Middleground & LA Sam combine on ‘Mina’

Middleground & LA Sam have teamed up to create a monster with their latest single on Marylebone Dance, “MINA” was born when both artists visited our recording studios for a writing camp, It’s had massive support in DC10, Scene Mexico from the likes of Syreeta, Pirate Copy. It’s a peak-time roller with a catchy vocal, it will be sure to smash any DJ set.

MiddleGround is a Midlands, UK-based duo with an undeniable passion for the sound they epitomise, they strike the perfect balance between house and tech. Consisting of Steve Ryan and Scott Fouracre, the synchronised double act has fused their individual musical talents to forge a dexterous DJ/production team. This winning formula has led to releases on record labels such as Marylebone, Tech Avenue, So, Let’s Talk, Hibernation Muzik, and Nasty Funk & Distortion.

Although each half has its forte, both are experienced artists in DJing and crafting the Middleground sound. Their own productions feature a cocktail of buoyant rhythms and gripping melodies, with the occasional dark twist for that late-night odyssey.

We had a proper good time making this track, and it is probably one of the heaviest we have made! We went up to Marylebone’s studios for an event and they put us up in the studio for a couple of days to do some writing. At the event in the evening we got talking to Sam and naturally in true MiddleGround style we ended up going for pints at a pub near our hotel after. We got chatting and he ended up joining us in the studio the next day to collab. The kick pattern is the main driver for us on this, it’s quite intense but it just took the track to the next level, stretching out the vocal and using different parts of it was fun, which gives it great tension and release into the drop. Once we had a pretty much finished version we got Dave and Scott in to have a listen and we knew straight away we were on to a winner!

MiddleGround

Essex-based DJ/Producer LA SAM is an artist whose love for underground dance spurred from exposure to some of London’s most iconic venues and parties, along with frequently being on the receiving end of performances from some of the industry’s most revered artists. In the eight years that Sam has been playing, he has been lucky enough to play at venues in London, Maidstone, Brighton, Hungary, Malta (Gozo) and Croatia such as 93 feet east, Lightbox, Ministry of Sound, Egg, Source, The Arch, Kalypso and many more. Sam also currently held a residency with London-based events brand ‘Dysfunctional & Loki and has had a number of prior residencies including ‘Sugar’, ‘East Project’ & ‘Riddled’. 

As well as his budding career behind the decks, Sam has seen commendable releases against his name (including a Beatport Top 10) with tracks on Marylebone,Techords, Observatory Music, East Project, New Violence, Shanghaied, Kritical records and more.

This is such a funny story how it all panned out because quite honestly this could have easily not happened. I had a release booked in for Marylebone. I had been previously invited to go to the studios a few times. But this time it was a data transmission seminar at the Marylebone Studios so killing two birds with one stone while also being able to network.

Originally I booked to go home the next morning after the seminar. I was sitting next to aitchque and Dave (one of Versus A&R) said do you want to use one of the studios tomorrow? And I said i’m going home the next morning i’m not sure. Aitchque then said you can change your train tickets for pretty cheap, so I checked and it was only £10 to change to the following night RESULT!

After the seminar finished got talking to Middleground again and we went to a pub for drinks and during the night decided to do a collab the next day. During the studio session the next day we was inspired by Drunk and Play heavy style and used a few tracks for reference. Scott laid down the foundations straight away and can still remember the double kick pattern being written and all being like “pffttt here we go then” I remember adding Toms for impact stuff like that. We all kept swapping around on the laptop. Then I was like this needs a hook.

Was going through splice and come across the vocal. Originally wanted to use part of it with ping pong delay. But we ended up using the whole vocal (Steves idea) and it just rolled with the track which he then stretched part of it before the track drops for impact. There is a part of the vocal that clearly says “Mina” which is what we ended up on after trying to decide for a name.

LA SAM

We premiere ‘Mina’ on Data Transmission, check it out here and grab it on Beatport.