SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Happy Mother's Day to Logic1000.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOGIC1000 SONG, "HEARTBEAT")
SIMON: DJ and musician welcomed a new baby to the world in 2022 and has a new album out called "Mother," 12 tracks of house music into which to lose yourself on the dance floor, or maybe just listen as you try to rock your newborn to sleep at 3 a.m. Samantha Poulter is the person who performs as Logic1000. She joins us now from Berlin. Thank you so much for being with us.
SAMANTHA POULTER: Oh, thank you so much for having me.
SIMON: As I don't have to tell you, having a child in your life is a milestone. A lot of us think of that - you know, the time before we were parents. And then everything since then is like a new life. Do we hear that in your music?
POULTER: It's a difficult one because I feel like the album - it's obviously titled "Mother" - and while I was writing it, I was becoming a mother. But I don't know if my sound changed that much.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOGIC1000'S "OCEANIC")
POULTER: I feel like I changed as a person rather than my music changing.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOGIC1000'S "OCEANIC")
SIMON: Is it hard to be a DJ and a working mother? I mean, it's not what I'll call a child-friendly schedule, is it?
POULTER: (Laughter) I mean, in the first year of motherhood, I found it extremely challenging. And I think I went back to DJing a little too soon. But now, with everything that I've learned in that first year and taking a year off as well because of exhaustion and fatigue, I feel confident going into DJing. And I've got all the systems in place, and yeah, it feels good now.
SIMON: Tell us about some of the voices that you've asked and enlisted to be on this album.
POULTER: I asked Rochelle Jordan. She's an incredible vocalist who - I actually have been a fan of hers for a really long time, ever since I heard her song "Dancing Elephants." Yeah. She was a dream to work with.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISES")
ROCHELLE JORDAN: (Singing) I can tell if it's real or lies, I've been hurt so many times. Tell me where your intentions lie, though you make me wanna try.
POULTER: We have MJ Nebreda, who was actually quite new to me. But once I got her on board, I was actually quite shocked and impressed and completely awed by her talent.
And there were quite a few people we collaborated with. And obviously, my partner, my husband, Thomas McAlister, he wrote the album with me.
SIMON: Let me ask you about a song that features Rochelle Jordan, and that's "Promises."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISES")
JORDAN: (Singing) Right after you say I'm your world, telling you what they've done to me. Oh. I'm so over it, just promise me you won't do the same thing.
SIMON: What's the story you're trying to get across here?
POULTER: I think this is a unique thing about being a producer rather than a vocalist. Because as a producer, for me, it's less about narrative and more about feeling and emotion. And with "Promises" and also, like, I guess, the whole body of work, I wanted to give across this emotion of, like, hopefulness and sensitivity and a brightness as well - but I don't know - just, like, a spectrum of emotions that hopefully come across in the album. When working with the vocalist, they have their own ideas and story and narrative, and I hand over that job to the vocalists and the artists.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EVERY LIL'")
MJ NEBREDA: (Singing in Spanish).
SIMON: Can you tell us how you work with a vocalist? I imagine it changes from artist to artist.
POULTER: Do you know what? Every vocalist we've worked with on Logic1000 stuff has been online. It's literally...
SIMON: Really?
POULTER: Yeah. So we send a demo or a track, if it's finished, and they do their thing on top of it. And we kind of give them a brief and, like, say what sort of style we want, and then they do their thing.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SELF TO BLAME")
KAYLA BLACKMON: (Singing) But when you walk away, you walk away, ain't like that I know you like that no, no, no, no.
SIMON: Wow. Is dance music even for people who can't get out there to dance?
POULTER: I think it's for everyone (laughter).
SIMON: Yeah.
POULTER: It's so uplifting and energetic and emotional. And I wanted to create an album that is able to be heard at home. Like, you don't have to be in a club to listen.
SIMON: Does it help?
POULTER: This is a controversial question 'cause I'm a DJ, and I should say yes. But I think it fits in all contexts. Like, I'm a home person. I listen to most of my music at home. I'm not a clubgoer. And I feel like I can really concentrate and appreciate music when I'm at home. And that's how I listen to music, so (laughter) yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOGIC1000 SONG, "SELF TO BLAME")
SIMON: I'm wondering if you play music for Genie, your daughter.
POULTER: I do. Yeah (laughter).
SIMON: Well, your own, or for that matter, you know, particularly fetching version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"?
POULTER: (Laughter).
SIMON: What do you...
POULTER: She's always requesting two songs. And it's - you know that bunny - hop, little bunny, hop, hop, hop, and they're sleeping?
SIMON: How have I missed this? My gosh.
POULTER: Oh (laughter). You will have to look that one up. And then "Baby Shark," obviously. But when she was much younger, she was listening to all sorts of stuff like Mazzy Star and kind of guitar, indie kind of music, rather than dance music. But she's also very into dub music 'cause we go to this regular dub party thing in Berlin, and she loves it.
(SOUNDBITE OF IRATION STEPPAS' "ANGELIC SYMPHONY DUB")
SIMON: Well, it's a question to ask this Mother's Day. What do you think we learn from being parents - in your case from being a mother?
POULTER: This sounds like a very selfish answer, but I feel like I've learned so much about my flaws - yeah, all my faults. And it's almost as if a mirror has been put up and I'm like, oh, God, I need to fix a lot of stuff as we move through this. And, yeah, I would say that's the biggest thing I've learned, is, like, everything I need to work on to be the best version of myself for myself and for Genie and for my family.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GROWN ON ME")
POULTER: (Singing) Grown on, grown on, grown on me. Grown on, grown on, grown on me.
SIMON: Samantha Poulter is Logic1000, and her new album is "Mother." Thank you for being with us and happy Mother's Day.
POULTER: Oh, thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GROWN ON ME")
POULTER: (Singing) Grown on me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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