By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer

While Vancouver is home to many amazing artists, I never thought that I’d find one right in my classroom! As a former classmate of independent alternative artist Triton Smith, it has always been fascinating hearing his bedroom-pop sound transition into something new in real time. His constant involvement in music, whether it be at school or on his own, was always fun to hear. He brought a nuanced sense of musicality that was different from much of the local sounds I’d heard; fresh beats from well-known alternative genres, all fused in a stylistic medley. 

Smith started releasing music under the name Triton when he was 13 and later developed a different sound of music, forming his new moniker Samo T. He has put out two LP’s and various singles amid multiple live performances in Vancouver and Toronto. The Peak spoke with Smith to find out more about his person and his work.

Smith has been involved with music his whole young life, noting that his father and grandfather were both musicians, keeping music in the family. Taking music classes as a youth resulted in his first release of music in 2020, noting how self-isolating at the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic “was a great outlet” for him “during that time.” Immersing himself in Vancouver’s underground indie scene was a turning point for him. 

“I started meeting other musicians who were around my area playing shows with them, meeting people working together, and that completely changed my perception on what I could accomplish,” he said. 

“I stopped making rock music and it felt right to go under a different name, but I didn’t want it to be completely different.” — Triton Smith, AKA Samo T

Smith takes inspiration from Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean, among other artists like Beabadoobee, King Krule, Jeff Buckley, and Mazzy Star. He stated plainly his style is “alt rock,” but that’s far from all he has to offer. He fuses elements from shoegaze, alt pop, ambient music, electronic music, and more. Though it’s clear his style is grounded in the alternative fashion, none of his songs sound alike to each other. Raspy guitar, a stylistically dynamic voice, and clever allusions are what make Smith’s music stand out. Triton’s songs craft vivid moods within the brain — grainy pictures, bus rides home at night pretending you’re a character in a film, speedwalking across campus, or overthinking in your bedroom. Regardless of the image, Smith has something for you. 

“Smiles, There’s Cameras” and “Swollen Ankles” both have mesmerizing instrumental breaks near the ends of the songs. “Got My Neck” is hypnotizingly raspy with the sound of the electric guitar, upbeat drums, catchy lyrics, and its alluring alt-rock inspired melody. However, my personal favourite is probably “Saltwater,” which reminds me so much of something off of Frank Ocean’s Blonde because of its dreamy repetitive melody, synth strings, and soft vocals.

Smith’s first show at one of Vancouver’s “quintessential underground venues,” the Red Gate, was a gateway into the scene’s culture. Smith claims the indie scene in Toronto and Vancouver are more alike than not, as he says “it’s just people celebrating music together; the bands get drunk and play shitty, fuck up their equipment after.” The consistency of indie music is something I’ve always appreciated; “the culture is the same around the world,” Smith noted on the binding nature of indie and underground scenes.

When he switched to Samo T, immediately, I noticed the reference to expressionist artist Jean Michel Basquiat’s graffiti tag “SAMO.” 

“I stopped making rock music and it felt right to go under a different name, but I didn’t want it to be completely different,” he explained, as it’s the “same old Triton” (but with new music). He also explained the name of his last album So Far, So Good as a reference to the 1995 crime/thriller film La Haine. The song “Hate Monologue” from his album contained the speech from a prominent scene in the film, which made me appreciate the commitment to the motif even more. 

Triton Smith and his band are playing on December 21 in Vancouver at Green Auto. Tickets can be purchased at samotee.com