On a farm in central Germany, with a small backpack and a burned-out cell phone, Sam Lynch found herself in a damp cellar, sitting in front of an old piano. It was the beginning of a common story: in the wake of a major life-shift, Lynch followed the impulse to throw everything familiar out the window, and leaned into the free-fall of uncertainty.

She quit her jobs, gave away most of her belongings, and set out to travel solo, finally surrendering to the magnetism of musical self-determination that she had been resisting for so many years. Lynch is based in Vancouver and has been evolving and expanding her relationship with music ever since. She started writing songs at a very young age as a way of processing her complicated emotions; and now, by pushing through the slight discomfort that often accompanies vulnerability, she has channeled those feelings into an expansive collection of songs for her upcoming LP. The live video for Darkest Places presents a simple moment of beauty and self-reflection, as Sam Lynch delivers her warm soprano on a bed of crunchy electric guitar with equal parts vintage elegance and folk-inspired, emotional honesty. On her latest release Darkest Places, Sam Lynch contends with the broken pieces of a past relationship, and surrenders to the realization that pain is a necessary component in the life of an artist.

Are you sick or are you lonely?

Sam Lynch is a roots artist based in Vancouver. This song is featured on our CHILL NEW Songwriters playlist.