Sam La More - So La More
One part of Tonite Only, Sam La More has produced for Gwen Stefani, co-written The Potbelleez biggest hit, remixed The Doors and played a pivotal role in Pnau’s latest album. Not a bad effort, one has to admit. 3D’s Jane Stabler spoke with the Bondi local ahead of his Lawn Party show.
Sam La More is responsible for many a name more well known than his own. Although a DJ in his own right, La More has spent more time making other people famous than focusing on himself. Responsible for the likes of The Potbelleez tracks Don’t Hold Back and Are You With Me-, which La More both wrote and produced, he’s about to claim some of the limelight for himself, even if that means scaling back his involvement with building other people’s careers.
“I’ve just been offered a deal last week,” the multi-talented musician admits. “So I think that’s going to be my focus for the next six months – saying no to people.”
About to play the Springfest Lawn Party, La More says that as much as he loves what he’s been doing, he does sometimes have regrets that some of his best work to date has gone to others.
“Regularly I think I shouldn’t have given away so many ideas,” La More concedes, admitting that on occasion it can be annoying that the general public, for the most part, has no idea he’s behind the hits they’re hearing. “The smart [producers] would probably call and say they couldn’t do the track for whatever reason and keep it. I can’t be too happy that some of these people have made a fortune from my work, but that’s the game and once they stop working for someone like myself they [could] disappear.”
Despite sounding slightly over the celebrity gig, La More can still admit that when he started out, the idea of celebrity was a big deal. Now coming into his own celebrity status, even touted as our own Timbaland, the DJ can also admit the comparison is quite the compliment.
“I used to be a little Andy Warhol,” La More reveals, “like in that I was obsessed with celebrity in terms of the novelty and the concept of it. It’s quite a modern art kind of concept that you have this concept of people who are the artists and the art form themselves. Then when I went to LA, I realised these people aren’t special at all!”
“Of course [the comparison to Timbaland] is [a compliment],” he continues. “The guy’s a bloody genius. He’s like Pharrell, it’s like he’s an alien. How they churn out track after track is amazing. I’m quite jealous of their talent but I think they must suffer in every other way. Here there’s not that level of competition though. Not many people here make records, there are lots of DJs but they’re not that many people making records.”
Modest he may be about his skills, and despite the lack of competition, he’s still full of praise for his home country when it comes to the scene. And having lived and worked in the UK and the US, he possibly knows what he’s talking about.
“It’s so much better, I love the Australian scene,” he enthuses. “You can basically take a crowd any direction and they go with you. As long as it’s not something that’s been flogged and destroyed, they’re very trusting. I think we’re so privileged, and I don’t think most people in the production business realise you can’t do this overseas.”
WHO: Sam La More
WHAT: Plays Springfest Lawn Party
WHEN: Saturday 27 September
MORE: myspace.com/samlamore / thelawnparty.com.au