Rising Rotterdam selector SAMWHO provides sonically rich hour of tribal-infused, high energy club cuts.
Of the many cultures that exist in Rotterdam, few ingrained themselves into the cities musical landscape as the West African population from Cape Verde. The first Cape Verdean music venture in the city was the now legendary Morabeza Records which was founded by activist Djunga de Biluca. the label played a significant role in Cape Verde’s independence via the smuggling of records after the archipelago’s traditional music was banned during Portuguese rule.
From there, Cape Verdean immigrants used music to connect the diaspora and in the 80’s radio became their chosen medium. Stations such as Radio Voz De Cabo Verde became hubs used to preserve the culture and music of Rotterdam’s growing population of whom SAMWHO’s father was a part of. Now, 40 years later, SAMWHO is using radio to find his community and expand his musical education in true Cape Verdean fashion.
Samuel’s style regularly nods to his heritage – whether intentionally or unintentionally. Tribal elements and African-inspired drums and rhythms litter his productions and sets. Its not uncommon to hear a four-to-the-floor techno track mixed into a fast-paced, syncopated beat like Avernian & Strick – Smoking Gun, which has the rhythmic and instrumental ingredients of Funanã.
Currently a resident at Amsterdam’s RRFM, his sets have graced the likes of NTS, Kiosk Radio and more, and whilst he is established in the Rotterdam scene, his releases on labels such as LOCH INN, W133, and 3024 have seen him drift further afield into esteemed venues such as Amsterdam’s De School and Paloma in Berlin to name a few.
Throughout our interview we spoke about his mix, his influences, the nightlife scene in Rotterdam.
Tell me about some of your inspirations. How did you get into music and DJ originally?
Growing up in Rotterdam is kind of unique because it’s a city where many cultures come together. For a long time – I don’t know if that’s still the case – but it was the city with the most ethnicities and nationalities except for New York, so that kind of defines the number of different sounds that can be heard here.
In terms of ethnicity, my parents are Cape Verdean. My father is a reggae musician, still is, but he also worked for radio stations where he did stuff around Cape Verde for the diaspora that live here. Because of that it was kind of all around me. Sometimes people would joke that if you go to Cape Verde and give somebody a guitar, they’ll probably play it. The funny thing is that I’ve literally seen it happen.
Do you go to Cape Verde often?
I haven’t been in a long time now, around 8 years, I think, but I’ve been there at least six or seven times. It’s an African country, but it feels different from Africa itself. I haven’t been to mainland Africa, but a lot of people think it’s a Caribbean country or something, but it’s not. It’s a pretty chill place to live, and they’ve done a lot for tourism there. I would recommend anyone who wants a sunny holiday to consider Cape Verde. It’s very cheap there and has a lot of interesting culture going on.
You said your father was a musician. What type of stuff were you exposed to at home, and what type of music was he playing?
There was always a record player in the living room, but he doesn’t use that much anymore because he recently turned 60. I think when CDs came in he started to lose interest in records. When I eventually got a record player it was an interesting time for me because I started going through his collection. I remember finding stuff and thinking, why does my dad have this? From George Michael to Pink Floyd to James Brown, and then some really weird cuts from Angola. That was an interesting journey. I also remember as a child, he had a few crates filled with cassette tapes that I would skip through. Sometimes I would spend the whole day going through them.
Would you say that was your first introduction to the life of a DJ? Digging through his collection.
Yeah, but I guess I didn’t think about it like that then. I just had this sort of dumb Eureka moment. I did a set for NTS, where I did straight-up Cape Verdean music and the guy I was emailing was like, “Oh yeah, they have these really cool radio stations back in Rotterdam”. I was amazed that this guy knew such a thing. He made me think about my dad and his love for these stations. I remember having flashbacks as a kid when I used to go to the radio stations and watch them doing their thing. He mostly did production so it wasn’t like he was DJing, but it was a weird revelation.
When did you start taking things more seriously?
I don’t know. I come from an immigrant family, so I always had music with me. But my dad was never like “You should become a musician”, but I think that was always in the back of my mind. I’ve always done stuff with music, but I never thought about it any further. When I was younger, I discovered illegally downloading music as we all did in the 2000s. LimeWire was a classic. Before that I used Kazaa, but LimeWire was for the long run. I used software to make my own mix CDs that I used to sell. I made the covers for them and everything.
Around the age of 12/13, my father introduced me to Fruity Loops which I used to play around with quite a bit. Then, when I was around 22, I started promoting parties. Even when I got involved in electronic music it took me five or six years before I asked myself why I wasn’t doing music. I’ve been basically doing it my whole life, but I’ve always kind of dabbled with it. The pandemic is when I got a bit more serious about it.
You recently played the closing party at De School. How did you become involved with the venue?
I kind of rolled into it. Mijke as I know her, started doing these sessions at Doka in Amsterdam. Producers could send in music, and she would select some and it was like a cool setting where a lot of people came together, played their tracks on a PA system and got feedback. It was a really cool thing. Later she picked it up and started a label from it and I was lucky enough to be chosen to contribute. In the end, she started doing those sessions at De School so when they closed down, she had the opportunity to do an area and that’s how I got in there.
What was the label?
LOCH INN.
Are you still doing stuff with them?
I haven’t sent in any music, but that was also pretty recent. I think they are kind of taking it to other towns now. They did one in my city about a week ago or something.
What are things like in Rotterdam at the minute for you? How involved are you in the scene there?
I used to throw parties in the city, but I’ve had to let that go because I do a full-time job next to this which takes up a lot of space in my life. I was also kind of sick of it as well as losing money. I mean, I know the people here, I used to do some stuff here, but currently there’s not much to be involved in.
I think they’ve closed at least five clubs in the last year. There are two left that kind of do the sound that we would be interested in, and even that is sporadic. One night it could be that sound, and another night it could be like really jarring techno or something. Honestly, at the moment, there is not much interesting stuff happening in Rotterdam. I’m not going to say that it’s not going to be there. You might go in a year, and it might be popping off again. But at the moment it’s not going great. We are in a severe depression over here.
That’s surprising considering its proximity to Amsterdam. What are some of the reasons for the club closures?
Rotterdam and Amsterdam are completely different cities. In Amsterdam, most of the people are kind of left-leaning and are more interested in culture. Rotterdam however, is known for being a working city. We have this huge harbour and the municipality kind of live by those standards, so they’re trying to make it a city that’s made to pretty much work and sleep. It’s not just the club scene either, it’s culture in general. It’s just not important here and that’s been that’s been made very clear to us.
It’s frustrating for the people trying to do something. There aren’t many venues open now, but I hope it will change because the spirit is always here. If there’s a good party, like a really good party, then all of a sudden you see there is a lot of life in the scene. People do really want it and have a lot to offer. I mean, Clone is based here, and we have so many good artists coming from here too. Ultimately, there are certain people who want it to be a working town.
The government in the UK is similar. They don’t seem to care for cultural spaces and are more in favour of private investments, high-rise flats, etc.
It’s the exact same here. I live about 5 minutes from Clone and then across from there you have this little block where there are 5 clubs, I think. They are planning to take the whole block down for exactly the same reason.
Tell us about your Mix for //SNCMAG.
Coincidentally, I feel like at the beginning I was kind of struggling because I felt like I wanted to make something that was a bit deeper, a bit more for the opening hours. After a few attempts, I wasn’t happy, so I put it away. Afterwards, I sat with my friend Fre, and we went through some music that we discovered, and I realised that I was in the mood for straight-up club music.
I tend to over-prepare sets so for this one I didn’t prepare at all. There’s some unreleased stuff from some friends of mine in there and it’s really percussive as usual for me. I really like it.
What’s next for SAMWHO?
My first EP ‘Gaea’s Good Grace’ recently released on Intercept Records. It’s funny because that record was made two years ago now, so although I am happy that it finally dropped I’m trying to keep focused on whats ahead. I’m really happy with how it has been received also. I got a lot of love for this one which was nice. Other than that, I have a track on an upcoming compilation from Martyn’s 3024 label which I’m also really excited about.
Tracklist:
Juzu a.k.a. Moochy – Lugar Precioso (Sacred Rhythm By Joaquin Joe Claussell)
Ferre – Unreleased
Bakongo – bopster
Ferre – Unreleased
Avernian – smoking gun
Tristan ARP -End of a Line or Part of a Circle
Dåser – Doabey
Tsepo – Zap
Millia – Kehinde
Najel Monteiro – Afro roll
Pino Peña x samwho – Jacarandas
Pino Peña – Officer Rumba
Najel Monteiro – Cassis
Skee mask & MJK – Patchwork, Pt. 2
INVT – BIOMA
Elpac & Mulholland – Sugaboo
Dual monitor – Cuth ta
Mor Elian – Teke Teke
Valdemar – Anorak