VA - Sources - The Sam Records Anthology [Compiled By Bill Brewster] (2015)

Sources is a brand new series which will examine the output of a number of extremely influential independent U.S. labels throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

In an age where corporate anonymity reigns supreme and music is being treated like aural wallpaper, the Sources series will go back to a time when record labels really meant something via their A&R policies, their ground-breaking releases, their everyday modus-operandi and their general philosophies. What made these operations unique? How did they manage to compete with the major companies? How did they protect their artist rosters? What sort of people ran these operations and how did they manage to survive in the cut-throat music business?

Bill Brewster, co-founder of the influential DJ History website and forum and author of the acclaimed “Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life” will be compiling and writing the sleeve notes for the series. The first six releases will concentrate on 6 New York independent labels which have each been massively influential in the evolvement of Dance Music over the last 30+ years – Easy Street, Fresh, Sleeping Bag, Sam, Streetwise and P&P.

Each 3 x CD package will be full of lovingly re-mastered original 12” mixes as selected by Bill. These will include many tracks which have never made it to CD before and you can be sure that a variety of ‘secret weapons’ will emerge from each of these packages! All notes and scans will be included in a 16 page colour booklet which fits beautifully within the 3CD superior digipack. The usual Harmless PR and Radio operation will support all Sources releases.

The fourth package in the Sources series covers one of the most loved New York independent record labels ever, the iconic Sam Records. Formed by industry veteran Sam Weiss in 1975, the label launched with a the killer atmospheric funk anthem “Woman Of The Ghetto” by Doris Duke before heading into Disco territory with several hugely successful albums from John Davis & The Monster Orchestra before hitting big internationally with a brace of Disco smashes from Gary’s Gang including their most successful single “Keep On Dancing”. By the beginning of the 1980s Sam managed to deftly circumnavigate the Disco backlash and re-invent themselves as a bona-fide 80s Dance label immediately scoring with Rhyze’s “Just How Sweet Is Your Love”, Convertion’s “Let’s Do It”, Scandal’s “Just Let Me Dance”, K.I.D.’s “Don’t Stop” and Mike & Brenda Sutton’s “We’ll Make It” among others. This proved to be a fortuitous direction and by the end of 1982 Sam had scored high-profile successes with Vicky ‘D’’s “This Beat Is Mine”, Komiko’s “Feel Alright”, The Evasion’s “Wikka Wrap”, K.I.D.’s “Hupendi Muziki Wangu?! (You Don’t Like My Music)” and the sumptuous “Dreaming” by Greg Henderson. Sam’s impressive dance hit tally continued into 1983 with further successes like Steve Shelto’s pumping “Don’t Give Your Love Away” and Klassique’s “Somebody’s Loving You” before the label wound down for much of the next decade. Over the ensuing 30+ years Sam’s 70s and 80s releases have seldom been off DJs turntables whether via the Disco, Rare-Groove and Electro scenes or by the almost relentless re-edits that appear of Sam’s main output throughout this period. ‘Sources: The Sam Records Anthology’ continues the run of comprehensive anthologies of the most important labels in the evolution of Dance music.