Sam I

Sam I Biography


Sam I is a DJ, music producer, composer, music director and film director.

Sam began his career as a DJ but quickly found himself in the studio producing music for and collaborating with many remarkable musicians while simultaneously establishing a name for himself as a film score composer.

In early 2019 Sam’s single “Perfect” was featured in a worldwide Chanel campaign directed by Jean-Paul Goude. The song broke the top 5 on Spotify’s Brazil Top 50 chart and continues to gain attention on social media and streaming platforms. Sam’s single “Mutant Brain” was released via Interscope Records and was featured in the Spike Jonze’s directed “Kenzo World” short film. This also went on to win the Original Music category at the 2017 Cannes Lions. In addition, Sam continues to work intensely with artist Jean-Paul Goude in creating music for Jean Paul’s work with Chanel, Lacoste, Kenzo X H&M, Roger Vivier, and Pompidou.

Just a few years back, Sam took on directing for the first time. His self-funded music video for the final N.A.S.A. song, “Jihad Love Squad” was shot in India, directed and produced by Sam himself. Following the release of the “Jihad Love Squad” video, Sam signed
to Hey Wonderful, a division of RSA Films, as a director.

Since then, Sam has made his mark in the directing community with a number of branded campaigns. He directed CNN’s first live commercial, which aired at 11:35 ET on New Year's Eve, 2017, during CNN’s NYE Countdown and received nearly 3.3 million live viewers. On top of that, he has directed spots for Instagram, National Geographic, and most recently and notably his work on “Wu-Tang In Space...” with Impossible which garnered massive praise and a nomination at Tribeca X, the branded awards under the Tribeca Film Festival.

Sam’s history in music includes his tireless work as part of the DJ duo N.A.S.A. (North America South America). N.A.S.A. debuted it’s landmark LP, The Spirit of Apollo in 2009. Created with long-time Brazilian music partner DJ Zegon, the album features jaw-dropping collaborations between many of the pair’s heroes, legends, and modern musical luminaries. The Spirit of Apollo features artists like Kanye West, George Clinton, M.I.A., Tom Waits, RZA and David Byrne while the corresponding music videos feature animated/live-action collaborations by visual artists including Shepard Fairey, Sage Vaughn, Marcel Dzama, and The Date Farmers. Sam has also produced for many artists including Lizzo, Maroon 5, Brooke Candy, Santigold, James Murphy, Childish Gambino, and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s including their entire Grammy nominated album, “Show Your Bones,” among many others.

Sam eventually went on to work as a music director for a number of projects, including Kanye West’s “Glow In The Dark Tour” and Karen O’s “Stop The Virgens.” In particular, “Stop The Virgins” was the realization of a close-to-the-heart concept album Sam co-wrote and produced with Karen. The show completed two sold-out runs including St. Anne’s Warehouse in New York City and Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

Sam’s film score credits include Spike Jonze's cult classic Yeah Right! (the top-selling skate movie of all-time), Jackass 3D, Cop Out with Harold Faltermeyer, Warren Miller’s City, Park City, the HBO documentary Pretty Things, Drew Barrymore’s Whip It and award-winning work on two short films by Spike Jonze; I’m Here and Mourir Auprès de Toi (To Die By Your Side). Notably, the song "Hello Tomorrow", featured in an Adidas commercial directed by Jonze, won the Gold Lion for Best Music at the 2005 Cannes International Advertising Festival and Silver for Original Music at the 2006 Clio Awards.

Squeak E. Clean, a commercial music house started by Sam in 2005 recently merged with the Australian Nylon Studios to become Squeak e. Clean Studios. The music house has now helped to score a number of incredibly successful campaigns for Nike, Adidas, Cadillac, Honda and Sonos and continues to be an industry powerhouse.

Sam continues to release his own music, produce for other artists, direct and grow Squeak E. Clean.