Dispatches from Jeff Samuel in Berlin

Dispatches from Jeff Samuel in Berlin

8 August, 2008 | 1.24PM

• Written by: Amanda Connon-Unda
• Filed under: Music News: dub taylor, frankie records, jeff samuel, tigerskin

With his last clever release entitled Gurd Em out on Frankie Records, which reveals its conceptual meaning when one holds it up to a mirror and reverses the order of the letters, it’s no wonder that Jeff Samuel will be back with more surprising and satisfying releases this year.

Jeff Samuel, renowned American producer of fine minimal techno, is about to embark on a much-anticipated North American tour this month.

From his studio in Berlin today Jeff shared with Beatport some of the highlights of the tour. 

He’s most excited about going to Seattle for Decibel Festival, where he says, “Last year was one of the best times I’ve ever had. 

I’m going up against Deadmau5, so I’ll know anyone in my room is there because they want to be.”

Having moved to Berlin from Seattle, which he sometimes considers home, Jeff confides, “I’m still in love with the city as well”. 

A close second on his list of favourite cities he’ll play in North America is Montreal.

He says, “The people there have always been very receptive to my DJ sets, and it seems I still can’t go anywhere without getting comments about my appearance at Mutek Piknik in 2004. 

I think I’m still getting bookings just based on that one.”

Not only does Jeff Samuel have his North American tour to look forward to, but music buyers can also stay tuned for his next release coming out in October on Trapez.

This 12” will be his first new material on Trapez since his 2006 LP with them.

He says, “The sound is a bit of a throwback to my earlier material on the label. 

“I am back to working primarily with audio samples and less with softsynths. 

“This is how all my early releases were made, as there was no such thing as a softsynth plugin at that time.”

While Jeff considers himself to be an anti-collaborationist in his music, when asked he says, “If I HAD to choose (to work with someone) I would pick Alex Kruger, aka
Dub Taylor / Tigerskin. 

“He is really easy going and extremely efficient.

“I did spend an afternoon in his studio last year and put a simple bassline on top of one of his tracks. 

“I don’t really consider that a true collaboration, because the track was already finished. 

“It was nice of him to include my name on his album anyway, but it wasn’t really necessary. 

“His album comes out in September.”

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