![]() “We were living in Helsinki, Finland, where we’re from, and ended up working in the same architecture office,” Kalliala says of the group’s origin. But with merch samples strewn across surfaces and shelves lined with colourful silicone skins to sheath the animatronic singing mouth they had commissioned back in the autumn, it’s certainly not dull. When I tell you their studio is small, I’m not kidding. The two form experimental electronic duo Amnesia Scanner, which rose from an aesthetically cryptic project that caught the eyes of blogs and internet trawlers in 2014 to one of the most hyped electronic acts in recent years. He’s arranging the room for their Crack Magazine photoshoot, the little metal tag on the back pocket of his Prada jeans flapping with every stride. djsamdivine /djsamdivine instagram/djsamdivine defected.“I’m such a stylist!” Ville Haimala laughs as he carts a bright orange office chair into the small corner studio he and his musical partner Martti Kalliala share with their label PAN. With an unwavering love of music and tireless dedication to her craft, Sam is living proof you can achieve pretty much anything you set your mind to – and no one can hold her back. A dedicated army of fans now spreads across the globe as her uplifting house sets captivate audiences everywhere she takes to the booth. Sam Divine’s work ethic has seen her more than earn her stripes on the scene. This summer she dropped ‘In Da Nation’ EP with Cassimm on DFTD. ![]() Last year’s ‘Confessions’ was her first release on Defected, while her ‘Sam Divine In The House’ compilation featured further productions and went #1 on iTunes’ Dance chart. Recently, Sam has also begun to flirt with production her first major release, a remix of garage anthem ‘Flowers’ with production partner Curtis Gabriel, hit #1 on both Traxsource and Beatport. Sam also launched her own label D-Vine Sounds back in 2015, which this year she will showcase with a stage at We Are FSTVL, dates in Ibiza and a boat party at Defected Croatia. This year also marks the 10-year anniversary of La Vita, the annual DJ charity night that she helped to launch and has so far raised £35,000 for Breast Cancer Research. “After that, the bookings just went nuts.” With her tireless work ethic, this summer, Sam will play Tomorrowland, Eastern Electrics, Defected Croatia, SW4, and Creamfields. “I dropped a mix the night before and everyone went mad for it the tent went from nothing to one-in-one-out within half an hour,” she explains. The real turning point, however, came when she played We Are FSTVL in 2013. A weekly warm-up at Mambo ensued, opening for legendary names like Kenny Dope and Frankie Knuckles, as well as hosting the weekly Defected Radio show that currently holds the #2 spot on iTunes in the UK Music Podcasts chart. During this time, Divine also began working with Defected, who in 2009 signed her to their artist roster. In 2005, after swapping Bristol for Ibiza, Sam became a vital component of San Antonio’s west end (where this year she makes a triumphant return as a resident for Defected at Eden) and has spent every season on the White Isle ever since. Her breakthrough came soon after with a DJ competition and landed her first residency at a club in Weston-super-Mare, where she was also the main booker, while also working in record stores. A late starter, Sam took up DJing at 21 – learning to mix in her mum’s garden shed. ![]() And her reputation for energising a dancefloor has been acknowledged by her inclusion in Pete Tong’s Selector Series for Radio 1. Last year, she racked up over a hundred gigs and is well on track to exceed that in 2017, having already hit up the likes of Europe, North America and Asia. Having played nearly every club in Ibiza – including residencies at Ushuaia, Amnesia and Sankeys – and landed at top-end festivals, there are few who can offer a house music education like Sam Divine. The hours she spent rifling through vinyl in the warehouse of Chemical Records, where Sam once worked as a house buyer, gives her an insurmountable understanding of the genre. Sam Divine is a DJ that knows exactly what to play and when to play it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |