Samantha Ferrando

Samantha Ferrando is a self-taught singer with an exceptional voice. She lives near Périgueux in the South West of France where she plays in a covers band and works on her own “Manouche” inspired music. Sam and Pascal met by chance at a concert of Sam’s in Bugue in 2008.

Her impetuous need to avoid time-wasting has led her to be known only as "Sam".

This simple short cut has meant she has saved one hour and twenty-eight minutes in a thirty-year life span. "Sam", could be an acronym for "Salle à Manger" (Dining room) or for "Sac à Main" (Handbag), but it is above all quite practical for evoking her musical style which is: Style assez Manouche (Quite Manouche style).

Sam’s songs are portraits that stream past the listener. For example, "Monsieur B" is about a man who gets lost in the middle of the countryside and meets a group of gypsies who change his world view, and even perhaps his life.

Then there is "Mon homme n'est pas masseur" (My man is not a masseur), a piece in which Sam introduces us to a partner for whom everything revolves around cooking, even the well-being accessories bought by his wife...

Or we could mention "Blanche", the portrait of an occasional criminal who has just committed her first murder. Her victim is none other than her neighbour who had a tendency to play the bagpipes too loud which totally justifies a Swiss penknife in the carotid artery. But what to do with the body?...

These slices of life (if we may...) are performed in quite a Manouche style, with authentic instruments such as the double bass, the accordion and the jazz guitar.

This creates a musical perfume from Eastern Europe blended with a few grains of pepper sneezed out from Nashville with excessively French lyrics.

On Pascal Escoyez’s "Nature" album, Sam sings all the backing vocals and duets on "Everything We can". The tone of her voice that goes so well with that of Pascal, gives a number of tracks a texture and a touching dimension tinged with strength and sadness.

Sam has already released an EP (Ma Galerie) and is in the process of putting together an album…