Samuel Markus

New Dawn

At the age of 18, Samuel moved to New York and started the band Rosewood Thieves. Their EP, “From the Decker House,” was released in the summer of 2006 on V2 Records. Aside from co-writing Rosewood Thieves’ material, Samuel had a handful of songs that he’d written by himself, which became the acoustic EP “No Mission.”

Feeling rather inspired in his evolved songwriting skin, Samuel picked up and moved to LA. He spent a year in the studio recording a new set of tunes that extended upon the style he’d uncovered on the EP and put together a band to perform the live, which he called “The Only Ones”. While the resulting material certainly embodies the original ideas he conceived on the EP, it’s clear that the studio time and formation of a backing ensemble allowed Samuel to fill in the outlines he delivers on the EP. The resulting full-length, New Dawn, is fully evolved. The album showcases the complexities of writing simply—in short, its hard to write a tight song that tells a ripe story, but at the mere age of 22, Samuel Markus achieves this.

New Dawn presents folk-based tunes with pop-realm accessibility. Within each song are familiar folk stories, delivered with near-dangerous catchiness. These tunes remain in the heads of their listeners, but their intelligent and narrative content makes them welcome additions to cerebral playlists. From a kid just past his teenage years, this is pretty darn impressive.

LA-based musician and filmmaker Samuel will be releasing his full-length album New Dawn via digital distribution on September 30th, with a physical version arriving early next year.

Artist Myspace |Artist Website | Samuel Markus - Rosa.mp3

10/8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café
10/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge
10/29 – New York, NY @ Living Room
11/2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Don Pedro
12/11 – West Hollywood, CA @House of Blues Parish Room

The new album by Samuel Markus, entitled "New Dawn" is featured on iTunes this week! Look for it in the folk section with a few rare bonus tracks available for you as well!

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LINKS
MYSPACE
VIDEO- "New Dawn"

CONTACT

Official Site: http://www.samuelmarkus.com/

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A bare-bones, stripped down EP presents this artist and his acoustic backup players in a compelling way. We were especially taken with the tune "Life Is," a lazy-paced song that conveys the lyrics' fatalistic resolve. Markus' mellow, introspective vocal tones are instantly likeable and will appeal to Jack Johnson and John Mayer fans. This artist performs at Hollywood's singer/ songwriter stronghold The Hotel Café. –Music Connection- Los Angeles "Samuel Markus is completely unique- his words are light and multi-dimensional at the same time…this is what we drank out of John Lennon, Dylan and Leonard Cohen…they were essentially poets, just like Samuel. To get a worthwhile story, a pleasing melody and a seductive singer like Elliot Smith all in one package is the holy grail." –David Silver – Writer, Director, Producer (The Compleat Beatles, Roger Waters, Bob Marley)

"Samuel Markus presents a vocal style on his "No Mission" debut CD that's a mix of accoustic Dave Mathews, a touch of John Mayer and some Bret Dennen, yet uniquely his own sound." –Alan Hutner- Transitions Radio Santa Fe New Mexico

BIO

A new generation has found their poet/muse in the songs and voice of Samuel Markus—a truth teller who articulates the hope buried beneath the despair of the human condition. He has the rare gift of hitting a universal nerve that transcends his age of 22. The studio musicians for the recording sessions of his first EP, No Mission, were shocked to learn that the songs they had been sent to prepare were composed by someone barely out of his teens. Simply put . . . Samuel Markus connects.

A child of the 90s, Samuel grew up absorbing the lyrics and rhythms of Hip Hop, Classic rock, and Folk. But it was at the acclaimed Idyllwild Arts Academy in California that Sam began his pursuit of music. Observing the way in which music affected film — the power of the right song with the right image — inspired Sam to begin his path as a musician. This journey took another turn when he and future Geffen Recording Artist Trevor Hall, Sam's Idyllwild Academy roommate, wrote songs (under the name "The Villagers") for an album "Ruff Cuts," some of which grace Trevor's debut 2008 LP release.
After graduation, Samuel moved to New York and started a band with Eric Jordan called the Rosewood Thieves. Their EP, "From the Decker House," was released in the summer of 2006 on V2 Records. Then Samuel decided to pursue his calling to perform his own music; he gave voice to some distinctive songs he had written during that summer, which became the acoustic EP "No Mission."

After moving to Los Angeles Samuel spent a year in the studio recording a new set of poetic and compelling songs that evolved from the original EP's acoustic atmosphere to the dramatic and multi-layered compositions on this new collection. During this period of intense recording sessions Samuel also started a band named "The Only Ones" and started performing in the Los Angeles area in notable clubs such as Hotel Café - and in March of 2008 opened for Cat Power at the Wiltern Theatre to a sold out audience.

Samuel's forthcoming full-length recording debut is called "The Only Ones" – a 13-song set that captures the essential songwriting talents of a true original. Newly featured are songs like "Another Way" which captures the most basic emotional trials of being human in a way that is so full of spiritual insight. In "The Only One," Samuel takes on his self-revealing side and describes his search to navigate self-love in these difficult and complex times. And then there are the songs that don't let you sit still, such as "Rosa", "Jitterbug", and "East End of the Bay," which feature deep grooves, dazzling guitars, harmonica, organ, trumpet, and a dash of New Orleans barrel house boogie piano!

Samuel is also unusual in that he has written and directed his own videos for this album (the songs Rosa and The Offering) and has directed a film which appeared in the Cannes Film Festival as a short film entry in May 2008. With his most recent project "New Dawn" Samuel combines music and film (which features five new songs with his band The Only Ones) in a way that recalls the unique stamp of the film work of Quenten Tarantino. There is no doubt that Samuel is fulfilling a dream of having both music and film as a canvas for his emerging talent.

In a very transparent and intimate manner, Samuel communicates what's in his heart and soul and inhabits these songs in a unique style that encompasses folk, rock, and pop together, marking the debut of an important artist… Samuel Markus.