was last in Adelaide way back in 2005 to play with US act Crooked Fingers, the collective which boasts Archers Of Loaf’s Eric Bachmann as its leader.

Shinazzi is now heading back (with The Devoted Few’s Barry Adamson on guitar) to promote the release of his latest album, When the Lights Come Up, and is set to play a couple of gigs including Saturday evening’s Spozfest.

“It’s all been organised by the guys from Quiet In the Lab (Adelaide band) and it’s just my second time in Adelaide” he says. “And I’m excited to be playing both shows with (Brisbane’s) We All Want To because I’ve always been a fan of whatever (Screamfeeder’s) Tim Steward does. I’ve loved his work for a long time”.

Since When the Lights Come Up’s April release, Shinazzi has been constantly gigging. “I do a lot of shows with Barry and it’s as rockin’ as two people can be” he announces. “It’s not overly mellow and we stil play the fast ones fast and the slow ones slow”.

Shinazzi has previously toured overseas – he penned eight songs while in New York in 2005 – and its now likely he’ll head back over to the US at some stage. “I got a really interesting email only this morning, from someone in New York asking if I was interested in coming over later in the year. I’ve just got to work out how to do that. I love going to America. And while I’ve had previous releases in Europe and the UK, for some reason I have never toured there”.

Shinazzi, who will take part in a Neil Young tribute night in Sydney the night prior to heading to Adelaide, says he hasn’t yet thought about his next album. “I guess you’re always thinking about it in some way but at this stage there’s nothing really concrete. I want to give this new album as much of a life as I can at the moment, make some more videos for it too if possible. So with the way I tend to work, I’ll probably start on a new album early next year. Who knows?”

Who: Sam Shinazzi
What: When the Lights Come Up (Laughing Outlaw)
Where & When: Hotel Metro Fri Aug 26 and Producer’s Bar Sat Aug 27

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