Watch Sam Johnson’s Tender Take On ‘Peter Pan’

Shot in the middle of a pond...

There's a fine balance to Sam Johnson's work.

The songwriter knows when to reveal and when to disguise, an assured touch that results in something beautiful.

His incoming EP 'Are We There Yet?' is a superb display of his talents, and it follows on from recent single 'The Kids Are Alright'.

He's got an observational eye, but Sam's feelings are forever present in his work. “I create characters influenced by what I see around me,” he says. “A lot of the lyrics are touchstones of my childhood, and where I grew up… and the people that I grew up around.”

'Peter Pan' is a case in point. Wonderfully engrossing, it's a song that has a deeply personal resonance for the young artist.

Recently named a member of the Ivors Academy Youth Council, Sam Johnson decided to shoot a highly unusual performance clip.

Sat on a pedalo as it traverses a London pond, his carefree performance adds a new dimension to the piece. He comments:

"We had a bit of a laugh making this video. It was a pretty hot day in London and the idea was to get a video of me performing 'Peter Pan' on one of the pedalos in Dulwich Park pond, but as luck would have it the park ranger had closed up shop a little earlier than expected. So after lots of umming and arring, Isy (the photographer) and I jumped over one of the fences and hopped in one of the boats that was chained to the edge of the pond when no one was looking."

"We had to do it in one take as we weren’t really meant to be there. I nearly fell in, and Isy nearly got attacked by a swan but I think we still managed to capture something really beautiful."

Tune in now.

Photo Credit: Dennis Dirksen

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