Friday, 05 September 2008 16:50
Written by Alison Spong
Way back in 1988 Samuel bought his first mixer and a pair of regular
turntables. That was his first step into the music business. Mixing
everything from hip-hop, house and techno he began to explore the
phenomenon of mixing. In 1991 he formed a party organization with his
friend Max Reich, and started to pull off parties around Gothenburg.
During the same time Samuel also started spinning outside his bedroom.
When Max got a proper studio in 1995, he felt it was time to take a
step further, so he asked Max to teach him the basics about producing.
A couple of months after that they formed Solid Beat, a techno label
distributed by Neuton.
As time went by Samuel’s skills became more and
more polished, so he felt he was ready to move on by himself. Samuel
needed to start something of his own. So, 1997 was the year when the
first "Cycle" came out in the shops. Titled "Techno Soul Pt 1", it
contained laidback grooves for cool out corners. In the first two
years he only released three, but in late spring of 1999 he decided to
really have a go on it. And that’s when things really took off for
Samuel. "In Your Box" became his breakthrough record. Being played by
people like Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Umek among others, people out
there really started to take notice of him. The following release,
"Check Out This I Bring" made him even more shiny as a wider range of
jockeys span his wax. The phone started to ring more and more
frequently, asking for his services regarding spinning, remixing and
releasing. He quickly became a known face at various clubs and events
around the world. Before he put "Cycle" on a break in 2001 to form
"SLS", eleven releases had seen the light of day.
Now with "SLS" on hand he felt trying out other parts of the spectrum.
"New Soil" became the first one, a double pack filled with warm, more
melodic grooves. The first track,"Velvet", became a hit on the floors
and were soon hailed as a classic. In the same period Samuel got
invited to do a remix of "Visions Of You" by Blake Baxter & Trevor
Rockcliffe. Already a classic record, he was more then pleased to put
his own touch on it. Another big tune he remixed in that time was Funk
Dvoid’s "Diabla" on Soma. It became a well played mix by many. When
"Merengue" came out soon after, it became one of his best sold records
ever. Slam and Oliver Ho all contributed to the success as their mixes
were more then appreciated. Another big favorite from SLS records was
Andreas Saag’s "Jazz Lesson" record. It sounded like nothing else at
the time and broke new ground in a serious way.
Laurent Garnier and
Rolando were, and still are, huge fans of the record. Between then and
today Samuel has released numerous records and they have always found
its place within the circuits. Its fair enough to say that he has made
an impact on techno, and its also right to mention that whatever style
he takes up he’s doing it in his own way. Lately he has been
experimenting with a deeper and a more spare sound. "Klap Klap" is the
name for this platform. Further explorations will take place at the
end of each cycle...