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We grilled Sampology on their soulful electronica
House | Wednesday 21st September 2016 |
For those who don’t know, Samplogy is a Brisbane (Australian) based producer delving deep into the forests of organic, natural Afro-percussion. He blends live instrumentation and soulful sampling, creating a unique soul inspiring sound that wets its toes in the waters of house and electronica. The notions of lush soundscapes truly come to life under his banner.
Premiered on Gilles Peterson Worldwide, lead single Thicker than Water starts with an ever-brisk sleight of confidence and attitude kicked about by a laid-back chord. Immediately a natural succession of instrumentation blankets the listener in the soulful organic electronica Sam ‘Sampology’ Pogiolli has become known for. Upcoming vocalist and artist Tiana Khasi laces the warm sonic background with soft sensual words, creating a unique bridging effect enabling the song to become a soulful party starter or sensual after hours dweller.
The title track ‘Natural Selections,’ premiered on Boiler Room is the embodiment of pure. Live instruments include a rather curious xylophone, blissful hi-hats, a welcoming kick drum and a sweetly cooed vocal sample all cross-examined by exploratory key tones. Together they build a jungle of warm, natural sounds and soft, trusting, jazzy vibes.
I had a chat with Sam to explore his musical mind and find out what inspires him.
What inspired you to start producing music?
It seemed like a fun, creative challenge years back, but the last two or three years it has been more focused on trying to capture the kind of music I want to hear & that's in my head.
What sounds are you listening to now?
Talented music friends in my own city of Brisbane, Mo Kolours, Anderson Paak, Floating Points, Anything 'mixedbyali', but as always, old records from the 60s, 70s, 80s for different recording and songwriting techniques.
What processes do you follow when you write?
I feel the most satisfied when I'm consistently getting up every day and spending a strict 20 minutes making a new song & then going into developing existing songs further. I try to mix up the different techniques to keep my brain stimulated but a lot of the time it starts with sampling from vinyl, playing over the top, then taking the sample away. Lately, I've been using late nights for recording vocal ideas myself, it's fun to not have to look at a piano to work out the harmonies rather than just closing your eyes and finding them with your voice.
What ideas are behind the new EP ‘Natural Selections?
The original EP title was 'Friends & Fam' which still informed the completion of the project. My mum worked on the artwork, dad played upright bass as well as my auntie who played the viola. That Friends and Fam energy even informed me reaching out to Soul Has No Tempo; I've known those guys for about a decade & really dug their approach to music from their first releases with Jordan Rakei's EP/LP. The rest of the features - Tiana Khasi, Laneous & Noah Slee - are all people who live in Brisbane, although Noah is in Berlin currently.
What’s happening in the future including touring, production and collaboration?
I'm doing a capital city tour in Australia from mid-October. It will feature music from the 'Natural Selections' EP, the 'Birds Of A Feather' mixtape, remixes + unreleased material. Visual shows have been a big part of what I've done in the past & there will be visuals as part of this show but not mashup type - the visual side to my new live show is more original art, animations kind of thing. But overall my new show is more about the music than the visuals.
There's a larger musical body of work to come next year which the EP builds up into, in my mind; it's all one momentum towards that. The theme behind that has been pushing me forward creatively.
Last week I spent 7 days engineering and producing a band in my home studio which was amazing. I've been doing a lot of music hangs and collaborations in my home city for both my stuff and helping out other people. I actually really enjoy helping other people's projects and always learn something new which is the best feeling to have after you finish a session.
Can we expect you in London anytime soon?
There are no plans yet but I would, of course, be thrilled to come play London. With both the 'Natural Selections' EP & rerelease going forward I feel I'm repping my city but at the same time I feel a connection with a lot of UK sounds I've been really digging. It was cool having the first track 'Thicker Than Water' premiered by Gilles Peterson & then the title track from the EP debuted through Boiler Room Track Debuts.
From one mind to another, listening to Sampology is like taking a stroll through your fondest childhood memories. Something akin to dreaming may just be the closest you will ever get to embodying the sounds of Samplogy. But as they say, no one likes being the last one to the party, so don’t sleep.
For more, like Sampology on Facebook and see upcoming dates and releases on his site
