My focus in both composition and sound design is to create a world for the listener to enter.
I love to explore new recording and editing techniques to create as unique a palette of sounds as I can.
With a Master's degree in music technology, I have experience in music production, studio engineering, composition, bespoke audiovisual software development, mixing and mastering.
WORK
Come In During Stand Up Awareness Week 2021
An ad by Motherland for BeLonG To Youth Services, a charity helping young LGBTQ+ people.
- Soundtrack
Vespers
My latest release - a textural, organic melodic techno track.
- Composition
- Production
- Mixing
The Visitor
A song by David Montgomery which I recorded, mixed, and mastered.
- Studio Engineering
- Production
- Mixing
- Mastering
Floating
Music video directed by Josh Meany.
- Composition
- Production
- Mixing
Ex Machina
My Master’s thesis, using audio-generated visuals as inspiration for new compositions.
- Editing
- Software Development
- Composition
Owls
A modern classical piece fusing piano, electronics and foley. Selected for Spotify Editorial playlists.
- Composition
- Production
- Mixing
Information Flow
An electroacoustic composition using recordings of static and electronic hums as source sounds.
- Composition
- Production
- Mixing
- Mastering
Education
-
M.A. in Creative Music Technologies
Maynooth University
Grade: 1:1
-
B. Sc. in Multimedia
Dublin City University
Grade: 2:1
-
Grade 8 Piano
Royal Irish Academy of Music
Grade: Distinction
What I Do (but not limited to)
- Composition
- Mixing
- Sound Design
- Audio Editing
- Soundtrack
- Production
- Sound Recording
Software Knowledge (always expanding)
- Ableton
- Pro Tools
- Audacity
- Kontakt
- Reaktor
- Max 8
Reviews
Kildare native Samuel Powell slowly builds tension on his recent single "Vespers" through unflinching rhythms, glacial ambiences, stunted keys, and field recordings. A sonic tapestry, this danceable and sittable seven-minute journey culminates in a spiritual experience worthy of its title. Though there is a wealth of technological tones on offer, the mood is decidedly provincial, more akin to a babbling brook than to the flow of city traffic. Powell employs an environmental hand, governing the capricious elements at play with a measured sense of restraint, ensuring never to blow a fuse on this highly charged mix.
- No Transmission
“Both tracks are atmospheric, hypnotic and completely mesmerising and must be heard. Think Jon Hopkins on Saturday night at Body & Soul Festival, close your eyes and you’re exactly there. Samuel Powell is a talent that needs to be heard and supported.”
- Four Four Magazine
“Samuel Powell’s ‘Floating’ was an immediate attention-grabbing song when it was released last year. This month, Powell releases a four-track Owls EP on Shall Not Fade and the songcraft and production has stepped up once again with a more nuanced sound of synths, ambience, post-rave influence, bass beats and pads all used to evocative effect.”
- Nialler9
My approach to every project is ‘plan, experiment, refine’.
I start every project by examining what it is I am trying to achieve. Do I want to grab the listener’s attention, or to simply support some visuals? Based on this I plan where/what I will record, the methods I will use to edit/manipulate theses sounds, presets to build etc.
Once the setup is done, I follow my instinct and see where it takes me. I create and record as much as I can, letting go of some of the limits I impose upon myself in the planning stage.
When this bank of sound has been created, then comes the refinement. I cut out anything not needed, and focus on the minuscule details - which are what separate good sound design from great sound design.
samuelpowellsound@gmail.com Back to top