“River, river, riverside motherf*cker.”
Sidney Samson, the man who brought you “Riverside” made his return to Kuala Lumpur on 9th April (Thursday) as part of his Asia tour. Samson, who was in town only for a night, took over Gravity Club KL performed to a sold out crowd, giving fans some much needed midweek fun.
Having come a long since the release of “Riverside” in 2009, Samson was last in Kuala Lumpur in 2013 for Future Music Festival Asia. We caught up with him this time around to find out what he’s been up to and what his plans are for the near future.
Hey Sidney! Welcome back.
Hello! Thank you, it’s great to be back in KL.
You started out as a hip-hop DJ before switching over to the EDM scene. What prompted the genre switch?
I still do hip-hop actually. The funny thing is, I switched into house music because I thought it was more fun to be playing house music instead of hip-hop. The crowd is happier, it’s really more fun, and the scene is much bigger. I don’t know many hip-hop artistes who travel the world, unlike DJs. But now, things are changing, things are going back a little bit to hip-hop, trap, and moombahton. I’m really happy about that because that’s what I love. So nowadays, I don’t just play EDM, I play a mixture of dance with hip-hop and trap so it’s great.
Given that you mentioned that the scene is going back a little to hip-hop and trap, are you working on anything new at the moment?
Oh yes, yes. I’m staring a new label called Artificial Recordings and the songs I’m going to release on that is mainly trap music. I’ve recently released new song with Far East Movement called “Bang It To The Curb” and I also worked on “Whiplash” which is also another new track with Far East Movement. The music that I’m going to be releasing are more in the hip-hop, trap genre. It’s something people are expecting from me but it’s not out yet. I’ll be releasing a few more this year.
Will an album or EP be accompanying the release of your new music?
It’s hard to say (laughs). Sometimes I feel like releasing just singles but sometimes I’m also in the mood to work on an EP. It really depends on how I feel because sometimes when you release a song, it gets so big that leads to it being a single. And sometimes if you release 4 songs in a row, you’ve got to tie together to be in an EP so it depends.
On the subject of new music, if you could collaborate with a Top 40 artiste, who would it be?
Beyoncé. I just want to be the first DJ to collaborate with her but the collaboration won’t be in the house music genre. It’ll be a hip-hop and trap sound. I really want to work with Beyoncé and hopefully, I will soon.
Oh, you should! You were last in Malaysia in 2013 for Future Music Festival Asia. What do you remember most about that show and what do you love most about Malaysia?
Yes, 2013. Oh, I remember there being a lot of Grey Goose (laughs). Wow, that was 2 years ago. You know what? The crowd here is always so energetic and they always want to party and I love being here. KL is one of the first Asian countries I played at and it will always hold a special place in my heart. What I always remember from KL, is this restaurant where you can eat on the banana leaf. It’s one of my favourites in the world (laughs). But yeah, those are some of the things I love most about KL – the people, the food, the support.
As someone who started deejaying at a very young age and who travels and plays a lot of live shows, how do you adapt to the crowd and decide what to play?
For me it’s second nature. I listen to the DJ before me and see how the crowd reacts. Sometimes, I try new things like I start with EDM then I play a little bit of hip-hop and when no one reacts, I know that I have to switch back to EDM. If it works, then I play a little bit of hip-hop, say maybe 10-15 minutes then I go back to EDM. I will never play a set with only one style of music. I always mix things up.
That’s cool. What do you love most about the dance music community?
It’s a really positive scene. Not the least bit violent. It’s not like back in the days where you had people shooting each other in the hip-hop scene. There are never things like that in the dance scene. Sure, there are some drug related incidents but those are the people’s choice, it has nothing to do with the music. Also, all the DJs, we’re all friends and we’re all trying to make it in the industry so we’re always helping each other. It’s a happy scene and I’m a positive guy so yeah.
Looking back at 2014, what would you say was some of the highlights of the year?
2014…(laughs). It’s so hard to think about that because my life moves so fast. I have a couple of gigs in my mind but I’m not sure if it happened last year or this year. I had fun at Tomorrowland, I really enjoyed myself there. Oh and also TomorrowWorld. Gigs at Vegas were fun. Also my gigs at Lavo, New York was brilliant. I always love playing at Lavo. Oh and how can I forget, Tokyo! Tokyo is so special, I played 2 gigs there and I had the best time ever so if I had to pick one, definitely Tokyo.
Last one, if you had to pick, would you rather fight off a dog-sized cockroach or a horse-sized rat?
Oh my lord. What? (laughs). Oh this is tough…(stays silent for a while). I think I’ll go for the rat. Really not a fan of roaches so I’ll go for the rat. Never know, maybe I can teach the rat some things and turn it into a pet (laughs).
Thank you so much Sidney. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you.
Thank you, it’s been my pleasure.
We had a blast catching up with Sidney Samson so big thanks to our friends at Gravity Club for organising it for us. We leave you today with a classic, “Riverside” by Sidney Samson.
Enjoy! 