SamWoy is the musical persona of Sam Woywitka—a Montreal-based artist who unleashes brash and unabashed compositions that transcend genre distinctions. Equally at home while pulling the strings in the studio and commanding stages, Woywitka’s restless pursuit of auditory excitement pushes him towards ear-scorching innovation and deeply satisfying grooves and hooks. SamWoy tracks can’t be wrangled or pinned down, and are as likely to delve into ambient bliss and lush orchestration as they are to get torn apart by buzzsaw synths and distorted drums. Live, SamWoy is a high-wire act of dramatic shifts between bangers and beauty—a rager where all forms of emotion are embraced.

In SamWoy’s musical universe, the mood often oscillates to euphoric highs, but pain is always right around the corner. Many of the songs engage with Woywitka’s scrape with death in a near-fatal car accident in his tiny hometown on Vancouver Island right as he was transitioning into adulthood. For Woywitka, engaging with the textures of punk and metal music that inspired him in formative years offers a method of communication with his adolescent self, providing healing from his traumatic past and a ladder out of darkness. For the listener, bearing witness to Woywitka’s ability to use creativity as a life raft can be a powerful testament to the power of self-actualization through music.