‘New York Eats My Friends’ by Sam Kelarakis | New Album, ‘Chick Peas!’
Exclusive track premiere of ‘New York Eats My Friends’ by Sam Kelarakis, taken from the upcoming album, ‘Chick Peas!.’
“‘New York Eats My Friends’ is about people you know and love moving away, and the weird ways our relationships linger through social media across vast distances. Personally, I still feel half-married to the echo of an emotional paradigm that existed before the advent of our hyperconnected daily reality. If a close friend leaves my city, a part of me mourns — but another part is still para-socially engaged (and at times fully communicating) with that close friend; seeing their apartments, their routines, their new friends/jobs/leisures curated for me on Instagram or BeReal.
It’s like – we just shared a deep goodbye, and now I’m watching a bizarrely intimate video of you eating a taco while I’m sitting on the toilet? Weeks ago, we held each other in a final embrace — but now you casually DM me “lol” in response to a 6-second clip of my new friend saying something in a silly voice. Sometimes it feels like a clumsy dream. Through all of this, despite the seemingly infinite opportunities to continue to grow and nurture our friendships in the face of geographical distance and physical barriers — infinite opportunities to express ourselves to one another — I still find myself tongue-tied, unable to say the things I wish I’d said when we stood in the same room.”
Sam Kelarakis is a musician, actor, and filmmaker based in Chicago. In addition to his solo outlet, he is the frontman of Chicago alt-pop band Cloudtone and plays guitar for antifolk outfit Boo Baby — a band he joined after meeting the frontman years ago while on tour with an improv comedy troupe only to reconnect within the Chicago music scene.
Sam is a performer and found a home for comedy in Chicago but his own singing is earnest while his songwriting is often metaphorical. ‘Chick Peas!’ will be his first solo release, comprising a few songs he wrote between 2018 and 2021. He recorded them with local engineer Michael Mac (Tasha, Tenci, Mia Joy) at Bim Bom Studios in early 2022, playing every instrument outside of drums, which his longtime creative partner Hank Grier played.
Headline photo: Ash Dye
Sam Kelarakis Instagram / Bandcamp
