12 August 2022 - 0 Comments

Samuel Philip Cooper, a 27-year-old solo contemporary pianist from Wellington, New Zealand, is excited to release his new single, Overcoming, following his two most recent singles, Forever Loved, and Same Mistakes, released earlier in 2022.

Listen to Overcoming here.

Overcoming was first written/improvised in the first few weeks of Samuel’s sobriety, where he faced head on a lifestyle/mindset change and commitment to remain sober.

Overcoming, broadly, is about the acknowledgment of recent past mistakes, and at the same time, being on a journey of self-awareness and self-improvement – the process of overcoming past regrets and making peace with his past mistakes. The composition was inspired by Samuel acknowledging he had to work on himself in various areas of life, particularly with learning to socialise without alcohol.

The composition reflects the beginning process of giving up drinking and sticking to his commitment of becoming sober and being a better person. The low octave pitches at the start reflect the shame that Samuel felt when reflecting on the times he wasn’t proud of when drinking. The high pitches in the right hand (mostly in minor keys) reflect the fear of giving up something that served Samuel for years, and the the fear of judgement from others. Then the end part of the song reflects the realisation of what he was about to embark on would be worth it.

Through the release of Overcoming, Samuel wants to make people aware that it is possible for everybody to make positive changes, and take that step to become a better version of themselves, even if they think it’s too hard. 9 months into his sobriety, he has only scratched the surface and still has a lot of work on himself to do.

Samuel has continued to perform throughout the year following two performances in early to mid 2022. On Friday the 22nd of July, Samuel gave a concert at Malvina Major retirement home as residents had a high tea. He played some of his own compositions off his album Breaking the Silence, along with some golden oldies songs from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

Samuel is currently looking into more places and venues to perform at in Wellington and around New Zealand, and has plans to go busking in summer.

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