SAM Vinyl & CDs

Review: Danish prodder S.A.M. shucks out a meaty new one through Kalahari Oyster Cult, urging 90s Eurodance down a spiritual path. Having already led several labels to fruition, S.A.M. now moves as a solo artist between bold anthemic highs and intimate, meditative lacunae. ‘Right To Disobey’ evidences his desire to wrench the best frequent and amplitudinal possibilities affordable to the modern day producer, with hugely scooped vocal hooks and widescreen pannings bringing a next generative mood. It’s only up from there, with ‘Mastermind’ maintaining a mindful but still detail-hungry stasis, and ‘Crush’ ending on moody minor second chords and raw, tweaker-jank percussions.

Review: Chris Stussy's Up The Stuss is a label very much defining the underground house sound of now. It's 19th EP comes from the accomplished SAM who bring hardcore deep house and space tech vibes to four new tracks. 'Check It Out' is packed with pent-up energy and high-speed drum patterns that are topped with a warped vocal. 'Race To Lose' cuts a more loo-embed rhythm with smeared pads, wet claps and great bell melodies. 'Tiger Balm' is physical, driving deep house at its best and 'Forever Rhodes' celebrates the sound of the famous piano by building warm house grooves around lush chords.

Review: By our reckoning, S.A.M. have been away in some sort of hibernation for about four years but finally awaken their beat-making inner beats and arrive on Delaphine with a trio of killer cuts. Opener 'Project050' (Studio version) is a stylish and serene Detroit house with meaningful synths and cosmic energy. 'Ha' then layers up silky drums and hits into smooth loops with bouncing drums that again have a futuristic Motor City feel and last of all is 'Project050' (live mix) which his more raw, direct and textured. A classy EP all round.

Review: Wah Wah 45s return to the world of reissues by offering up a fresh (and expanded) pressing of an overlooked acoustic soul gem from the early 1990s. SAM was a short-lived collaboration between singer-songwriter Sam Edwards and producer Alex Boyesen, who met while the was working for the Haringey Music Workshop community project, with the pair self-releasing a two-track single. You get both of those cuts here: the simply sublime, life-affirming acoustic soul-jazz brilliance of 'American Cars' and the even more jazzy 'Life', both of which feature staggeringly good lead vocals from Edwards. The EP also includes two fresh remixes: an extended, subtly beefed-up jazz-dance revision of 'American Cars' from Ashley Beedle's Afrikanz on Marz project, and a warming, colourful, synth-sporting take on 'Life' by Adam Scrimshire.