Logic1000 – DJ-Kicks: Logic1000

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Even by the standards of an internationally renowned DJ and producer, 2024 was a busy year for Samantha Poulter aka Logic1000. Off the back of a string of critically acclaimed singles and EPs she released Mother – her long awaited debut album, to widespread acclaim which included gracing the cover of NME, being named DJ Mag’s ‘Album of the Month’, delivering a sensational Crack Mix, Boiler Room session, Radio 1 ‘Future Artists’ mixtape and more. She also released rebirth – it’s accompanying EP which featured Empress Of, Vagabon and Vv Pete, as well as being tapped for remixes for the likes of Dua Lipa, Shygirl and more. In amongst this she launched and hosted Therapy, her own podcast with guests including Jayda G, Aluna, Anna Luneo and Jamz Supernova, and toured across three continents, including making her Glastonbury debut. All this while remaining a staunch activist and a fiercely dedicated mother to her still new daughter. It’s no wonder then that when she was asked to contribute to !K7’s iconic DJ-Kicks series, she was seeking a sense of calm, and a sense of home.

“This DJ-Kicks truly represents my listening habits of the past three or so years”, says the Sydney-born, Berlin-based artist of the music she’s spent the most time with since the start of her music career proper and, coincidentally, the birth of her daughter. “I’ve really slowed down and found myself going deeper with the music I find and love. The reason I chose these tracks is because I adore my mornings and home life so much. There’s such a huge amount of peace and silence in my home that when I play music like this in my space, it adds another layer to the calmness”.

The result is remarkably transportive. A calmer side to Poulter than we’ve yet seen but still woven together with the deft hand that makes her DJ sets so enthralling. There’s a magic to those first hours of the day at home. A sense of suspended serenity, a bubbled isolation that, rather than feeling lonely, glows with possibility and purpose. This feeling isn’t one that can always be found – especially if you have a three-year-old – but Poulter bottles it perfectly in the opening moments of her DJ-Kicks. As the unfurling loops of Oklou & Casey MQ’s opening ‘Lurk’ morph and overlay the gentle whispers of the first Logic1000 exclusive ‘under the sun, beneath the rainfall’, Poulter presents her sanctuary as a tool for others to help find theirs.

As we move through the mix – traversing the introspective experimentalism of Astrid Sonne into the dubby, shoegaze tinged downtempo of Hoodie x James K and finally ending up in the tantalising pop-leaning R&B pivot of Smerz recent ‘Dangerous’ – things get a little busier. The hustle and bustle of life slowly builds and gains a controlled momentum. The arrival of movement into this still space is eased in so gradually, smoothly, and with such warmth that rather than becoming overwhelming it gently harnesses that sense of possibility and sets it in motion.

The exclusive tracks on the mix fit naturally into this space. Early on, the playful samples and spongy bass pads of DJ Plead as well as Big Ever’s spawling atmospherics enter Poulter’s private world unobtrusively in a way that only family can. “Big Ever and DJ Plead are my two dearest friends and relatives”, says Poulter, “They bring out the best in me and continue to inspire me as we move through the years together. They have soft and open hearts and I think you can hear this side of them in the tracks they have contributed”. Later, as things warm up, a new friend in the form of Qendresa is invited round for an exploratory meeting that results in an instant connection, “I am so drawn into her world through her music and online presence”, Poulter says, “She is fierce and political in all the right ways but also has an amazing softness about her. Her humanity shines though in her music”. Even the imagery and cover art follows this thread with photographer Kasia Kim Zacharko invited into Poulter’s home for a shoot that feels intimate and relaxed.

It’s fitting too that if Poulter is welcoming us into her home, her own music would drift in from time to time. The two exclusive Logic1000 tracks present here represent a switch up. “I have wanted to change up the way Tom [Big Ever] and I produce music for a little while now”, Poulter says “I think because my listening habits have changed, so too has my sonic world and the music I want to produce. With these originals we explored a different side to Logic. The actual process of writing was the same, but our intentions and mood was so different”.

The first – the aforementioned ‘under the sun, beneath the rainfall’ – once again is rooted in family, albeit with a bittersweet tinge. “We ripped some sound from an old clip of my family chatting. There are hours and hours of footage on YouTube of my family, some of it dating back to when my great grandparents were alive. It was super special to use this footage because when I was young I was so close to my mums side of the family. We were inseparable. Naturally, like most people, as I grew older my relationship with my family drastically changed and sadly it’s really not what it used to be. But I still wanted to use the vocal clip of them chattering away because I cherish those early memories I have of them, despite our current relationship being so complex”. Later in the mix ‘fused’, the second exclusive, sits closer to previous Logic output in its irresistible looping melody but slows the pace down, confident in its steady progress and as a result, completely transfixing.

Like these tracks, for an artist who so far has made music that’s known for lighting up sweaty late-night dancefloors, this mix comes as a slight left turn. For those who know Poulter though, it feels very much like her. This side of Poulter has always been present in her music; shades of it exist in Mother – the steady bounce of ‘Heartbeat’ or the Latin-infused slow-burn of ‘Every Lil’’ – as well as in her propensity for playing day-parties over night-raves. Here though we find it fully realised as she eases her listeners into a new space. “I think DJ-Kicks is such a special way to showcase something like this. Although this new type of production we’re doing strays quite far from the usual (amazing) dance mixes that DJ-Kicks releases, I feel it is the perfect platform for it. When I decided I wanted to do something off-piste like this, for my vision to be heard by !K7 the way it was is a true testament to the trust and care they put into their artists”, she says. “My biggest hope for this mix is for its listeners to become reflective, at peace and maybe also inspired to start their day with a calm, considered and beautiful energy”.