The future looks bright for S’pore band The Sam Willows

They may have only emerged on the scene three years ago, but Singapore pop group The Sam Willows have wasted no time chasing their dreams and making most of them come true. When they first appeared in 2012, the quartet — siblings Benjamin and Narelle Kheng, Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua — took the local music scene by storm, and they’ve not looked back.

With their luscious harmonies and special brand of soul-folk, The Sam Willows have since amassed more than 50,000 subscribers thanks to the millions of views on their YouTube page. In 2013, they were voted 987FM’s Rising Star and were the winners of the m:idea Youth Choice Award 2013 in the band category.

The group have also taken their music overseas, performing in the US, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia, with their most recent excursion being to MusExpo in Los Angeles last month.

“I think it’s a combination of support, big dreams and hard work that has helped us,” said percussionist Tang. “We are so blessed and grateful for all that we have achieved so far.”

Added guitarist Chua: “Some of our fondest memories include opening for The Script at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and our travels to Los Angeles, Stockholm, Seoul, Toronto, and so on. But some of the most memorable moments would be our fights as a band. We’ve sacrificed quite a bit to still be together after three years. It’s very heartwarming to see us become closer after all we’ve been through. We’re just looking to make more memories.”

And they have been doing just that. Their latest achievements include contributions to a couple of high-profile compilations such as the SEA Games album Songs Of The Games and the SG50 tribute album Sing, Love.

“(Music producer) Dr Sydney Tan and (singer-songwriter) Don Richmond approached us to contribute a couple of songs for the project and we immediately said yes,” said guitarist Benjamin Kheng on their contribution to the SEA Games album. “Being an ex-national youth athlete (he was a swimmer), I understand how much music helps in the sporting process. I remember my crazy music mixes that would psych me up before a big race — those songs stuck in my mind for a long time. It’s also a tool to unite fellow Singaporeans under a creative banner to cheer for our athletes in the red-and-white.”

For the Sing, Love project, The Sam Willows paired with veteran musician Jimmy Ye to come up with an original song about life in Singapore, titled Come Back To You. “They were really keen and had some very good ideas,” said Ye of the collaboration.

Another recent feather in their collective cap was signing a deal with Sony Music. “It’s definitely a great step forward for us, but I think many folks have an inflated and slightly incorrect impression about what local branches of major labels can do for artistes and vice versa,” said Benjamin. “The Sony team has been incredible to us and we’re working real closely on the development of the band for the next few years.”

“We learnt a lot from it,” added Chua, “like how to properly manage and market the band. It gives us access to overseas contacts, personnel, and artistes we couldn’t have (had) so easily on our own. Having a proper team behind us also gives us more room to focus on the music and creative side of the band.”

The Sam Willows spent some time in Sweden earlier this year to record their album. The first fruit of those efforts, their infectious new single Take Heart, will be released today.

The song is indicative of the new direction that the band is taking. “We’re departing a little from the indie-folk sound we started with,” said Benjamin. “The new album is much more pop-friendly with a little dash of electronic dance music or folk-tronica, but still undeniably ‘Willows’. Sweden was such joy; we got out of our usual headspace and it was much easier to craft songs and let the creative juices flow. The Swedes are much more measured with their pace of life and that really did have a positive impact on the creative process.”

Despite their popularity, their feet remain firmly on the ground, and they’re aware of where they stand in the growing music scene. “(It) is definitely thriving,” said bassist Narelle. “People are breaking ground all the time and producing great work. The best part, though, is how everyone is very supportive of one another.”

That support includes what the group members offer one another. After all, they all have their individual lives and projects outside of the band. Benjamin, for example, frequently stretches his thespian wings in stage productions. Said Narelle: “We’ve all made sacrifices, but since the start we’ve all committed to this 100 per cent and we trust each other to pull our weight. It’s like everything else that you do — you just do it.”

Apart from plans to release the aforementioned album later this year and undertake a regional tour, Tang said The Sam Willows is working on releasing more music videos on YouTube “to reach out to the international audience”. As for their future, the band — well, at least one of the members — has big dreams.

“I guess (I want us) to release our third album (in five years’ time). Hopefully win a Grammy!” quipped Chua. “But definitely, we’ll still be doing music and contributing to put Singapore-made music on the world map.” ADDITIONAL TEXT BY CHRISTOPHER TOH

The Sam Willows’ new single Take Heart is available on iTunes and all digital music stores.