Sam Tiba has been my not so well kept secret DJ and producer sitting in my back pocket for a little while now, impressing my friends time and time again. His emotional reach, paired with his talent as a producer, have both highlighted why the young Roubaix-born DJ hasn't left my iPhone in years.
The French artist has been releasing both solo work and as 1/4th of the brilliant Club Cheval, which in the past has released works like this-
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM6j2Fc7g1w[/youtube]
With releases in both Pelican Fly and Bromance Records, as well as others, Sam TIba has always been one to watch for some of the most exciting and emotional work across the Atlantic. While, it's been a minute since we'd seen official releases come from Tiba, unofficial remixes were certainly in abundance over the past couple of months. Illangelo's "Clockwork," and Chris Brown's "Loyal" were both spun into his world and given a twist.
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Today marks the first official teaser for his EP, titled Samuel, through the release of "Déguisement," just one of the three magnificent tracks set to come out next week. About a year since his last official EP, this is super exciting for me, and hopefully every other Sam Tiba fan out there. We also even managed to snag some time from him and ask a couple of questions to prepare for his upcoming release.
Check out "Déguisement" above, and read the amazing things he had to say below.
EARMILK: Hello Sam Tiba! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. First off, I heard along the way that this EP took you quite a significant amount of time. Were there any major challenges you had in creating these tracks? Was it important to have a (sort-of) continued story with your last EP, Saddest Show in Town?
SAM TIBA: I don’t see myself as the narrator of a long defined story, so the continuity with the previous EP was not a problem. I would even say that I really don’t care about being coherent with myself when I create.
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This EP took time because I guess I had a lot of confidence issues, and misplaced perfectionism. The actual production didn’t take that much time, but the “intellectual process” that led to the music took more than six months. I’ve just been thinking and changing my mind, because I’m always affected by my personal life, and sometimes your emotions dictate something else, another kind of music. It’s a continuous process until someone you trust comes and tells you that time has come to finish the music.
EM: You work with Sad Andy in this EP, which is cool, but also a very interesting choice. What drew you to working with him?
ST: I heard this track called “I hate myself” about a year ago. I fell in love with this dude’s vibe. contacted him, made many tests, and ended up using an acapella he had originally written for another beat. He’s also on a special rap version of the intro (“au revoir”) that will be revealed in a few months. On top of that I met him in San Francisco during a tour back in May, he’s a cool dude, we’re on the same level, same vibe, and we could already communicate without words after a few minutes. We’ll do more together.
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EM: Your music borrows from everything – J-pop to Southern trap to Jersey and of course French electro, just to name a few, and you’ve similarly traveled all around the world to perform at places that are the heart of some of these genres. Are there any places that you’d say were the most memorable? What about in Paris or Roubaix? Any places that are great sources of artistic inspiration? I understand Japan’s been quite memorable for you…
ST: Yeah, I always end up saying that my favorite place is Tokyo. I don’t know, I just feel happy there, and it’s almost the only place where that happens so much. I feel relaxed, I love the culture, I understand it, and I think Japanese people feel that I feel them. It’s all about good vibes goin in the air when I’m in Japan.
Roubaix is bad, it sucks, it’s what you can call a hood city, very poor, very grey, but it made me who I am. It taught me a lot about life, motivated me to move my ass, and start doing something positive with my brain. Not that I have a big brain, but I wanna use 100% of it. I don’t ever wanna go back there; I hate and love this city at the same time. I don’t wanna go back to the hood, but I’m proud of where I came from.
Paris is my town, but I have nothing much to say about it. It’s just my home for a few years now. Just come and see what happens!
I love L.A too. It’s sunny and people are happy to seek happiness, which is really the opposite of France.
EM: To go with the previous question… Who are some of your favorite artists of the moment? I’ve always found that you had such a variety of sounds in your sets. How have those favorites influenced your own sound and style?
ST: I always end up saying that canblaster is my main influence. It’s weird it’s just that we get along perfectly when it comes to music. We don’t have the same tastes, but we feel the same vibrations. and when he makes music, I’m always like a child, impressed and motivated to do even better.
I’m really influenced by everything I hear, from Young Thug to Debussy, from Myd to Carly Rae Jepsen.
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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfQAb3fqTSM[/youtube]
I'm sorry I’m really bad at answering this question. I’m conscious that I haven’t created anything so far and that my music is a patchwork of a billion influences but I’m really bad at pinpointing them.
EM: This time around, I’ve found that you’ve got a bit more of a visual component. I’ve seen the cover art being pushed around through social media by various artists, and I heard there’s a video in the works? How important is the visual to go with your music for this EP? Do you have any visual artists that inspire you?
ST: Last EP’s visual, made by Richelle, was already amazing.
But this time I decided to finally get involved in the whole process of artistic creation. I have an amazing team of people working with me. They have ideas, they love to work, and I love hard workers. My manager Manu introduced me to these people Nick & Chloé, we shared ideas, and I trusted them immediately. They did an amazing job. A great pink cover, and a fantastic video art piece that will be released the same day the EP is out, September 15.
I’m inspired by the internet, and by a lot of art masters. I’m obsessed by 19th century symbolism. It’s funny cause at that time art was becoming global (it was Wagner’s biggest wish), and symbolism is a perfect example. Music, poetry, literature, visual art. Everything was going in the same direction.
I feel like something like this is happening now (in a real different way) with the internet.
EM: What are your essentials in the studio?
ST: A macbook pro with ableton 9, with two or three sick plugins. but I won’t reveal the names. I love having my triton with me too, and I need to smoke and drink a lot of coffee. I don’t need much. Also, an iPhone to refresh Instagram’s timeline every 27 seconds maybe.
EM: Besides this EP, do you have any upcoming tours or work that’s coming up for the rest of 2014 that you can talk about?
ST: I’m startin a French tour in September, followed by an Australian tour in October. I’m also still touring as Club Cheval in Europe, before a big tour around the world in the beginning of next year. We’re currently adding the final touch to our Club Cheval album, that will be released in a bit less than a year. Apart from that, I’m still doing beats, most of them for amazing vocalists. Soon to be heard.
EM: Finally, you’ve become a source of inspiration for producers and DJs; do you have any advice for those that look up to you musically?
1) Find someone to look up to
2) Work hard, even if this involves losing a ton of friends, and breaking hearts
3) Surround yourself with trustful people that will help you when you’re down
4) Try to have fun
5) Don’t be sad
Thank you Sam Tiba for the great advice. Make sure to scope out the amazing cover art below and snag the EP come September 15!
Sam Tiba
Samuel
- Bromance Records
- September 15, 2014
