Sam FischerIf you’ve paid any attention to the world of Australian music over the past decade, then Sam Fischer is one name you would definitely come across.
Launching his career in his early 20s, it was in 2016 that Fischer released his single by way of Lean. Just over a year-and-a-half later, Fischer followed up the myriad tunes he was releasing with a little track called This City. While that tune (along with the others released that year), would avoid the charts at first, it went global in 2019, charting all around the world, including a No. 17 spot at home.
Before long, Fischer was an in-demand artist, swiftly becoming a fixture of studios around the world, and working with artists such as Demi Lovato, who collaborated with Fischer on his Platinum-certified 2021 single, What Other People Say.
With his long-awaited debut album arriving in 2023, and with more and more songs dropping all the time (his 2025 Sweet Contradiction EP was followed by A Heart Doesn’t Hurt Itself earlier this year), there’s plenty of good news still to come for the London-based Fischer.
Before that, however, he will be making a stop in Brisbane next week for the 2026 edition of BIGSOUND (alongside a pair of headline dates in Melbourne and Sydney beforehand).
On Wednesday, September 2nd, Fischer will be found performing a showcase at the Garden Stage, before heading to the Crowbar the following night on Thursday, September 3rd.
He'll also be making a panel appearance on the 3rd, speaking on the FEEDBACK: Real Time Sync Discussion panel to talk all about the ins and outs of sync placement.
Ahead of his homecoming visit as part of BIGSOUND, Fischer spoke to The Music to reflect on his rise, his musical journey, his return to Australia, and what the future holds.
The Music: For those who might not quite be across the Sam Fischer story, how do you describe your music, your sound, and what you aim to create?
Sam Fischer: The Sam Fischer story is a doozy! Every twist and turn, high and low, dead end and start again you could think of, I’ve been through it all.
I’ve described my music in all different ways since I started making it, from ‘Disarming Pop for the Nighttime Crowd’ to ‘Honest pop’ to ‘soulful singer-songwriter’ and honestly, all of the above would fit.
I guess my aim is to give words and meanings to feelings that people might not have found a way to describe. To make people feel less alone and be the soundtrack to memories in people’s lives. In a nutshell, good music.
TM: How did you first find yourself getting into the world of music? What was the experience of sharing out your earliest releases?
SF: As cliché as it sounds, music found me. I was three when I started playing violin, I was always in choirs and singing and there was always music playing in our home, mostly Enya and classical music but hey it was a vibe!
I started writing songs at 12 because after my parents bought me a Human Nature album, I listened and learned every song back to front and then asked for another album and they said no.
So I guess you could say, my songwriting started out of spite at 12 years old but I didn’t share any solo original music with anyone until I was 20 or so and then didn’t release my first song Lean until I was 24.
TM: Was there a specific moment in which you realised that things were taking off for you? Or a moment at which you realised people were starting to pay attention?
SF: The ‘moment’ for me was more of an absurd sequence of events.
I’d been dropped from my first record deal in 2017, put out what I thought would be my one and only EP in January 2018, and then essentially quit being an artist for a whole bunch of reasons.
Then in March of 2019 I got an Instagram DM telling me there was a new app called ‘TikTok’ and my song was going crazy viral on it, and I had no idea what that meant at the time.
Then in April of 2019 Lewis Capaldi asked me to open for him on tour around the US and then the morning after the final show of that tour in June, This City was placed on its first official Spotify playlist ‘Pop Rising’ after being out for 18 months and then a week later I was on a flight to NYC to meet with labels… so yeah that all felt very out-of-body. A whirlwind of moments.
TM: You've managed to find yourself collaborating with some amazing artists, songwriters, and more over the years, but what makes for a good collaboration? That is, how do you determine if an opportunity is 'right' for you?
SF: I love collaborating, whether that’s co-writing a song or featuring on a song or having someone feature on my songs, it’s always such a treat to work with other artists. So many factors go into a good collaboration that go past just the song.
It’s a lot of coordination, time, energy, promotion, and hopefully at the end of it you’ve made a great mate and had an amazing time together but I’d be lying if I said every collaboration was a smooth sail, you’re dealing with two artists here and we care a lot.
I will say though, at the end of the day, if you’ve got a great song, that’s what really matters, regardless of how you might perceive the opportunity, you just never know what might happen.
TM: You're based in London these days, but how does it feel to be returning to Australia for an event such as BIGSOUND? What does a platform like this provide you, and what do you hope to take away from it?
SF: It always feels amazing coming home to Australia in any capacity but I’m really excited to be at BIGSOUND. It’s weird to think it’s my first time, but here we are!
Having This City blow up in the way it did, at the time it did, especially in Australia, was obviously life-changing but having the pandemic shut down any hope of touring here and preventing me from really planting roots in the Australian music scene was heart-breaking.
I have always said I want to earn my audience, especially at home and despite the big numbers and maybe the perception of my career, I’ve still got a tonne of work to do to earn the trust of my audience and the industry in Australia and I don’t want to skip any steps. I want to be amongst it from the ground up, always.
TM: If you could look back and give your younger self advice on how to navigate the creative world and the music industry, what is the most important piece of wisdom you would impart? Is there a specific moment you look back on as something you're most proud of in your career so far?
SF: I can’t lie, I’m pretty proud of the way I’ve navigated the creative world and honestly there isn’t too much I would change. I would maybe tell my younger self to not trust as easily as I have but at the same time I think that’s a sweet part of the dreamer in me.
The most important piece of wisdom though would maybe be to not take everything so seriously and enjoy the highs more, because they’re fleeting but they’re amazing when they happen. I tend to focus on what’s not happening instead of enjoying and celebrating what is, but I’m getting better at that.
As far as a specific moment I’m most proud of? That’s so hard to pick but I really think it’s any message I get from fans saying my songs have been the soundtrack to different moments in their lives. It’s crazy to think of how far and wide and it’s all gone and I’m really proud of that.
TM: We've been receiving singles, EPs, and more in recent years, but what is the immediate future looking like? What can fans be expecting from Sam Fischer as 2026 comes to a close?
SF: Well, there’s always so much in the works but honestly, I’ve spent most of 2026 finishing my second album and the plan originally was to start rolling that out around my headline tour and BIGSOUND but the music industry works in mysterious ways and life happens while you’re busy making other plans.
With that said, my second album is truly the best body of work I’ve ever made by a long way and I can’t wait for everyone to have it. Keep your eyes peeled, 2026 isn’t over yet!
Sam Fischer will perform at BIGSOUND on September 2nd and 3rd, and will also appear on the FEEDBACK: Real Time Sync Discussion panel at BIGSOUND on September 3rd, with full details available here
