'"Heartland' finds Sam Himself at his most warm and soulful, offering up a soaring sound that brings hints of The Killers and The War on Drugs into the mix一Koechlin’s longtime producer Daniel Schlett even has worked with the latter band before. Marked by golden-hued synths, carefree whistled hooks, and a brilliant climactic guitar solo, the track fits perfectly into the long lineage of songs tailor-made for open roads and stirring romance. The lyrics capture that same sense of starry-eyed drama, with Koechlin singing, 'We shoot, we shake, we rodeo/We Juliet, we Romeo/We’re desperados, highwaymen/You know we’re coming back again.'

Koechlin says of the track: 'Heartland' is a Fondue Western road movie, shot through the lens of someone who only has eyes for one other person, driving a stuffy Prius to the end of the world (or across three states, at least) just to be with them. If that sounds over the top, it is.'"

– Under The Radar Magazine, Jan. 27, 2023:

https://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/premiere_sam_himself_shares_new_video_for_heartland

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Swiss-American Fondue Western™ indie rocker Sam Himself shares second album Never Let Me Go via Sony Music / Taxi Gauche; announces additional tour dates.
The ten-track LP marks the latest collaboration of "Swiss-born, Gotham-bred" (SPIN) indie rocker Sam Koechlin with his longtime producer / "Second Beatle" Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) and mastering engineer Greg Calbi (David Bowie; Bruce Springsteen), and features Chris Egan (Solange; Blood Orange) on drums and Josh "JD" Werner (Ghostface Killah; CocoRosie) on bass.

Never Let Me Go beams with the promise of a reopening world whose studios, stages and dance floors we will finally get to share again — or lose once more at any moment. Of the album, Koechlin says, “Suspended between faith and fear, hope and its opposite, Never Let Me Go is equal parts plea and reckoning in more than name.”

Alongside the album premieres a music video for the track “Heartland” featuring collaged footage from the road emblematic of this joyful, anxious return to togetherness.

– Big Hassle

Picture and edit by Samuel Koechlin
Footage by Stefan Tschumi, Samuel Koechlin, Timeless c/o Matthyas Kurman e.a., Markus Häni, and many many of you all. Thank you.
Starring Samuel Koechlin, Benjamin Noti, Georg Dillier, Philipp Gut, Benjamin Gut, Nils Koechlin, Cedric Vogel
All rights (c)(p) 2023 Sam Himself