Sidney Samson
Every year hundreds of thousands of dance records are being made and released. With the output from dance producers at an all-time high and with so many records crossing over it takes something a bit special to break through from underground groover to worldwide mover. 2010 provided just that, becoming the year of Sidney Samson's huge hit 'Riverside (Let’s Go!)' on Data Records.
The facts above don’t lie; this wasn’t just a dance record but a dancefloor phenomenon, and there are good reason for the comparisons with ‘Day & Night’ by Kid Cudi vs. Crookers and Fedde Le Grand’s infamous ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’. It’s got exactly the same appeal and has had exactly the same effect, i.e. unstoppable support and praise from the coolest underground DJs all the way up to the global superstars and via every European summer holiday resort.
‘Riverside’ bootlegs began to appear but it was rappers Wizard Sleeve's rendition that caught Sidney’s ear with its hooky verse and catchy melodies. Wizard Sleeve AKA Lex Cruz and Mike Beatz, based in New York and Miami respectively, are consistently touring on the underground in the U.S and are known for working with breaks supergroup ‘Aquasky’. Adapted from ‘Me Plus You’, the Wizard Sleeve rap style was perfect for Sidney’s hypnotic riff and complemented Tupac’s vocal hook that had crowds chanting ‘Riverside Motherf**ker’ all year round!
As well as the huge amount of support, ‘Riverside (Let’s Go!)’ had a huge remix package ranging from Dubstep to Drum & Bass to Electro to Funky with TC, Breakage, Lil Silva, Black Noise, Warren Clark and Kurd Maverick. It's no surprise therefore that the single charted at #1 in the UK iTunes chart and #2 in the Official UK Singles Chart as well as achieving #1 in Ireland and Denmark, #8 in Holland and #9 in Australia (where it also went gold).
Sidney Samson became a name that was simply impossible to ignore in 2010; but you would be excused for not having heard of Sidney until then. Prior to 2010 most of his success had been in his homeland; 27-year-old Sidney started to explore production an early age and quickly built an enviable reputation in the influential Dirty Dutch house scene. Having tasted success with a string of big club releases and high profile DJ gigs, Sidney and long-time collaborator Gregor Salto set up their own label 'Samsobeats', with their goal being to make every track a 'floorfiller'. They certainly succeeded in their quest; the phenomenal success of ‘Riverside’ caught the attention of every major DJ worldwide, catapulted Sidney to worldwide music fame and has led to him going into the studio with Diplo and Laidback Luke and remixing the likes of Rihanna and Martin Solveig.