Overcoming Trauma with Music
Sammie Le Gallais is a young wahine of many talents; a Clinical Psychology student, one of our very own Youth Development Workers here at Dear Em, and an incredibly talented creative and musician. In late 2023 Sammie released her debut album, MARS IN SCORPIO. - we sat down to talk to her about her new album, and how music has played a role in her life and healing journey.
How long have you been creating music for?
I think I wrote my first song when I was probably 9 or 10. I remember taking my dad’s guitar outside on the trampoline and singing a little tune to myself with the same chords as ‘Smoke on the Water’. It was a terrible song, but since I was 10 I thought it was amazing… All throughout high school I spent lunchtimes writing songs in the music rooms and had access to recording equipment. So I spent a lot of time just wanting to record. Since then it’s been about increasing the quality of the tracks to the best of my abilities. I know I still have a very long way to go though! But it’s all part of the process.
What role has music had in your life?
It’s been huge. Music really was a refuge for me growing up. My mum would set up pots and pans for me to play drums on when I was a toddler, my dad borrowed a spare drumset from a local church which we had in the garage and I would jam out to that. As I got older and started entering into competitions my parents got me a loop pedal which I would use to beatbox (not well but hey, it was just for background music!). It was all very fun but ultimately I struggled a lot as a teenager and when I wrote songs that I felt really captured what I was feeling at the time, it became a release. My parents knew that, and to this day I’m still grateful for their wisdom.
How has listening to and creating music helped you to navigate your own identity?
Similar to my own songs capturing how I was feeling, other songs (arguably a lot more than my own) did the same thing. I think that was probably the same for a lot of us growing up. Music creates a world inside our minds and helps us to simultaneously escape our surroundings while also encouraging us to face the inner turmoil we feel and know is there. It’s the universal language of shared human experiences and when we inevitably face challenges in the exterior world, music becomes a safe place to chill for a while.
What inspired you to create this album?
The album started with just one song - make me yours, which is the second to last track. When I wrote it just over a year ago I was going through a really painful breakup with a girl I absolutely adored. I was reading every single self-help book out there and astrology became a big tool for my self-awareness and eventual growth.
Everyone has a ‘Chiron’ placement in their birth chart which is the sign of the wounded healer - for me it’s in Libra which means aspects of Libra qualities are present in my deepest wounds. The song make me yours for me, is my representation of this placement. As I went on discovering new aspects of my natal chart, one placement that was of particular importance to me was Mars in Scorpio. Mars represents sex, aggression, and how we go about getting what we want in life. Whenever I felt really low, I realised throughout my life that this Scorpio energy came up for me as a quiet revenge and ultimately became the fuel for my comeback. MARS IN SCORPIO. represents that comeback; from the breakup, from situations that don’t serve me, from colonisation as a Māori queer person, and hopefully serves as a tool for other people to find that comeback energy too when they need it.
What kind of themes and vibes can listeners expect to find in this album?
I grew up listening to a lot of funk, and really appreciate synthesizers and electronic instruments. Funk tracks alternate between simple guitar and vocals depending on the astrological placement. So as you go through the album, starting with the sun placement - sun in virgo, which is all about ego, personality and surface level stuff. Then moving through the album we get to since i’ve been loving you (venus in libra), slightly more emotional, representing relationships - in particular the one that inspired this album. And finally you and i, which is ceres in pisces - about having nothing left but still wishing the person who hurt you the best for the future.
Where can people go to listen to your album?
It should be in most places you can listen to music! Spotify, Apple music, etc. Here’s a link to my Spotify artist page - Listen to Sammie Le Gallais on Spotify!
Who have been your biggest influences or inspirations?
Since I grew up with a lot of funk I loved this type of music. I think in particular these days, music made by black women I find so cool. Such incredible rhythm and flow that I would love to recreate in my music too, but regardless I’m constantly in awe of these women. I’d say though that my biggest inspiring artists over the years have been Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer, Daft Punk, TOTO, The Bee Gees, Rihanna, Jessie J, King Princess, Dadi Freyr, Fleetwood Mac, Tupac and Biggie.
What advice would you give to any young creatives wanting to create something meaningful?
Lean into your life experiences. The things we feel and hold onto in our relationships and life moments are always the little things - someone remembering your coffee order, or the way they laugh, light filtering through the trees during a sunset, etc. Art really is all about seeing magic in the little things and turning it into something that, more often than not, are usually relatable human experiences.
What is the best gig/concert you have been to?
Synthony concerts are incredible, but you can never go wrong when the DJ plays Sandstorm - Darude at a New Years Eve festival.
We so appreciate Sammie taking the time to share with us about her music and her journey! At Dear Em, we are proud to platform the achievements and work of incredible young women like Sammie.
