Mr. Sam

The roaring mid seventies experienced the birth of what rapidly would become a fine artistic craftsman and a multi talented producer in his own right. It was in the upper north of France in small town named Tourcoing, where Mr. Sam - known at Tourcoing City Hall as Samuel Paquet - laid the foundations for a healthy, prosperous musical career and a prominent sequence of fine releases and productions.

Born in the seventies, it was inevitable for Sam that he got injected in his early years with a high doses of Giorgio Moroder, a dash of Elvis Presley and a tinge of Klaus Schulze. An involuntary injection, as Sam's parents had a habit of serving musical cocktails of electronic music and rock 'n roll in the Paquet residence on a daily basis. As there was no escaping this musical indoctrination, Sam quickly developed a fascination for this mixture of styles and got hooked to the potpourri of squelchy synths and raging rock. This fascination lead to the purchase of a Depeche Mode record and from that moment on, Sam was firmly hooked. For Sam, growing up in the eighties meant an infection of a healthy stack of electronic versus rock, a combination which he learned to appreciate and, later on, loved.

Since 1995, Sam has pioneered his own musical style and showcased the art of DJ-ing in many French and Belgian clubs and on various events. An eclectic and varied DJ style drew huge attention to clubbers as well as promoters. As a result, Sam gained a solid reputation being one of the key catalysts of the French and Belgian nightlife throughout the nineties. Renowned clubs like La Rocca, Tour & Taxi, Pacha, La Bush and Lagoa all received a taste of Sam's choice of music and mixing abilities, when he played alongside DJ legends such as Carl Cox, Nalin & Kane, Robert Miles, Luke Slater and Misstress Barbara.

Sam carefully started experiencing with newly bought studio equipment and soon created his very first compositions, focusing on a well balanced fusion of trance, progressive and electro. His very first production ever to hit the market became a remix for Circuit Boys "The Door", released in 1999 on the legendary Belgian base imprint Diki Records. Heavy support by tastemakers such as Danny Tenaglia and Corvin Dalek followed, instantly launching the career of this ambitious Frenchman. This remix was followed up by stunning remixes for Dillinger & Capone - released on the infamous German label M.F.S. -, for "Mad Dogs" by German überproducer Timo Maas and Corvin Dalek's classic "Pornoground". Sam has accumulated a long list of more than sixty impressive remixes for a variety of A-list artists, ranging from Sinead O'Connor, Delirium, Age of Love, Praga Khan, Niels Van Gogh, Todd Terry and many others.

It was the Belgium based Yeti Records which gave Sam the opportunity in February 2002 to present his very first EP to the masses: "Pressurize". Sam gave birth to a continuous stream of records of utmost quality, spreading the Mr. Sam virus to all corners of the globe. After signing a lucrative and solid deal with Tiësto's Black Hole Recordings, Sam's career catapulted in a flash resulting in worldwide licenses of his productions to labels like Kontor Records (Germany), Maelstrom Records and Central Station (Australia). Sam's unstoppable string of releases paved Mr. Sam's path even more thoroughly; "Lyteo" (2005), "Insight" (2006), "Split" (2007) and "Cygnes" (2008) - a collaboration with clAud9 - can be considered to be the absolute highlights in his ever expanding discography. His top notch debut album "Lyteo" (2006) displayed his versatility as a producer; breakbeats, electro, trance, techno and progressive were all blended into a 14-track digital inventory of Sam's vault of treasures.

Upon signing an agreement with Black Hole Recordings, Sam got invited to DJ in Europe's finest venues, festivals and events like Mysteryland, Tomorrowland, Matrixx and Powerzone. But Europe wasn't the only continent who received a shot of Mr. Sam; recently, he had the privilege to play in clubs in East Asia and the Middle East. Not just being satisfied with simply DJ-ing, Sam also performs live sets with production buddy Dimitri Andreas under their Mojado guise. Their radiant live performances have proved to be a resounding success. Production-wise, the duo delivered what just might be one of the biggest dance floor monsters in 2007, "Kaktus", supported by just about everyone and anyone who matter in a DJ booth. Sam took the old school vibe of Kaktus and repeated the trick once more, as he combined forces with Human Resource to give their old time classic "Dominator" a well deserved second life.

Sam's choice of tracks during his many DJ sets were digitally translated onto silver discs as well. The renowned "Opus" compilation, released in 2007 through Black Hole Recordings, was succeeded with "Opus Secundo" in 2008; both a 2-disc blue print of what one might expect when Sam is rocking the crowd on any party, in any club, on any continent.

With a brand new artist album on the verge of being released, a tight DJ schedule and a string of releases ready to be unleashed, Mr. Sam is definitely on his way to the upper regions of his beloved scene!