Johanna Samuels is premiering her latest single “All Is Fine” and its accompanying music video with Paste today (March 30). The singer/songwriter’s latest release comes ahead of her debut full-length album, Excelsior!, set to arrive May 14 via Mama Bird Recording Co.
A steady snare drum cuts through Samuels’ somber, dreamy vocal stylings on “All is Fine.” The single strikes an impressive balance between serenity and a charged underbelly that makes Samuels so compelling to listen to. “I felt a bit heartbroken by people not wanting to hear each other out,” says the singer of the song’s inspiration in a statement. “It sometimes felt that, if there’s any snag in the smoothness of dynamic in a relationship, I was finding it more and more common that people had no interest in truly understanding both experiences.”
Samuels elaborated on the creation of the blue-saturated music video for “All is Fine”:
I made this video on my phone and at the very last minute with one of my best friends Anu Valia. We met in film school and she is an incredible director (Lucia: Before & After, Shrill, At Home with Amy Sedaris, Never Have I Ever…). It was edited so generously by Jon Lee. I think what we ended up with is more light hearted than we pictured but it ended up capturing what I sing about, being safe in solitude (in a bath … where I can take refuge from life for frankly hours on end—sorry to my roommates). Anu and I get so much pleasure from being creative together and laughing so we figured why not make a thing! This is that thing.
Samuels’ debut LP Excelsior! isn’t the only thing that’s been keeping the artist busy lately. She’s been collaborating with Jolie Holland to host a benefit in April titled Abolition 2021. The concert series will raise money for a new hospitality house near the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola to be used by families, activists, journalists and lawyers visiting Angola and other nearby prisons. Other artists appearing in the four-day series include Adrienne Lenker, Brandi Carlile and Fruit Bats.
Watch the music video for “All Is Fine” below, and keep scrolling to revisit a track from Samuels’ 2014 Daytrotter Session. You can preorder Excelsior! and find more information about Abolition 2021 here.
