NI DJ Sam McComb is resident at Belfasts cutting edge nightery Club Mono where he regularly plays alongside artists no less artful than Hayley Parsons & Arno Cost. As well as regular gigs at Lush! Sam has graced the airwaves making guest mix appearances on several radio stations and has successfully bridged the crossover to producing with an EP release on Limbo Records and his upcoming EP on Housekeeping Digital.

Naturally, as member of NI’s growing up and coming EDM talent we were eager to have a chat!

For our readers outside of NI, introduce yourself

Hi all, I go by the name of Sam McComb and I’m a local DJ/Producer from Belfast. I love hearing new music which can be anything from soul/chillout through to house and techno.

 

What’s been happening for you musically so far in 2012?

I have had a good start to the year, with my gigs, I have been continuing my residency at club Mono in Belfast which is going from strength to strength after its recent refurb. On Saturday past I was warming up before Robin S & there’s a really good buzz about the club at present. I have also been playing up at the mighty Lush in Portrush which is a great achievement as Lush is a legendary venue on these shores.

Production wise I have just signed my latest track Humira to Housekeeping digital which is a techno label who have had releases from Fergie and Arjun Vagale so I’m in very good company.

Can you describe your sound for us in less than 10 words?

That’s tricky! Ha,
Soulful groovy vocal house through to big room tech house

Which electronic genres do you feel are moving in the most exciting direction right now?

I feel house music is exciting at the minute, with the recent popularity in artists like Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler, Maya Jane Coles etc, Its found its groove again. For a while house had kind of gone a bit stale and the warmth and soul had been lost but I feel its coming around again and that old skool garage bassline is coming back which for me is great!

Tell us about how you first got into music?

I suppose I have my school days to thank for that one, as when I was growing up my school mates where also into dance music and we started going to underage discos and playing our walkmans in school/class with the headphones up the blazer sleeve to avoid getting caught ha, and going into town and buying records so I soon realised I naturally had a real love for dance music and it went from there.

Musical influences as a child are often a huge factor in the decision to pursue electronic dance music as a career, is this something that rings true with you?

Its actually not to be honest, My folks weren’t big into music and my brothers are more from the Oasis era, So I think it just kind of happened for me through friends and the radio which isn’t the norm but hey I did ok.

What is the best thing about the electronic music scene in Northern Ireland?

The passion, These have been a few hard years for dance music, with the recession but through it all clubbers and promoters have remained strong in their belief for having a good party, and the clubs across the province are still pushing hard to deliver great line-ups and give the clubbers their dance music fix.

And the worst?

Unfortunately in Northern Ireland we have always had to suffer from backward licensing laws and now closing time has been pulled back again, it’s making it harder for the clubs to compete in an already difficult market. Its so frustrating as when you consider the rest of the UK clubs can keep open till the wee hours and we are made to shut before some London clubs even get going.

Do you think we’re catching up with the rest of the UK in terms of production talent?

Yes! Recently there is a batch of Northern Ireland producers doing very well for themselves from the likes of BUBBA who is getting support from Pete Tong, Psycatron, Japanese Popstars, L.A.W through to Dibby Dougherty & David Young. They alongside a whole lot more are showing the rest of the UK what Northern Ireland has got to offer!

What is the ultimate dream for you as a DJ & producer?

For me obviously making it big and getting to jet set is what any budding DJ/producer wants to have, getting to play in the worlds best venues and also see a bit of other countries would be an added bonus, until then I’m happy to just keep plugging away and keep the head down.

Tell us your plans for the next few months?

Over the next few months, I will be continuing to play at my residency at Mono in Belfast, in August I’m playing at Lips Jammin The Park festival in Larne with a great line-up of local talent alongside headliner Grandmaster Flash which will be really cool. I will also be over in Ibiza over the summer which is always good fun.

And finally, why did the chicken cross the road?

It wanted to show it was no chicken, lol

Find out more about Sam at..

http://www.twitter.com/djsammccomb