SAMWOY "Awkward Party" (Hidden Ship)
Add Date: 5/30/2023
Release Date: 6/2/2023
FCC: Track 2
Focus Tracks: 1, 3, 9
Formats: NACC Top 200, Submodern
RIYL: Joy Division, Iggy Pop, Bauhaus
SamWoy is the moniker of Montreal-based songwriter and producer Sam Woywitka. On SamWoy’s debut solo album Awkward Party—due out in early 2023 on Woywitka’s dynamic new Hidden Ship record label—he unveils soundscapes that cross a dizzyingly vast terrain: from warm downtempo electronica to full-throated garage punk, from to dancefloor-ready grooves to warped and nostalgic ambient pieces.
Across Awkward Party’s eclectic tracks, ornate flutes give way to squealing guitars. Lush string arrangements are bisected by gnarled synth arpeggios, and Woywitka’s voice shifts and transforms from track to track, all the way from gentle crooning to a maniacal raving that invites the listener to “go dancing into the sewer.” The main throughline throughout these songs is a restless commitment to sonic experimentation that those familiar with Woywitka’s singular production work will recognize as his signature. No genre distinctions are sacred here, and no sounds are too discordant to be amalgamated. Repurposed and reimagined sounds, often sampled, scrambled, and processed beyond recognition, create an immersive and mind-bending listening experience.
Woywitka has developed a reputation for being an auditory adventurer in the studio. Though his passion for new and surprising sounds has been showcased in acclaimed production work that has spanned many genres and styles, his songwriting is increasingly pushing itself to the forefront. FHANG, his duo project with Montreal bass legend Mishka Stein, released its self-titled debut full-length album in 2021 to widespread praise and radio play. Woywitka’s production highlights include working alongside Grammy-winning producers DJ Khalil and Chin Injeti. He won a Juno award for his work on Half Moon Run’s 2019 album A Blemish in the Great Light.
The tragic locus of Awkward Party’s emotional core was a near-fatal car wreck Woywitka was ensnared in in his youth. Gruesome injury and a grueling healing process lead to the dissociative states evoked by the album’s relentless collaging of voices and moods. The album engages with Greek mythology to give scope to the epic challenges Woywitka’s healing entailed. His invocation of the mythological figure of the Chimera—a frightening fire-breathing creature composed of disparate animal parts—evokes a traumatic fracturing of the self. Elsewhere, Woywitka references Medusa to summon the fear of glimpsing his own disfigured appearance in the wake of the accident.
Through combating the crash’s trauma and weathering the shockwaves through his tiny Vancouver Island hometown, Woywitka developed a sense of urgency in developing and putting forward a vision of recovery, creating beauty out of darkness. Taken as a whole, SamWoy’s command over the disparate elements that are wrangled together here puts into motion a dazzling beast of an album. Awkward Party is a bold statement from an artist with a fully-realized vision, ready to both challenge and reward adventurous listeners.