After a lifelong journey with guitar, starting at the age of seven with classical and transitioning to electric guitar at 13, Sam Uctas is proud to announce the release of his latest album, Redacted Lines. The album, a fusion of traditional songwriting and experimental soundscapes, was recorded on vintage analogue equipment, creating a deeply textured and organic listening experience.
Redacted Lines, was recorded using vintage tape machines—a 1985 TASCAM 34b and a 1982 TASCAM 244—bringing a raw, characterful sound to the album that is often lost in modern digital production. “I feel like my music style suits the imperfections of tape. Where digital can sometimes sound lifeless, tape brings warmth and texture,” he explained. “I try to avoid VST plugins as much as possible because I can get overwhelmed by too many options. I prefer to run individual tracks through outboard compressors and equalizers to shape the sound in a way that feels more hands-on and personal.”
Read our conversation with Sam Uctas here:
Thank you for sitting down and talking to FLEX, can you tell us a bit about how you got into music?
I guess I was around 14 when I first really became obsessed with music, listening to Jimi Hendrix & Funkadelic for the first time blew my mind, it was like going from monochrome to technicolour. I would practice electric guitar for hours everyday, no longer in the real world, but my own. Walking home from school on freezing winter days I would warm my fingers up as I walked up my road, so I could get in and play guitar immediately. It was all I cared about.
The obsession has only really grown stronger. Music has given me an identity and a feeling of purpose. Everything gets processed through the guitar, it keeps me sane, makes the overwhelming feel manageable. I couldn't imagine life without it, it is as natural as breathing.
Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
As a teenager I listened to a lot of Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, John Frusciante, Parliament/Funkadelic. I then got in to more abstract music like Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, which really inspired my approach to sound design now.
I also listen to a lot of punk and post punk music, which helps keep my songwriting tight. It's like taking Ockham's razor to anything that doesn't add to a song. Keeping them punchy and making sure that every second has some interest. Bands such as Gang of Four, Wire, The Germs, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, The Ramones.
Lyrically, I love the tender rawness of Velvet Underground/ Lou Reed and Tom Waits. I'm also heavily in to Jack Kerouacs recordings, his use of prose alongside music has inspired many of my tracks. I try and write each song such that the lyrics can be read as a poem in their own right.
Congratulations on your brand-new album 'Redacted Lines' —what inspired this particular release?
Thanks! The album kind of happened by accident. I went in to recording with the idea of an EP, and came out with a full album.
I wanted to record a collection of songs that all fit well with each other, and can be listened to as a continuous piece of music. 'Redacted Lines' contains a mixture of traditional songs and more artistic pieces of music with spoken word elements.
The album was mostly recorded on vintage tape machines, which limits you in a lot of ways, but I think those limitations and confinements force you to keep the music direct and honest. You can't hide behind 50 audio tracks!
How do you channel personal experiences into your songwriting, and what do you hope listeners gain from connecting with your music?
Francis Bacon said 'I would like my picture to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory of the past events as a snail leaves its slime.' I try and approach music in the same way, attempting to capture a true representation of human emotion. The joy, the heartache and everything in-between.
My main aim is to make someone feel like they are not alone. In the same way that my musical idols gave me a sense of belonging, I would love to give that to other people.
Each aspect of music—writing, recording, practicing, and playing live—offers something different. Can you share a particularly meaningful moment from each?
Writing music is my favourite part of the whole artistic process. I believe that all musicians channel an energy that has always existed. Starting with a guitar riff or line and working the song out from there, as long as you open your soul, the music will come through you. It's just about being honest.
I approach recording in a similar way that an artist paints. Broad brush strokes fill out the rough shapes and textures of the song, then finer details and points of interest are added. Most of the songs on this album are dark colours with bright streaks of white cutting the canvas. I believe there is really no difference between art and music, just the medium of light waves and sounds waves differ, but fundamentally they are the same.
Practicing guitar is like a form of meditation to me. It allows me to process whatever is going on in my life at the time. When I'm in my room jamming, my mind is completely free, it feels unshackled. Thoughts drift in, and just as easily drift out again. I would go crazy if I couldn't play my guitar!!
One live moment sticks in my mind, I was around 16 or 17. There is a small guitar shop down the lanes in Brighton which had a Marshall amp I wanted to test out. I was sitting in the shop window, just jamming for about 15 minutes. Eventually, I looked up and a small crowd had gathered on the street outside, not many people, maximum 25. They started clapping, this gave me such a feeling of joy and confidence in myself. It was the first time I had any validation from beyond the walls of my bedroom.
Is there a song in your repertoire that holds a particularly deep personal meaning for you? Can you share the story or inspiration behind it?
The track 'In Your Eyes' is a song written to one of my best friends who died some years ago. It was really a way for me to deal with some emotions that I had bottled up, so it is a very special song for me. I guess it's really a love song of sorts, and also a goodbye.
What are your goals for the future with your music?
For me, the process of writing and recording is the main reward, that gives me the most satisfaction, everything else is a glorious bonus.
I plan to continue recording into the new year and release another album in 2025. I hope to connect with as many people as possible, to be able to share a small slice of time together.
What message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from your music?
I'd like to convey a raw feeling of hope. There are some things that transcend words, that only music has the power to explain. A language of colours and emotions and vibrations which hit you right in the centre of your soul. It can fill you with euphoria and reduce you to tears.
To wrap things up, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings, I appreciate it a lot! Here's something to leave you on:
Dream of the poems you haven't written,
Dream of the 4th dimension of the cosmos,
Dream of the colour red,
Dream of the first mark on a blank page,
of the first sunrise of the universe,
of the atoms in your eye,
of the songs you'll never hear but will feel,
of the vibrations in your ear,
ghosts behind your head,
and visions of the soul,
of the government plotting against you,
a passageway through the sky,
the angels,
eternity,
space,
nothing,
everything,
DREAM!
Listen to 'Redacted Lines' here:
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