Today we’d like to introduce you to Samer Bakri.
Samer, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Growing up, I always sang at home, but was too afraid to perform or show anyone. I became a lot more comfortable performing when I picked up the guitar at age sixteen. I started writing songs a couple of years later. When I turned 18, I moved to the SoCal area and realized the idea of making a music career resonated with me. Since moving to California, I realized that I enjoyed writing songs and producing songs too. I started live mixing at a venue in San Diego called Lestat’s West. The help of the manager/sound engineer, Louis Braizer, I have found a new love for live and studio engineering.
We’d love to hear more about your music. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I have two main paths that I am striving for in the music industry. I am an independent artist and sound engineer, both live and studio engineer. The type of music I make is mainly indie pop and singer-songwriter. I write about a lot of personal experiences, and I use songwriting as a coping mechanism for sure. I like to use my engineering as a way for me to connect with people and the message that they are spreading through their art. I have realized that as an engineer, my job is not only the having the technical ability to use the equipment, but also being able to use my understanding of the artists to portray their art in the way they intend. My inspirations are anything and everything that I experience in my life. Some musicians that inspire me are Prince, The 1975, D’Angelo, Spencer Dugan (Burgundy Arcade), Kahlil Nash, and many more. One thing I hope people take away from my art is finding comfort in knowing that we’re not alone in our life struggles. It is hard for me to realize this at times, but knowing that people can relate is very beautiful to me.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
My advice to other artists would be to create every day. You may come out with some bad ideas, but a lot of good ideas are going to come out of that. One lesson I wished I learned earlier would be to worry less about perfection and worry more about getting idea out while they’re fresh. Most times, when I work on an idea for too long, I start to hate it even though it’s not bad. I lose the feeling of it. This advice was given to me by Eddy Allen of Fashion Jackson, and it has been some of the best advice I’ve ever received.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find my work on all the social media and streaming services under my name Samer Bakri. My engineering projects can be found under @SoundbySamer and on Spotify, there is a playlist of all the music I have been apart of creating. I work a lot around San Diego venues for local and touring bands. I have been recently working with Fashion Jackson as their FOH engineer, so most shows of their shows you can catch me at. People can support by listening and coming out to shows, also supporting local music in general because it is an important part of my message as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/48vcclNZCmtknBIAXb4Nls?si=oYmr8m65QSWlJ1lbCkmPzQ
- Phone: 9524869216
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Samerbakri , @SoundbySamer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamerBakrimusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/samerbakrimusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ekL2isDsFnvVdF1Zcu2xa?si=HZJp-YduSQ-XcY_8qHj6xw
Image Credit:
Andrew Barrack, Devon Ball, Mel Martin, Athena Burton
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