The Sam Willows is a four member Singaporean pop band formed in May 2012. The group consists of siblings Narelle and Benjamin Kheng, together with their friends Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua. The quartet's self-titled freshman EP was released in October 2012, followed by their debut full-length album Take Heart that was released in October 2015.
In May 2017, the band released "Keep Me Jealous", the first official single from their upcoming sophomore album set to release in late 2017.
Video The Sam Willows
History
2011 - 2013: Formation, The Sam Willows
The Sam Willows were formed in December 2011 by founding members: Benjamin Kheng, Jonathan Chua, Narelle Kheng, and Sandra Riley Tang.
Barely a year after they formed, the quartet launched their debut EP The Sam Willows under a distribution deal with Warner Music Singapore, and made their international debut in 2013 at the annual South by Southwest music festival in Texas. The band continued on a North American Tour, Korean Tour, and represented Singapore for the Western Australian Music Festival (WAM) in Perth.
In April 2013, the Singaporean quartet entered the studio with Steve Lillywhite for a week-long production session, organized by Singapore Music Society (SG MUSO). The result was a reworking of their track "Glasshouse" (Lillywhite edition); released as the band's latest single at the time. In August 2013, the band released their "Glasshouse" music video.
2015 - 2016: Take Heart
The band signed to Sony Music Singapore on a 360 deal in January 2015 and embarked on their journey to Stockholm, Sweden to record their debut album, Take Heart, with producer Harry Sommerdahl the following month.
Take Heart was released later in the year in October 2015, with "Take Heart" as their first official single from the album released in May 2015. The music video for the song was later released in July 2015.
In the same year, the band opened for Irish pop-rock band, The Script, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in April 2015. The Sam Willows also recorded three songs - "Flags Up", "Ordinary" and "Champion", for the compilation album, Songs of the Games for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. To celebrate Singapore's independence, The Sam Willows performed at the National Day Parade 2015 in August 2015. They played one of Singapore's National Day celebration songs, "Home", during the celebration.
In May 2016, the quartet supported Little Mix on their The Get Weird Tour in Manila and Singapore. Following that, the band sold out their first headlining concert in Singapore at The Coliseum.
2016 - Present: "Keep Me Jealous" Single and MV, Upcoming sophomore album
In May 2017, The Sam Willows released "Keep Me Jealous", the first official single from their upcoming sophomore album set to release in late 2017, co-produced by the band themselves and producers Fredrik Häggstam and Litens Anton Nilsson.
On 13 July 2017, the band released their next single, "Save Myself".
Maps The Sam Willows
Members
Benjamin Kheng
Benjamin Kheng (Chinese: ??? (Jin Wen-ming) was born on (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990 in Singapore. He is the keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and vocalist. He was a former national youth swimmer, having trained since he was 6. He attended Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Singapore Sports School and has a diploma in Arts and Theatre Management from Republic Polytechnic.
Jonathan Chua
Jonathan Chua (Chinese: ??? (Cai Jian Xin) was born on (1990-02-12) February 12, 1990 in Singapore. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist. He took Sociology as a major in Nanyang Technological University. In 2015, Jon started Zendyll Productions, a recording studio and sound design company in Singapore. Jon is known to be the big brother in the band who gets things done
Narelle Kheng
Narelle Kheng (Chinese: ??? (Jin Song-yi) was born on (1993-09-24) September 24, 1993 in Singapore. She is the bass guitarist and vocalist. She was a former national youth swimmer, having trained since she was 6. She attended Methodist Girls' School, Singapore, Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Singapore Sports School, and took Communication Studies as her major in Nanyang Technological University. She had cameo roles in drama serials Zero Calling and Against The Tide, and starred in a Channel 5 show, Do It Yourself.
Sandra Riley Tang
Sandra Riley Tang (Chinese: ??? (Deng Wei Wei) was born on (1990-12-25) December 25, 1990 in Singapore. She is the keyboardist, percussionist and vocalist. In 2012, she started RileyArt, which showcased and sold her handmade accessories, art and calligraphy. In 2015, she co-founded her yoga studio, The Yoga Collective.
Discography
Albums
- Take Heart (2015)
Extended Plays (EP)
- The Sam Willows (2012)
Singles
- "Save Myself" (2017)
- "Keep Me Jealous" (2017)
- "All Time High" (2016)
- "For Love" (2015)
- "Take Heart" (2015)
References
External links
- Official website
- The Sam Willows at AllMusic
Source of article : Wikipedia
