Over the past year, the art of being a DJ has come under fire.
Recently, a few very well-known artists have come forward saying they
show up, press play, and collect a check. However, Sidney Samson is not
one of those artists.
Coming from Holland, and coming up through the hip hop scene, has given Sidney a very unique ear, as well as the ability to stitch together mind-blowing live sets with a musical precision very few possess.
Since gaining mainstream crossover success with his original track
Riverside, Sidney has solidified himself as a member of the Dutch house elite, touring the world’s largest festivals, rocking dance floors from Vegas to Ibiza and unleashing a torrent of original music.
In this interview, we had a chance to sit down with Sidney to
discuss where he has come from, where he is going, and what he thinks
about the current battle that many true DJs are finding themselves in.
Q: So Sidney, you have a very unique style, it is truly your own, how did you get started making music and what musical influences did you have growing up that kind of led you to this?
A: Well, when I started DJ’ing, I’m 31 now and I started when I was
14, I watched the DMC contest, I saw DJ Cash Money, Qbert, and said, “Wow, I wanna do those tricks.” I was practicing, learning how to scratch and all that stuff. I bought RnB and hip-hop records, and then slowly… At the time it was all RnB and hip-hop and in Holland you had like hardstyle and a Hardcore scene, and then you had Trance and that was like, Tiesto. I thought it was cool, but not for me to DJ.
I was like, “It’s too hard for me.” So when I was like 17-18 years old, then guys like Richard Sanchez, where the BPM was a little slower, but it connects more to the urban music that I like, more percussion where I was like, “Hey I wanna play this!” Then I went to house parties and I saw a crowd and was like oh man! DJ’ing for a house crowd is way better than an urban crowd. An urban crowd is like, stand angry and at the end fighting, and I don’t know, it’s no satisfaction. I started to play house more and more, but I wanted to make it my own so I started to play house music with an urban feel. Now they call it Dutch-house. That’s what I want; House music with an urban feel and everyone likes it.
Q: Riverside was the first number 1 for you, that was the chart topper. What was it like seeing it climb and being a success?
A: It was so crazy! You know, and not really just the chart’s success, but all the other DJ’s that I look up to, they played it! Like, Fat Boy Slim, Tiga; it was like, “Tiga played Riverside? Shut up!” I didn’t believe it! All the big DJ’s were playing it, so for me, that was the success, not just the chart hit, but that all those guys played my song. It really opened doors for me and that’s why I’m standing here right now.
Q: Why did you pick that Tupac quote?
A: Just because it sounded cool! That’s all… I was on a mission to find a cool vocal for a record I would make in the future. I was just Youtube’ing and Youtube’ing and I saw that scene, I sampled that vocal, then 2 weeks later I made the song in like 3 hours.
Q: You create very unique sets. What are you trying to do when you’re creating a set?
A: You know what it is? I’m a DJ in my heart, so when I perform, I wanna show people that I have skills, and I want to do stuff that other DJ’s can’t. CDJ’s count your BPM, even has a synch button now on the new Pioneers, but how I’m mixing, there’s no Pioneer in the world who can synch it how I’m mixing it. Cuz I’m mixing some Moombahton with a trap song, where the BPM is different and still, I make it work. And that’s cuz I’m fighting for a skilled DJ. I’m sick of, “Yeah that DJ has a number 1 hit, so he’s really good.” Ok… No, no. His song is really good, but as a DJ he really sucks. So that’s why I wanna fight for the rights of the really skilled DJ’s!
Q: who would you say are the top 5 DJ’s in the world right now, as a skill DJ?
A: As a skill DJ, in the top 5: Carl Cox, he has no number 1 hits, but he is one of the best DJ’s in the world, and people don’t give him that kind of
respect. Erick Morillo is still one of the best DJ’s in the world. Roger Sanchez is still one of the best. Tiesto still gets the recognition, but he is still one of the best.
Q: Do you have anything to say to your fans?
A: I want to thank all my fans for all the support.
