Australian breakout pop favourite Sam Fischer is returning down under in May for his biggest run of headline shows yet. Hitting Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne with special guest Chris Lanzon in-tow, these shows are promising to be an intimate, vulnerable and anthemic affair. Celebrating the release of his debut album “I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me” late last year, he’s going to be showcasing all the hits like “This City”, “What Other People Say”, “Hopeless Romantic”, “High On You” and “Alright”, as well as some new music including his recent Guy Sebastian collaboration “Antidote”.

I recently caught up with Sam Fischer to reflect on the release of his debut album “I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me”, explored bringing the album to the live space for his upcoming Australian tour, and found out some fun facts about Guy Sebastian that he’s learnt from releasing a song with him. Check out the full chat BELOW:

THOMAS BLEACH: Your debut album “I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me” was released in December last year and it really is a beautiful and introspective body of work. Looking back on it now after having some time to sit with it, what was the biggest thing this record has taught you about yourself? 

SAM FISCHER: That it takes me a really fucking long time to make my first album *laughs*. So much has happened since I’ve put this album out. There’s been so many changes. I’m moving to London, I’ve got new management, and I’ve got a whole new team. Some of that happened just before the album, but I feel like we’re really in it now. Like, I’ve already been home this year to do promo with Guy Sebastian for “Antidote”. It’s interesting because while I’m writing the songs and before they come out, I rinse them. I listen to my songs over and over again. Then once they’re out, I don’t really listen to them anymore. It’s kind of been this bittersweet thing because I’m obviously so proud of this album, and I’m so excited to perform it, but the life between “This City” being released and this album being out with “This City” still on it is so different. I’ve changed so much as a person. 

It wasn’t this big blockbuster smash hit album that the dream was, but it is my first album, and I’m forever proud of it. I truly think it’s a no skips album. It gave me a bigger sense of self as an artist because it’s an artistic statement for the last five years. And now that it’s out, we’re onto the next thing. There’s a song coming that I’m going to drop right before tour and I will be playing live, so we’re just keeping on going. 

TB: And I have to chat to you about the title track, “I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me”, because the songwriting on that track is immaculate. Can you explain the creative process behind this one?

SF: I wrote it with my mate Ryan Marrone, and he produced a couple songs on the album and is one of my closest friends. We were writing something that we didn’t like, and things weren’t coming that quick. There was someone else in the room who really wasn’t participating, and the energy was just off. It was strange. And so this person left for a couple hours and in those hours, Ryan got a text message from his wife that just said, “Hey, I love you. Please don’t hate me. But…”, and I was like, “holy shit, that’s a title”. And then we just talked about what it can mean, and the song kind of just fell out of us. Within an hour, the song was written. 

My album process was so convoluted, and it wasn’t this romantic streamlined thing where it was like “here is the subject matter, let’s write a whole fucking album about it”. It was more-so an existential view of myself over the last five years, where I’ve been, and what headspace I’ve been in. 

The song sat for like a year and a half to two years without us realizing what we had, and as soon as I listened to it again I was like, “holy shit, this is the subject line for the album”. The album is in these two parts where half of it is love songs, and then half of it is kind of self reflection and commentary on my own bullshit and mental state. And I think if that’s how you view the album, it makes more sense, because you do have songs like “Landslide” and “High On You” which are these straight up love songs. But then you have a song like “I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me” which feels so good, and truly sets the tone for the album. 

TB: “You know that I hate myself, So you don’t have to hate me too” is a lyric that cuts deep..

SF: *Laughs*, yeah! That’s kind of where I’m at with it. I have songs like “Carry It Well” and “Somebody Cares”, and with this song “you know that I hate myself so you don’t have to hate me too” just felt poignant. 

TB: You’re returning to Australia next month for a big run of headline shows which follow some stripped back shows last year. So for this run are you bringing a full band? What is the show looking like?

SF: It’s just three of us on stage but it’s a full band sound. It’s a big show, and it’s a new show. It’s me and my MD who’s also my guitarist and key’s player Martin, and he’s my everything. We will play the album, and there’s also other songs I want to play, so we’ve been creating what is going to be that line people can draw through it, and what people can take away from it. I think the transitions we’ve been working on between songs are amazing because I have a tendency to yap when I’m on stage. And I think this time it’s going to be way more music focused, and there will obviously be times for me to talk shit on stage, and I’ll always be giving shit to the crowd, but it’s going to be a more cohesive show. 

And I get to play songs from the album that I haven’t played yet, which is really exciting. It’s a really high energy show, and in Australia especially, I haven’t played full band since I opened for Mimi Webb.

TB: Do you have a goal of how you want people to walk away feeling or thinking from the show?

SF: It’s funny It’s emotional. I feel like people will feel better about themselves when they leave, and if they don’t then I guess that’s also an intention, so whatever they want really.

TB: Reflecting on the album, what song are you most looking forward to performing live, and what one do you think will be the most difficult to bring into the live space?

SF: I’m really excited to perform “Secondhand Happiness” live as it has that rising chorus, and it has a great energy. The vocals in there are really warm, so I’m really excited about that. I’ve been performing “Iceberg” recently, and that goes really hard. And then the most difficult to bring in… there’ll be a song in the set that is interchangeable. I think right now, “Watching My World Fall Apart” is going to be the hardest to sing just because it’s really fucking high.

I’m excited to sing “Landslide” as well. There’s a song on the album that I haven’t decided whether I’ll play it. It’s one of those songs that I don’t know if I’ll ever play. It’s called “Somebody Cares”. I was just really fucking low when I wrote that song. But I don’t know. If the fans want it, then I’ll play it. Like, it’s not that deep at the end of the day.

TB: You recently featured on Guy Sebastian’s new single “Antidote”. So what is a fun fact you’ve learnt about Guy Sebastian you can share with us from doing promo and performances with him?

SF: I know his favorite dessert… It’s bread and butter pudding. He also smells really really good, and I’m furious about it because I’m normally the one that smells good, but he smells better. He’s honestly the most generous person I’ve ever met. We’ve been doing all this promo together, and we’re really like brothers. We just get along so well, and we crack each other up. And “Antidote”, I mean, look…. I will be playing “Antidote” at the Australian shows and maybe Guy will make an appearance. Maybe Amy Shark will make an appearance too. You never know!

Sam Fischer 2024 Australian Tour

With special guest Chris Lanzon

Thursday 9 May – The Zoo, Brisbane 

Friday 10 May – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Saturday 11 May – Howler, Melbourne 

All ticketing details available HERE