Samuel Bashir Virji is an English DJ and record producer. Born in London, he grew up in Witney, and attended Newcastle University before dropping out to pursue his music career. His 2020 album, Spice Up My Life, charted at No. 7 on the UK Dance Albums Chart. After releasing a remix of Piri & Tommy's "On & On", he released "If U Need It", which charted at No. 91 on the UK singles chart. His earlier works belonged to the bassline genre, while his later works were UK garage.
Sammy Virji | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
Life and career
Early life and bassline
Samuel Bashir Virji[1] was born in London, and moved to Oxfordshire when he was slightly older,[2] settling in Witney. His father played trombone on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, an album described by DJ Mag in June 2024 as "one of the most critically and commercially successful albums in both neo soul and popular music", and his record collection included Latin music, African music, and jazz.[3] Sammy's first major musical interest was in Michael Jackson, followed by Motown. He started writing on piano and guitar, before making his own music on GarageBand, switching to Logic Pro when he had access to the computer at his father's house.[4] He began listening to dubstep aged sixteen[5] after a friend gave him "Rinse: 06",[3] a Rinse FM CD mixed by Plastician, followed by a CD mixed by Skream.[4]
He studied biology at Newcastle University.[2] While there, he became involved in bassline after seeing Flava D perform at a club and deciding that he wanted to follow suit.[3] He dropped out during the third year after calculating that he was able to make a living from music.[2] He began releasing his early works in the bassline genre in 2015. Many of his works until 2019 made use of images of television chef Ainsley Harriott. Around this time, he was a regular poster on the Facebook group Lengoland, a bass music forum which functioned between 2017 and 2021.[3]
Garage and touring
He changed direction away from bassline, producing UK garage in the late 2010s. Around this time, Conducta asked if he could release one of Virji's tracks on his Kiwi Rekords label.[3] The label released several of his works including "Shapes" and "Whippet".[3] In 2020, Virji released his debut album, Spice Up My Life,[6] having previously released the single "Until Tomorrow" from it.[7] It charted at No. 7 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.[8] Later that year, he released "Santorini", a collaboration with house musician Smokey Bubblin' B, which appeared on the 1Forty compilation EP 1FFNG005: Funky & Garage.[9] In 2022, his track "Daga Da" was used in an out-of-home advertising campaign for a low calorie derivative of Strongbow, a brand of cider.[10] He then released a remix of Piri & Tommy's "On & On".[11] In December 2022, Salute premiered his Sammy Virji collaboration "Peach" at a Boiler Room set in Melbourne.[12] The track had been written with Salute at a writing session and had been produced by trial and error.[3] Released in March 2023,[12] the track appeared on Salute's EP Shield, which was released that May.[13] The month after that, he released "Shella Verse" with Flowdan. Around this time, he undertook a headline tour, "Like a Virjin", which sold out across the UK.[14]
In August 2023, he performed a set for DJ Mag,[3] which went viral on TikTok.[2] For this, he created a remix of "Counting" by Hamdi, which sampled Mason and Princess Superstar's "Perfect (Exceeder)", and a remix of "Goodums" by Unknown T.[4] In May 2024, Felicity Martin of Planet Woo wrote that across his set, Virji "dips between bassline and UKG, reggae and old school house, with a megawatt smile across his face", and observed that Virji had "scored a bit of a reputation as ‘that DJ who’s always smiling’".[2][clarification needed] The following November, he released "If U Need It",[15] which charted at No. 91 on the UK singles chart.[8] He then released the singles "Hot in Here", "Moonlight", and "Summertime Blues",[4] the last of which featured Chris Lake and Nathan Nicholson.[2]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Indie[8] | UK Dance[8] | ||
| Spice Up My Life |
|
48 | 7 |
EPs
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| We'll Be Alright |
|
| Blue Breeze |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart
positions |
Album | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK | ||||
| "Anything 2 Me" (Livsey, Sammy Virji) |
2017 | — | — | Non-album singles | [16] |
| "To the Beat"/"Uh Oh" | 2017 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Too Much Conversation" | 2018 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Falling" (Mikey B, Sammy Virji) |
2018 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Find My Way Home" | 2018 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Believing" | 2018 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Shapes (Oh Will)" | 2019 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Show Me (VIP)" (Hamdi, Sammy Virji) |
2019 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Ride It" | 2019 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Whippet" (Conducta, Sammy Virji) |
2019 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Dance Flaw" | 2020 | — | — | Spice Up Your Life | [16] |
| "Until Tomorrow" | 2020 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Spice Up My Life" (Sammy Virji, Paige Eliza) |
2020 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Santorini" (Sammy Virji, Smokey Bubblin' B) |
2020 | — | — | 1FFNG005: Funky & Garage[9] | [16] |
| "Runaway" (Sammy Virji, Shift K3Y) |
2020 | — | — | Non-album single | [16] |
| "Alright" (Sammy Virji, Lucy Virji) |
2021 | — | — | We'll Be Alright | [16] |
| "Quarantine Done" | 2021 | — | — | Non-album singles | [16] |
| "Get Dumb" (Sammy Virji, MPH) |
2021 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Never" (Sammy Virji, Holy Goof) |
2022 | — | — | [16] | |
| "No Other" (ft. Ragga Twins)/"Pula"/"Reverence" | 2022 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Truth" (Sammy Virji, Flava D) |
2022 | — | — | [16] | |
| "5 Star" (Sammy Virji, Fayyaz Virji) |
2022 | — | — | Blue Breeze | [16] |
| "Poolside" (Sammy Virji, Katy Alex) |
2022 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Peach" (Salute, Sammy Virji) |
2023 | — | — | True Magic[17] | [16] |
| "Shella Verse" (Sammy Virji, Flowdan) |
2023 | — | — | Non-album singles | [16] |
| "If U Need It" | 2023 | 91 | 37 | [16] | |
| "Hot In Here" (Champion, Sammy Virji) |
2024 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Moonlight" | 2024 | — | — | [16] | |
| "Summertime Blues" (Chris Lake, Sammy Virji, Nathan Nicholson) |
2024 | — | — | [16] | |
Remixes
| Song | Artist | Year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Quick Drive" | Niko B | 2020 | [16] |
| "Time" | Conducta, JGrrey | 2021 | [16] |
| "On & On" | Piri & Tommy | 2022 | [16] |
| "Goodums" | Unknown T | 2023 | [16] |
| "Counting | Hamdi | 2024 | [16] |
Other appearances
| Song | Year | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Do Me A Favour" | 2017 | Chips N Gravy EP | [16] |
| "Like That" | [16] | ||
| "Oh My" | [16] |
References
- ^ "Sammy Virji | Musik". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ a b c d e f "36 questions to fall in love with Sammy Virji - Woo". planetwoo.itv.com. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Sammy Virji: global garage phenomenon". DJ Mag. 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ a b c d Mulholland, Ant (2024-07-03). "In Conversation With Sammy Virji". UKF. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "Sammy Virji's UKG is the soundtrack to a perfect summer". Mixmag. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ Broeckhoven, Vic Van (2023-11-03). "Nieuwe single Sammy Virji - "If U Need It"". Dansende Beren (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "Sammy Virji promises to 'Spice Up My Life' as he announces debut LP". Mixmag. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ a b c d e f "SAMMY VIRJI". Official Charts. 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ a b Keith, James. "Premiere: 1Forty's 'Funky & Garage' Experiments Continue With Sammy Virji And Smokey Bubblin' B's "Santorini"". Complex. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "Purple goat fronts Strongbow's £12m campaign for low-calorie range". The Drum. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Soundsystem Party, with Jeremiah Asiamah: Hannah Wants brings the fire with her Party Starter!". BBC. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ a b "salute shares new single, 'Peach', featuring Sammy Virji: Listen". DJ Mag. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ Rodriguez, Krystal (2023-05-18). "Ahead Of Their EDC Las Vegas Debut, Rising DJ/Producer Salute Talks New EP 'Shield' and Taking Their 'Fast, Soulful House Music' Worldwide". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ Murray, Robin (2023-06-30). "Sammy Virji, Flowdan Unite On UKG Booster 'Shella Verse' | News". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "Sammy Virji continues hot streak with uptempo gem 'If U Need It'". Mixmag Germany. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an "Sammy Virji". Spotify. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ "TRUE MAGIC", Spotify, 2024-07-12, retrieved 2024-07-15