Mr. Samuel Paquet has literally crossed borders to become the newest big name in the trance scene. Moving from the north of France to Belgium at the age of 16. He made his mark through a number of remixes and original tracks which were played out by some of the most famous DJ's out there including Danny Tenaglia, and Corvin Dalek.
With an all new two disc mix album just released, Mr. Sam speaks his mind about production, Tiesto, and the state of trance.
> Interview : Landscape Music_Introduction : Len Iima(HigherFrequency)
Q : You have toured and are touring as a DJ or Live Act all over the world, which party made you biggest impression for the last few years?
Mr. Sam : Well as everyone knows, I'm a big fan of east Europe for years. I had my best parties over there. People are very friendly and I love the state of mind they've, remind me the early 90's in France or Belgium with the beginning of dance music. I’m now looking forward to see the Japanese crowd, I heard a lot from it...cant wait!!
Q : You have just released your first mix album "OPUS". What the name of the CD means?
Mr. Sam : OPUS means work in Latin and in Music too for a big achievement so OPUS was the right name for such an album.
Q : I got the impression that the CD has strong statement, can you tell us the concept of this CD?
Mr. Sam : OPUS is child dream I had and I achieved it. I wanted to tell and write my own story translated in music. This is why I called OPUS the "STORY OF A MUSICAL TALE"... that was an excited adventure for me and I’m very proud of the result...by now I got wave reviews about it and even the congratulations from the biggest DJ’s and producers about it. I’m glad I had the chance to achieve it while being 100% free of my choice. From the music to the artwork etc. Black Hole supported me a lot...they’re a great label !!!
Q : You have released 2 Mr. Sam albums and a Mojado album with Dimitri Andreas so far. What do you think of the difference between producing an artist album and making a mix album?
Mr Sam : It's completely different. Producing a "Mix Album" is very different from producing a solo project. One doesn't compose songs especially for a mix album, give or take a few exceptions. So the challenge here really is about finding the diamonds, just like music archeologists, in order to exhibit them for the public to see in the best possible conditions. And that's what it's all about for me: communicating emotion For me, a mix album is like telling a story with a certain talent for narration, setting the scene with great care. In other words, it's a musical tale. Writers use words, painters use colours; dancers use their body, we DJs use music as our medium. So all I had to do was find the right colours, the right decors, the right characters, the right plot, the rights words; and all that transposed into music.
Q : I think what makes your music so special is deep and beautiful melody. Please tell us the fundamental secret to continue producing such music?
Mr Sam : I've my own sound, my own style. We like it or not. I've a different vision on composing music. Too many people are confused and are "doing" music for the wrong reasons. Some to get well known, some to get gigs etc... they completely forget the real meaning of Music in general. I'm doing music to cure me, to express feelings etc. Not to be in the charts etc.. Fans and people in general are not numb, they feel it. Every time I do a new record, I don’t think about business and things like that, I leave this the others...
Q : Meanwhile, in the Mojado alias with Dimitri Andreas, you feature techy and tribal sounds. Do you have any things to take into consideration when you use different aliases?
Mr. Sam : I only use 1 alias: MOJADO for more techy, tribal and house records even is many tracks could have been a Mr. Sam single. No matter the alias, only the music counts. I'm very versatile and I love to cross music boundaries, I always did and will always do. Look, MOJADO - KAKTUS is number 1 for 3 weeks in Holland's chart.. no need to say more!
Q : You have collaborated with many artists so far such as Fred Baker, Rani from Delerium and of course Kirsty Hawkshaw. Do you have any other artists to collaborate with in the future?
Mr Sam : Well, I'm planning to do some new collabs soon and many will be very surprised or more than this. I'm thinking and working a lot on it to come with massive new songs, not comparable to what I did previously. Its time to come up with a brand new stuff on the market, I feel myself hyper motivated and inspired.
Q : I watched the videos of Kirsty's channel on youtube, and I found that you and her are very good friends. What was the initial trigger for picking her for the vocalist of your songs, and what fascinates you about her?
Mr. Sam : Kirsty is like my big sister, I love her. I only work with people I've chemistry with. I need that to work, to compose, I'm a sensitive person and I need to feel love around me to feel good. She inspire me a lot, you've to meet her to understand what I feel, she is an angel....
Q : And also, how did you and Dimitri Andreas start producing tracks together?
Mr. Sam : I was an A&R in a big record company when I heard of Dimitri. After a while, we've decide to do a test in studio together and Naranja was born. You can imagine why we keep up working together and made 2 albums and more... We are made for producing together....
Q : As Mojado, how do you and Dimitri produce a track?
Mr. Sam :We work as a team we do everything together from A to Z, means we are like the 5 fingers of the hand. I do come with weird sounds and melody, so does Dimitri and we're doing a cocktail of it...you know how the result is. We don’t like too much about it and we have fun... we don’t want to put us under pressure for anything. Like I said having fun is the most important thing in my eyes...
Q : I heard that Mojado's second album "Skizo" will be out soon. When is the release date, and what can we expect from the album?
Mr. Sam : Yes, It will be on Tiesto’s Magik Muzik Label. Its a brand new concept...Skizo. As we're all a bit. It's the combination of my wired mind together with Dimitri's. The result is pretty massive. The best work we've done so far in my opinion. This time except the massive club bombs like Kaktus and more you'll find Radio Tunes always with the mojado sound to it...will surprised many I think....videos and remixes are in the making..a bit more patience and you'll know more.
Q : Your base of releasing your material is Tiesto's Black Hole Recordings now. How did you get involved in that label?
Mr. Sam : It’s a long story but let’s say that we've had a big respect for each other for a long time. I work on his label but I don’t want to exist only by this... We're both similar on many points and also very different on others things to. He’s a model for many and a very nice guy, That’s for sure but I want to write my own history and not being a characters part of someone else history....
Q : Tiesto always plays and supports your tracks, and his tracks are included on "OPUS". Please tell us what he means to you.
Mr. Sam : His tracks are on my album cause I love them... not because it’s Tiesto. I told him. I had them exclusively for my album and it’s a nice thing. I’m having massive comments on the mix album and I’m very happy with it. His tracks fit my vision so I took them.
Q : You have been in the dance music scene since the mid-90's, and the music or sound that is categorized as "Trance Music" has changed and grown in various ways during this decade. What do you think about this decade of "Trance Music", and also about next decade of it?
Mr. Sam : It didn't makes me younger! I'm not a Trance Artist to be honest, I did and still do more styles. I think music will evolve and cross boundaries, more and more. This is what I do for a long time. I’m trying all I can do find new style of music, mixing many influences all together and see how it sounds.. I like doing experiments in music.. The next decade will be massive...more than now, many fresh new talents are asking me advises and help and I always do and I cant wait to see the near future.. and ill certainly be part of it ....
End of the interview
Related Link
