Sometimes you hear a song and it absolutely floors you.
X Ambassador’s “Jungle” (featuring Jamie N Commons) is one of those songs. Billboard recently proclaimed it to be “on its way to becoming one of the most ubiquitous songs of the year.” I’ll take it a step further — this is the song of the year. It’s an anthem in every respect — a gigantic beat, an infectious chorus, dynamite vocals and an extremely high re-listen quotient. It’s so different from anything out there right now that it not only deserves to be ubiquitous, but it also deserves to be called “the best.”
This band is more than just one song, however. Click the “next track” button on any of their music and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll hear — it’s fresh, unique, different and masterfully composed. The band knows how to create awesome music and once you get past their big hit, you’ll discover this for yourselves.
Tomorrow night (October 2nd) the band will be making a special appearance at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In this writer’s humble opinion – once X Ambassadors’ new record drops in a few months, the opportunity for you to ever see these guys in a venue as intimate as The Wonder Bar will probably never happen again. This group has the legit upside of becoming something massive in the music world. I recently caught up with Sam Harris, lead singer of X Ambassadors. We spoke about the band’s upcoming record, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Brooklyn and their relationship with Imagine Dragons.
First off, I have to say that I absolutely love “The Jungle” — it is my jam right now. I had always enjoyed the song, but wasn’t until I saw a YouTube video this wrestling promotion made using “The Jungle” that I really fell in love with it. When the video finished I thought, “Man that would be a cool song to have as entrance music.”
Sam Harris: I think The Rock [Dwayne Johnson] used it. It was in the Hercules trailer and he loves the song.
How does it feel to have The Rock, who’s a major movie star, enjoy your song so much that he gets it into the trailer of a major motion picture? Is it weird?
Sam Harris: It’s always weird when you’re faced with it. When I met him at the premiere [of Hercules], which we played, that was a trip. He’s an extremely nice dude and we had a great time. For the most part it all seems like it’s this other world from where we’re at. We’re light years ahead of that now. We’re finishing packaging for our record. Our first full length is done. It’s really nice to be reminded how cool it is and how people react to the song. Of course it’s weird hearing it on TV sometimes, but it’s cool man (laughs).
You mentioned you’re putting the finishing touches on the record. You released The Reason EP earlier this year so will any tracks be crossing over from the EP to the album?
Sam Harris: You’ll see a couple tracks from the two EPs [The Reason EP and the Love Songs Drug Songs EP] on the record, but for the most part it’s all new stuff. I’d say 70% of the album is new material and the other 30% is stuff we put out between the two EPs.
Circling back to the record for a moment. Do you think the new record is going to be radically different from what we heard on the EPs or will it be a slight evolution?
Sam Harris: All of our stuff sounds so different, so it’s going to stay the same as in it’ll all sound very different. I think we have progressed. My songwriting has gotten sharper the more I write. The songs are some of the best I’ve written and I wouldn’t put them on the record if I didn’t think so.
I was listening to the EP and then I found a YouTube clip of you guys doing a live version of the song “Unconsolable.” I have to say I was taken back at how different that song sounds from the big, anthemic beats that fill “The Jungle.” Are fans taken by surprise when they go past “The Jungle” and hear what else the band has in its sonic arsenal?
Sam Harris: I think “Jungle” has broadened our fan base and a lot of people come to us not knowing anything about the band but “Jungle.” It’s like the song is bigger than the band right now. So, I think it is a little surprising for people who go and listen to the rest of our songs compared to “Jungle” – they are pretty different. But, it is all still there. We have this alternative rock foundation and that’s definitely apparent in “Jungle.” It’s also there in “Unconsolable,” too. I think people in general are getting more accustomed to artists having different styles in one album and in one sound.
Speaking of different sounds, you guys have a wide array of influences from hip hop to punk to everything in between. Was it difficult trying to figure out a way to get all of these influences into your sound? Also, does having some many different sounds make things harder to write music or is it more creatively satisfying? Do you ever feel that it would be easier to pick one sound and stick to it?
Sam Harris: Sure, it’d be easier if we said we were going to play guitar music or some soft rock thing. Yeah, it would be easier, but that’s not what’s exciting to us. What’s exciting to us is doing something that no one else is doing even if it’s not deemed as being cool. We were making this soulful, R&B, hip-hop influenced alternative rock music when it was not really cool. When we were younger and all these indie pop bands were coming up; that wasn’t our sound because we were more aggressive. Now, I think it’s starting…I don’t know if it’s cool yet and I don’t really care. We just want to make something that’s different. Our philosophy is if we’re doing the exact opposite of what everybody else is doing, we’re on the right path.
Being that you guys are literally a band of brothers does it make things a little more comfortable for you to be that creative and that different.
Sam Harris: I definitely think so because we all have a similar mindset. We want to make an impact on the world and music. It’s been our driving force since we were kids. We wanted to make a difference and do something new and different. It’s easier when you’re comfortable with each other then you can get uncomfortable with your music. You can go outside your comfort zone because you know these guys have your back even when you do something crazy.
The band’s signing has become something of a music industry legend these days. The lead singer from Imagine Dragons hears you on the radio and …
Sam Harris: I actually just found out it was the whole band. I was talking with Dan Platzman (Drummer from Imagine Dragons) and he told me they all heard the song. They were in Virginia on their way to the hospital because Dan (Reynolds, lead singer of Imagine Dragons) had something wrong with his voice. They asked the driver what song he was playing [on the radio] and it he told them it was a band named Ambassadors. That was what we used to be called. It was an acoustic version of “Unconsolable.” [Dan Reynolds] was in most immediate communication with Alex [the Kid] and he showed Alex the music and he set us up in December 2012 and a couple months later we signed.
People make the comparison to Imagine Dragons with you guys a lot. I see it and I don’t. Do you consider them a big brother type band, a mentor in many ways…
Sam Harris: HELL YEAH. Dude, those guys have gone above and beyond to help us out. They are the nicest fucking guys in the world. Any comparison drawn between us and them is a welcome one. I think they’re extraordinarily talented, they’re super nice, they’re professional and I think they have incredible career a head of them. I don’t ever got bothered by the comparison. They have totally been a big brother band. I would love to do that with a band that we find and we love. Paying it forward. Not too many bands do it these days — there’s too much competition in this fucking industry. We spent most of our career being poo-pooed by bands in Brooklyn because we were still this band from upstate New York that made this mainstream alternative music that wasn’t fucking cool. We weren’t making experimental dream indie noise pop. No one gave us the time of day. We fought to get on bills and book shows. They’ve been really cool to us and I’d love to do that with some other band.
So what’s the best piece of advice or lesson learned from Imagine Dragons?
Sam Harris: Their work ethic is something else and that’s the biggest thing. Those dudes work hard and it’s all about the detail. They still bring it on stage every night and we strive to do that. We see them every night and I say, “Shit, we gotta be that energetic all the time.”
Did that struggle in Brooklyn fuel you to work even harder? For some people that would be really disheartening.
Sam Harris: Yeah, it was really disheartening. Listen, I’m not going to shit on Brooklyn, I still live there. I love Brooklyn and there’s been some amazing music coming out of there. We always get asked if we were a part of the “Brooklyn scene” and I always say no. We’re outsiders who live and rehearse there. We moved there because it was cheap at the time. We are all individually products of small towns, even Adam (Levin) who grew up in L.A. but in The Valley. Me, Noah (Feldshuh) and Casey (Harris) grew up in a town that wasn’t exposed to what indie, underground was. The music we listened to whatever the world listened to. Whether it was TRL or Rap City on BET, that’s what we listened to because that’s what we had. I was lucky that my dad had an incredible record collection so that’s how we heard all the classics. But the music that got me excited and felt like I was doing something bad — that was the shit. That was hip-hop for me.
Can you give me some examples?
Sam Harris: Eminem. I really loved Biggie, Jay Z and Memphis Bleek and all those dudes growing up. There was a lot of sexual R&B like Montell Jordan that I loved.
It’d be amazing if you guys covered “This is How We Do It.”
Sam Harris: Oh man, maybe someday. Later on in high school I started listening to stuff that was cutting edge and “cooler.” Red Hot Chili Peppers were my favorite fucking band. Noah and I bonded over that band like crazy. When I moved to Brooklyn for college, I stopped listening, but I still liked them. But in Brooklyn it wasn’t cool to listen them or Jane’s Addiction or Queens of the Stone Age…and that made me mad. To be told that it’s not cool, it was shitty.
One of my last questions…you guys are on a massive tour right now. What sorts of pop culture do you guys dive into in order to avoid going nuts on the road?
Sam Harris: We’re all watching a lot of shows. Adam is in the middle of finishing Six Feet Under which is amazing. I’m watching Deadwood. Basically, a lot of old HBO shows.
Have you watched The Wire?
Sam Harris: I rewatched it on the last tour. I am really big on Boardwalk Empire so I’m stoked it’s back. I’m a huge Mad Men guy, so I’m going to be all over that. I love that new show Leftovers.
Man, that first episode was such a bummer.
Sam Harris: I know, I love that shit! I do a lot of writing on the road too. I just got a new book The Bone Clock by David Mitchell which I’m looking forward to. The guys are excited because we got this thing from Red Bull which is a suitcase that folds into a TV with an XBOX 360 attached to it.
Those exist?
Sam Harris: It doesn’t really…they actually made it for us.
Final question — what are your plans for the rest of 2014?
Sam Harris: We’re getting this record together for the release and then we’re going to be on this tour.
X Ambassadors performs on Thursday night October 2 at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ with Jamie N Commons. Click here for tickets.
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Bill Bodkin is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Pop-Break. He can be read weekly on Trailer Tuesday and Singles Party, weekly reviews on Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Hannibal, Law & Order: SVU and regular contributions throughout the week with reviews and interviews. His goal is to write 500 stories this year. He is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism & English and currently works in the world of political polling. He’s the reason there’s so much wrestling on the site and is beyond excited to be a Dad this coming December. Follow him on Twitter: @PopBreakDotCom
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