Sam Gellaitry (born January 6, 1997) is a Scottish record producer, DJ, vocalist, and songwriter who is currently signed to Parlophone.[1]
Early life
Gellaitry was born in Stirling in 1997.[2] He comes from a family of musicians, with his mother previously playing in a band[3] and his father owning a business that makes bagpipes.[4][5] He was first exposed to electronic music through his brother, who listened to happy hardcore music.[6] He left school at 16 and taught himself to produce, starting an entry level college course in sound production.[7][8]
Musical career
Gellaitry first became known as a producer on the platform SoundCloud,[4][9] before earning a record deal with XL Recordings at the age of 18.[10][7] He later signed with Parlophone.[11] He released a single in 2014 entitled "Powder".[12]
In 2015, Gellaitry released the EP Short Stories, released on Soulection Records.[13] He released three volumes of the Escapism series of EPs: Escapism was released in 2015,[14]Escapism II was released in 2016[15] and Escapism III was released in 2017.[16]
In 2017, he performed at Coachella, closing at the Gobi tent.[17] In 2018, Gellaitry's song "LONG DISTANCE" was featured in a Super Bowl ad for Diet Coke.[18]
In 2019, he released his first album, Viewfinder Vol. I: Phosphene.[19]
In 2021, he released the EP IV, featuring four tracks,[20] including "Duo",[21] which was accompanied by a music video.[22][23] This was the first project of Sam’s that prominently featured his vocals, as his previous works were primarily instrumental or sample based.
In 2022, he released the mixtape album VF Vol. II, a followup to Viewfinder Vol. I, featuring a collaboration with PinkPantheress on "Picture In My Mind"[24][25] and the single "SEROTONIN".[26] PinkPantheress described Gellaitry as "a genius level producer".[27] Also in 2022, EDM.com named Gellaitry as one of the 10 best music producers of the year.[28]This Song Is Sick ranked him as number two on their list of "Top 10 Artists to Watch in 2023".[29]
In 2023, producer Kaytranada remixed Gellaitry's single "Assumptions".[30] Gellaitry described Kaytranada as "a true innovator and inspiration to my music."[31]
Gellaitry has synaesthesia,[2] and has discussed in interviews how he sees key signatures in different colours and how this influences his music.[10][32] He lives in Stirling, where he grew up.[17][6]
