Sound Edition: Sammy Dreams Gives A Lively Boiler Room Debut
Brazil is known for many things: soccer, beaches, and that big statue of Jesus, but their music scene is supremely underrated. So many genres encapsulate the region, like samba and bossa nova, but house music has seen a recent surge in the region.
With the region's vibrant musical heritage, shaped by its rich cultural diversity and Carnival, it is no wonder that house music is able to flourish. Further aiding this unique genre are all the sampling materials derived from vibrant funk to calming jazz. DJs like Sammy Dreams help grow the scene even further, with her Boiler Room x Ballantine’s set in Salvador showcasing her unique approach as a DJ.
Dreams Herself and the History of Music in Salvador
Sammy Dreams was born in Salvador, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Located in a more eastern part of the country, Salvador has a lot of different musical influences. The closeness to Africa led to more African influences in the region’s music, with “blocos-afros” being some of the bigger carnival blocks.
The “blocos-afros”, like most music groups in the region, come out big during Carnival. One of the biggest groups is Ilê Aiyê, which, when translated from the Yoruba language, means home life. Their sound is highlighted mainly by a strong influence of African drums that keeps the block moving throughout the busy party of Carnival.
Dreams herself has prescribed herself as the “Itgirl Clubber”. Only DJing since 2022, Dreams has already given herself a busy start with show after show in Brazil. Her influences stem from the very best, including Slim Soledad, Idilibra, and DJ Babatr, other DJs from Brazil and the greater South American region.
Her Boiler Room set showcased her amazing ability to not only play and mix good music but to bring forth an actual performance. The hour set in Salvador allowed her to be free in her set, leading to a memorable performance for the up-and-coming DJ.
A Lively Atmosphere
The crowd is not a huge 100-person crowded room like most Boiler Room sets are (not saying that is bad), but rather a nice outdoor stage area is the setting for this particular show. Dreams is dressed in a tight blue dress and, of course, with a pair of headphones atop her ears. The fog seeping in and out of the set may be from a machine, but could be attributed to the many fans smoking in the background.
Sunglasses on, summer styles in full gear, drinks in hand, people are ready for the set. The lights are vibrant as ever, with the big screen in the back staying a strong purple. Other lights are shooting all over the set, with spotted and streamlined lights beaming into the crowd and across the stage.
The crowd is constantly dancing, only resting when Dreams changes the track or the pace. You have your typical subject: the hand flick, the side-to-side, and even a twerk from time to time. The crowd is in complete awe of Dreams and her presence, further complemented by the amazing tracklist and mix she showcases.
Dreams Reaching Across the House Landscape
The different types of genres, samples, and styles used across her set are impressive. The usual suspects are all there, but the little tweaks Dreams uses change it up enough to be ear-catching. The first track immediately grabs the listeners’ attention with a distinct tambourine loop that demands attention.
The Brazilian influence is present, with many of the samples being in Portuguese, but even the structure and instrumentation follow. Carnival drums, the previously mentioned tambourine, cowbells, bongos, and even horns are used by Dreams. The vocal samples are often recognized by the crowd, getting them more hyped and engaged.
A more recognizable sample that Dreams uses is Beyoncé’s “Yaya”, from the illustrious Cowboy Carter. The influx of Brazilian drums, along with a previously used horn sample, completely flips the strong and powerful “Yaya” into an energetic Brazilian house track (and the crowd definitely agrees).
In terms of solely house influences, she keeps the crowd guessing. Dreams liked to mainly use techno, reggaeton, ballroom, phonk, and EDM. This repertoire is spread out nicely throughout the set, not doubling back and always looking to change it from track to track.
There are a couple of standout moments in the set. Around the 7:20 mark of the set, Dreams introduces this grand piano loop atop a slowly accelerating and shuffling drum beat. The piano then gets doubled by a whirling synth as the beat becomes heavier, before she echoes it, making it sound ethereal.
At 11:00, these vacuuming synths blend with the drilling percussion, creating a somewhat hectic but unique soundscape. Dreams is completely feeling it, smiling and making slight stank faces at her mix, before getting down to dance to the music.
From 18:00 onward, the phonk influence is mad loud and apparent, as distorted and pinging synths are matched with an aggressive and brutal kick drum. This is all before an actual alarm (assuming car) is mixed in to bring the energy to a maximum.
46:45 starts to have these mesmerizing, luscious synths start to wash over the mix. Even while the fast beat still plays underneath, the comforting texture of the synths acts as almost a breather. Dreams keeps letting the synths wash over, with higher synths getting mixed in and layered constantly atop each other, before it finally drops for these grumbling and rumbling synths to push the mix faster.
The standout moment starts to simmer in 20:30, when Dreams introduces a distorted horn sample that almost trills over itself because of how fast it is going. The beat then gets mixed with a reggaeton mix before quickly hopping back into a more square house set up. Dreams then winds up for her biggest drop, throwing her hair around in excitement (and even accidentally muting the board), before the horns sound off and the beat takes off. Cymbals come in, alarms come in, the vocal sample continues to loop, creating a perfect drop.
The set from Dream was an overall success, drops were executed with conviction, samples were used uniquely, and aside from some minute mistakes mixing from track to track, she excelled. While she is set mainly on SoundCloud, she has slowly been releasing mixes on Spotify, so be on the lookout for more!