We were lucky to catch up with Sam Rogers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I was thirteen I got my first guitar for my birthday. I was so excited. Music was always something that fascinated me and was even in my genes as my dad played in a band before I was born. Growing up I watched musicians effortlessly make beautiful music and I knew I wanted to be involved in any way possible.

When I got my first guitar I started taking lessons and quickly learned that it takes a lot of work to get to where I wanted to go. Unfortunately finances were tight and about a year later I couldn’t afford to keep taking lessons. I never lost my excitement for music though and have been a self made musician. Even in high school, I tried to learn how to record music. I would get together with friends after school using an old Tascam 488 mixer and became addicted to the feeling of hearing my ideas come to life.

As life went on I shifted my focus into becoming a software engineer but I knew something was missing. I think certain people are naturally born with a need to have a creative outlet. Without that outlet, I felt unfulfilled.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020 I found myself with a lot more time on my hands so I started looking into creating my own music again. Coupled with being forced to confront my own mental health issues and needing a way of distracting myself, I became obsessed with anything related to music or the creation of music. From acoustic treatment to production techniques I wanted to learn how everything worked so I was able to make what was in my head a reality. From a modest home studio I constructed in my attic, I was able to share my music for the world in a way I never had imagined. At the onset of trying to create an EP I wasn’t entirely sure it would ever fully come to fruition. I think sometimes we can be our own worst enemies when working on something creative that we care deeply about. If there’s anything I learned from the experience I think it’s to just keep creating. Nothing is going to be perfect or exactly how we imagined it but little by little we learn over time and eventually become better than we could have even imagined even a year ago.

Eventually through this experience I was able to compose music for a documentary. I think being able to help tell a story with music you wrote is a very surreal experience. Something I never thought I would be able to say. The documentary subject happened to be my fiance, so being able to embark on a creative project with someone I love was even more exciting. This was all new to me though and I was continuously working to learn how to create music not only with my guitar but also with tools and mixers.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Sam Rogers AKA Sentin Music. The name “Sentin” was inspired by my first stuffed animal I had as a kid. I have always felt the name “Sentin” represents my creativity, because I have never met anyone else named Sentin before. I like to think my music is similar. I have a unique sound that blends fingerstyle acoustic music and ambient sounds.

Not only do I play guitar, I have my own home studio where I offer mixing, songwriting and music production. I also have some experience in voiceover work such as podcasts and audio book recording. I am alway excited to meet with new creative people who want to collaborate through musical projects.

Up until this point, I am most proud of the work I did creating my own EP “Hopeful Nostalgia” and composing music for the Bake it Till You Make it documentary which has won multiple international awards among the film festival circuit. I get excited by collaborating and working with other creatively inspired individuals to help them make their musical and audio visions come to life.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think through all my experiences in my creative endeavors I’ve seen a lack of the ability for creatives to come together and collaborate.

Recently I’ve been taking some classes at a local recording studio at The Record Co in Dorcester, MA. When COVID hit we all hunkered down and did our best to cope. I think I saw first hand how fun and exciting it is to collaborate and learn with different creative people. Creating on your own is an amazing experience and in some cases is best depending on the process but when you have more ideas and different life experiences in the mix a lot of the time you come up with something you never imagined at the start of the project

For me there was necessity to buy music gear to be able to create. I think the world would be better off if there were more places to foster creative collaboration. Just think about all of the beautiful art we’re missing out on.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A couple resources that I’ve got a lot of benefit from are the podcasts “Song Exploder” and “Working it Out”

Listening to song exploder I learned that sometimes the act of creating doesn’t have to be complicated. For example I can think of one episode where the producer Finneas O’Connell used the sound of the crosswalk signs for his drum beat. I think that really stuck with me because it’s not about the tools you have to create, all that matters is you use what you have and move forward.

The premise of the “Working it Out” podcast is where comedian Mike Birbiglia has a guest on to discuss the new comedic material they are working on. Through this podcast I have found that it can be really beneficial to get it on someone else’s creative process. Even though stand up comedy is a long ways away from writing music, I’ve found that using our every day life experiences as catalysts to create something can be just what you needed to get over the writing block you were having in the studio.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sentinmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sentinmusic
• Facebook: Sentin Music
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sentinmusic
• Other: Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1RNabFCn3VOmsfPY1Pjxj2?si=zrm-5_ipRbaRRlh3wwZgHw&fbclid=IwAR3zPStPKTvGJtZho1I7nbMWW_DZOQtA4cZqcFY-6PRN9nDDG5QBZXymrDs&nd=1&dlsi=36a1818da1f645b8

Image Credits
Karen Wong Photography