Jakob Samuel best known as vocalist with The Poodles expands on his singing career and what the future holds with regard to new music and live gigs.
Who were your influences in the early days and have you always wanted to be a singer?
Well I grew up in a family of musicians, my mother was a classical conductor, my two elder brothers are a singer and a drummer. Since then I’ve been a drummer and now a singer, so they must have definitely been my eternal idols and biggest influences. I’m raised with everything from Beethoven, Mozart, Coltrane and Sinatra via Supertramp, Billy Joel to Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Guns ‘n’ Roses and Iron Maiden. Important singers and performers for me have been people like Robert Plant, David Coverdale, Axl Rose, David Lee Roth, Frank Sinatra and Peter Gabriel.
Have you ever auditioned for the vocal spot in any notable bands?
Yes actually I sent my demos to both Iron Maiden and Skid Row back in the nineties 😉. I never got a call back though until Bruce Dickenson joined Iron Maiden again and he tried to sign my band Jekyll & Hyde to Sanctuary Music in 1998. I was also asked to demo some stuff for Gotthard after Steve Lee so sadly passed, and I did, but it was as far as timing a bad momentum for us.
You have appeared on a number of albums. Do you have a favourite and why?
I’m generally deeply in love with much of my recorded music, and like you say, there’s a quite a lot out there. They are time capsules of specific moments in my life and I’ve always done things on a very ambitious and serious note so there’s very few I’ve released without really working it through and giving it my best. Therefore most of it clings dear to me.
The Poodles albums like “Performocracy” and “Devil In The Details” and my two solo albums are craftsman favourites but also the debut “Metal Will Stand Tall” since it changed my life forever.
Do you still get the same buzz out of singing live as you did in the past?
Yes definitely, it’s a part of my system and still one of my favourite thing to do!
Some vocalists are on strict dietary regimes or gargle with special liquids. How have you kept your voice in tip top shape all these years?
Good whisky and bad women! [laughs] 😊.
Not really. I’ve been vegetarian since I was sixteen and lead a healthy and physically active life in general. The vocal chords are muscles so you need to exercise them, and like all training, you need decent technique.
Are there any musicians that you have not worked with, but would like to in the future?
I’ve had the privilege to work with so many great people so far but oh yes, so many talented musicians all around.
It’s mainly a couple of producers and songwriters I have in mind, but the way I function is, if I think of somebody that I would like to work with then I contact them and see if it’s possible to make it happen, and surprisingly often it is. Most people are just a mail or inbox away.
Is there any unreleased recorded material from your days in The Poodles or Kryptonite you’ve been involved with that could be released?
There is unreleased material that I wrote for The Poodles and also some that I had in mind for a potential new Kryptonite album but it goes to the big basket of possible tracks for future releases.
Is there a possibility of new music from The Poodles or Kryptonite, an album I really enjoyed?
Well there has been talk about both. If we find the right circumstances for a Kryptonite album then it’s quite possible it will happen. We released a previous unreleased song for the European market “Never Enough” from The Poodles this past Spring, but no new tracks have been written and there are no plans to put the band back together again.
Your daughter representing Sweden at Eurovision last year must have been a proud father moment?
Yes of course, she’s my shining star. I’m so happy she now has a good platform to work from and that the world finally got the eyes and ears on her amazing talent.
Do you have any plans to release another solo album?
Oh yes, it’s in the making and the single “Deep Down” is the first cut from it. I constantly write music, that’s my oxygen so there will be more releases soon.
With the live circuit opening up again, is there a possibility that we could see you performing some live shows in the UK?
I would love to but there is nothing planned at the moment. The Autumn is pretty full but in the Spring I hope for an opening and the possibility to make it happen.
Have you ever thought of doing some production work for other bands?
Yes, many times, but the few questions I’ve had have been at times when it wasn’t possible in terms of time. I would really like to though.
Do you have anything in the pipeline at the moment that you would like to share?
I’m writing some new exciting music with my old companion Joel Starander from the Totem days and this is going to be fantastic new stuff in the pipeline for next year.
Love peace and understanding!
