Singled Out: Sam Cullen's Forever

Keavin Wiggins | 06-01-2023

Single art

Sam Cullen just released a music video for his brand new single, "Forever". To celebrate, we asked Sam to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

'Forever' came with a lot of 'firsts' for me. My first release of 2023, my first time being in a writing team larger than two, my first time working with producer and friend Ben Malone, and my first time having my incredible live band in a music video. The song was written by Ben Malone, Harry Parsons (aka the artist MACEY), and I in less than an hour and when it happens at this speed, you know you've stumbled across something special. Given this, and the amount of firsts, 'Forever' is an exciting step forward for me.

I hail from one of the smallest towns in New Zealand. It's called Invercargill and is about as far south as you can imagine. I love it at home but being in Auckland has been a really fun transition. It's great to be around so many artists, writers, and producers as well as gigs and opportunities. We recorded 'Forever' at Parachute Studios in the middle of Auckland. This in itself was a goal of mine that I was stoked to tick off and working with Ben was also at the top of my list upon moving up here.

I had been playing around with the main guitar riff the day before the writing session so as soon as I started playing that we all jumped onboard and started pushing the boat out. It felt like a love song right from the get go so it made sense to go down that route. I've also been in a relationship for four years so that probably played a part in what we wrote about too. We had the bones of the song done in such a short amount of time which was a great feeling. This also allowed us to dive deep on arrangement, sounds, and melody which are some of the strongest parts of the song.

The music video might be my favourite I've ever done. I knew I wanted the band to join me in order to match the energy of the song and they absolutely killed it! Up until this point I've always played solo as a one man band (drum pad, synths, guitar, vocals) but the feeling of the music that I'm making at the moment screams fun, excitement, and more personnel. It was such a buzz on set and it was so heart-warming to have a creative team full of my mates. The video was filmed by Eden Catterall and Yssy Smith who captured exactly what I had in mind going in to shooting. Eden completed the edit which is full of energy and includes some epic behind the scenes footage captured by my pals Rebecca Jeromson and Hugo Wallace.

I'm so excited to have this one out. For me, 'Forever' spells a new beginning. This song walks right down the centreline of the kind of music I love. It bleeds nostalgia and rock n roll and lays the foundations for my next releases en route.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about Sam here