SOSUPERSAM, or Samantha Duenas, is a performing artist from Los Angeles. Born of Filipino and Irish descent, Duenas spent her youth consumed by piano lessons, dance classes, musical theatre, and choir, before making a foray into the entertainment industry as a professional dancer. She didn’t begin DJing until 2008 when she purchased her first set of equipment and began spinning hip-hop, R&B, rap, pop, music from the ’90s, and just about everything else. What started as a creative escape from a boring job has turned into a profession; she’s since established herself as a familiar name in these sonic realms, performing at clubs, music festivals, and various fashion events throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Her platform for these explorations is Soulection, the worldwide record label and collective with which she has long been involved. 

Outside of her DJing, Duenas has also co-founded 143 (meaning “I love you” in ’90s pager code), a monthly Los Angeles-based R&B party. The event prides itself on pushing the R&B culture forward and bringing in some of the most legendary names to share the stage such as Questlove, A-Trak, Chad Hugo, and Ginuwine. Over the past four years, 143 has become a global success, attracting some 1,500 attendees each month in Los Angeles, and popping up in cities all over the world like New York City, Berlin, Amsterdam, Jakarta, Manila, San Francisco, Vancouver, Miami, Honolulu, Seattle, and Boston.

In terms of production, 2016 saw Duenas release SUP, a mixtape series through which she interwove her original music with a curation of her favorite songs. The mixtapes culminated in Garden, a six-track EP showcasing her songwriting and vocals. Since its release, SOSUPERSAM has sung for crowds in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Honolulu. More recently, she’s released her new Priority EP via 143 Records, meshing sleek production with soulful vocals for an alluring collection of modern R&B.

Her podcast for XLR8R is directly inspired by the Priority Remixes EP—which evidently dropped today—featuring 60 minutes of bass-heavy beats, R&B, hip-hop, house, and drum & bass.

How has 2018 been for you so far?

Intense and groundbreaking for me. I’ve spent the last five months intensely writing music, recording, clearing, and rolling out an EP. I made a new music video I am so proud of, and put together my first full live singing show that I just finished touring through North America!

When and where was this mix recorded?

This mix was put together a couple of weeks ago while I was on the road. We had a day off in Montreal, I was able to do sit down and put this together, and do some laundry, and catch up on sleep.

On what equipment did you record it?

I use Ableton. 

Was there a particular idea you were looking to convey?

We created a remix pack surrounding my EP Priority, so this mix highlights some of those remixes. Three of the five remixes in the pack are interwoven through the mix, and each one embodies a different sound and a different part of the world. The mix opens with The Double Clapperz remix of “Priority.” This crew in Tokyo represents a lot of the Japanese grime and rap scene which is bubbling right now. Ticklish and Nico Adomako are from Berlin, they put together a high energy club edit of “Good For It.” And we close out with a pretty unexpected drum & bass edit of “Drip” by South Babylon.

What’s coming up on the release front? 

Working on more music videos and I would like to release a few more singles before the end of the year.

What else do you have coming up this year?

Coming off of a lot of travel (in addition to my singing tour, I did DJ tours through Asia and Europe this year already), I mainly want to get back into the studio and focus on writing and recording. I have a long wish-list of producers and artists I’d love to work with.

Due to temporary issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can stream the podcast here and download it here.

Tracklisting

01. SOSUPERSAM “Priority” (Double Clapperz Remix)

02. HAZY from RAP BRAINS “平成” (Double Clapperz Remix)

03. Vonlin Yoon “Purpura”

04. Lakim “Crazy”

05. Yaeji “Guap” (Mall Grab Remix)

06. DJ Seinfeld “Time Spent Away from U”

07. Lauren Flax “Work Dat”

08. Affiliate “Breathe” feat. Dakota Sixx (Majora Remix)

09. Bhad Barbie x Parsalip “Hi Bich” (Lao Refix)

10. Falcons – “Ultimate 2007” (Edit)

11. LSDXOXO “Codename Cottonmouth”

12. SOSUPERSAM “Good For It” (Ticklish & Nico Adomako Remix)

13. LSDXOXO “Death Rattle”

14. Moldy “Traffic Overhead” ft. Sylarbomb

15. Spurz “Citrus”

16. Lakim “Within You”

17. Photek “The Rain”

18. Shy Fx & UK Apachi “Original Nuttah”

19. Netsky “Lost Without You”

20.DJ Hybrid “Badboy” (Kartoon Remix)

21. SOSUPERSAM “Drip” (South Babylon Remix)

22. Heist “Moose Knuckle”