Sam Roberts
Canada's Sam Roberts is known for his hooky brand of rock that draws upon the classic singer/songwriter work of artists like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon with the dance-oriented Brit-pop style of bands like Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, and Stone Roses. Roberts rose to acclaim with his 2003 debut, We Were Born in a Flame, which featured the hit single "Brother Down" and won three Juno Awards, including Album of the Year. He has remained a chart and awards-season favorite in Canada, scoring five Top Ten albums, including 2008's Juno Award-winning Love at the End of the World, 2011's Collider, and 2016's Terraform.
Born in Quebec in 1974, Roberts grew up in a family who had emigrated from South Africa. As a child, he played violin and eventually switched to guitar. Although music was a passion, he also focused on school, earning his B.A. in English from Montreal's McGill University in 1998. Along the way, he formed the band Northstar, even spending time living and recording in Los Angeles before the group broke up.
Following the dissolution of Northstar, Roberts returned to Canada, where in 2002 he released the EP The Inhuman Condition. Produced with percussionist Jordon Zadorozny, the set included the song "Brother Down," a slinky, groove-oriented anthem with folk and Brit-pop underpinnings that caught the attention of label execs, who signed him to MapleMusic Recordings. Both "Brother Down" and the track "Don't Walk Away Eileen" garnered significant radio play in Canada and helped pave the way for Roberts' full-length debut, 2003's We Were Born in a Flame, on Universal Music Canada. A breakthrough, the release hit number two on the Canadian album chart and took home three Juno Awards, including Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Artist of the Year.
Roberts returned in 2006 with his sophomore album, Chemical City, whose title was purportedly a reference to a commonly used nickname for an area in Sarnia, Ontario, known as "Chemical Valley." Produced by Joseph Donovan, the classic rock-influenced record reached number three on the album chart, buoyed by the Canadian radio hit "The Gate." Along with a nomination for Album of the Year, the record's single "Bridge to Nowhere" won the Juno Award for Video of the Year. The singer's third album, Love at the End of the World, arrived in May 2008 and debuted at number one on the Canadian album chart -- the first in his career. It also earned him two more Juno Awards, including Artist of the Year and Rock Album of the Year.
With 2011's Brian Deck-produced Collider, Roberts adopted the Sam Roberts Band moniker. Along with the single "I Feel You," the album featured guest appearances by Land of Talk's Elizabeth Powell, Califone percussionist Ben Massarella, and Antibalas woodwind specialist Stuart Bogie. It reached number three in Canada and picked up a Juno nomination for Album of the Year. In 2014, Sam Roberts Band returned with the '80s dance rock-influenced Lo-Fantasy, which also landed at number three and again was nominated for Album of the Year at the Juno Awards.
In 2016, Roberts delivered his sixth studio album, Terraform. Produced with Holy Fuck's Graham Walsh at the Tragically Hip's Bathouse Recording Studios in Kingston, Ontario, it featured the single "If You Want It" and peaked at number eight on the album chart. He then took a break from his solo work, collaborating with Sloan's Chris Murphy, Hollerado's Menno Versteeg, and Tokyo Police Club's Dave Monks in the supergroup Anyway Gang on their 2019 eponymous album. In October 2020, he returned to his work with Sam Roberts Band, releasing All of Us.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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