After mixing the new Ultra Dance 2015 compilation, Melbourne-based DJ Samual James is establishing himself as one of the country’s biggest artists to look out for. Describing the opportunity to mix the soundtrack alongside fellow Aussie DJ Will Sparks as “out of the blue”, Samual lists Ultra as the record label that “I really wanted to work with pretty much since I started”.
After being sent a list of around 60 tracks to choose from, Samual whittled it down to what he thought were the 18 best songs for Australian dance music lovers to enjoy.
“I just tried to keep my CD a mixture of tracks people are gonna know as well as tracks that I really like personally and really enjoy playing in my own live sets already,” he says.
Perhaps a testament to the rise of Australian dance music in recent years, the 2015 Ultra mix features around 20 tracks by Australian artists over two discs. This exposure of local talent is part of the reason why Samual thinks the country’s DJ culture has blown up recently.
“Coming up in Melbourne, there’s so many DJ’s and producers, but only in the last two years have the bigger artists really been discovering all the talent that is in Australia,” he says.
“So it’s really good to see so many Aussie’s on such a big CD like this, given that it’s Ultra.”
Alongside the release of the Ultra Dance compilation Samual will be playing in clubs all around the country, including a set at Geelong’s own Home House. No stranger to the Geelong crowd, Samual has played at the local club several times before, describing the shows as: “Incredible… every time it’s wall-to-wall packed out”. However, this time he says that partygoers can expect something a little bit different from his set.
“I’ll be playing a lot of the tracks that are on the CD’s and a few tracks that I wouldn’t normally play in my sets… I’ll be testing a lot of new stuff from me that will be coming out later in the year so everyone can look forward to that,” he says.
One thing fans can count on is that the set will include his new track ‘Mumbai’, which is currently climbing its way up the ARIA club tracks chart and at the moment sits at an impressive number six.
For Samual, the best part of releasing a new track is seeing the reaction he gets from the crowd when he plays it at a club.
“People start to get to know the track so well that when you’re mixing it in they kind of catch onto it and you see people start to get their phones out and tell their mates… It’s so cool to get a response like that and I’m stoked with how well it’s done,” he says of ‘Mumbai’s success.
Having just played Stereosonic 2014, something he describes as “one of the best experiences so far in my career”, Samual James looks like he’s gearing up for an even bigger year ahead. With more new tracks on the way, that will undoubtedly cement his presence as one of Australia’s favourite DJ’s, one thing is for sure, Geelong partiers don’t want to miss his set at Home House later this month.
When&Where: Home House, Geelong – March 28
Written by Kara Ready