A proud Welshman, Samuel was born and raised in Cardiff. Though music has always played an important role in his life, it was not until he was a young adult that he decided how major that role would be. After attending the University of East London in 2017 to study Music, Samuel discovered that, along with his passion for music, he had skills in writing and there is where his pursuit of journalism began.
Though his ambitions first came about due to his writing skills, Samuel's first experiences of journalism was through video as he set up his podcast, "Popcast". The purpose of the podcast is to shine a light upon new, up and coming music acts. Discussing stories such as artist backgrounds, song writing techniques, live performance and much more, the podcast gives the viewer a chance to not only discover new music, but discover more about the actual creator of it, themselves.
In his pursuit to discover new music, Samuel also writes a blog which includes writings on songs, albums and live performance. Notably, Samuel has begun writing his signature blog topic, "The Record Shop Tour". As a hobby, Samuel regularly collects vinyl and enjoys the experience of visiting record shops, searching for new music. His blog, "The Record Shop Tour", highlights the joys and unique services that record shops can offer while also introducing people to new music.
As a young man, Samuel spent his summers in Southern Ireland and it is here that his love for music really developed. Playing in the bars and pubs of the local villages, he began to develop his skills in singing, guitar and performance. Samuel's influences as a musician are artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Paul Simon.
Through his university course, he developed his image as "Samuel John", writing and releasing songs such as "18 Whiskies", and met the fellow musicians for his musical duo, "Keogh Road" and band, "Pursued by a Bear".
In the coming year, Samuel intends to continue both his blog writings and podcast, homing his craft as a music journalist, and also intends to release his first EP as "Samuel John".
