Samantha Gilles - Let Me Feel It!/Instrumental (Belgium) (Japanese 7", 1985) (Hi-NRG/Disco)

Hello everyone!! I know it's been a few months since I uploaded, life has been incredibly busy, but I'm finally planning on uploading more frequently here again!

Today's retro record rip:

A killer Hi-NRG/Disco club hit by the most unsuspecting artist.

I have been a massive Samantha Gilles fan since 2018, and I often keep an eye out for her records.

Since this is the first Samantha Gilles video on this channel, I might as well give an introduction on who she is. Born on the 25th of November 1971 in Hoboken, near Antwerp, Belgium, Samantha's musical talents were evident from a very young age. Her first single release, "In The Heat Of The Night" (Not related to the Sandra hit), came out in 1982, when she was only 10/11 years old. She grew up listening to the likes of Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters and Michael Jackson, as well as some Jazz artist, thanks to her father's appreciation for Jazz.

As the 80s were in full swing, young Samantha's mature voice captured the attention of Belgian producer Fonny DeWulf, who signed her to his label, Infinity. In 1984, DeWulf and his music partner, Raymond Muylle wrote Let Me Feel It! and intended for it to be sung by a black female artist with soulful vocals, but the stars aligned and it was given to 12-year-old Samantha. After her demo recording, the rest was history and soon Let Me Feel It! filled the dancefloors all over Europe and even the US and South America. No one could've imagined a 12-year-old girl was behind the mature lyrics and sound.

Unfortunately, Samantha's European success quickly faded, especially since she was too young to perform live on stage. That's when Japan took notice. During the latter half of the 80s, Samantha skyrocketed to fame in Japan, with Japanese artists covering her songs until this day. Although some of her records were released in Belgium, Japan was her market and she released 5 albums exclusively in Japan, as well as several singles. She travelled to Japan several times and even performed in person, with her song "Hold Me" coming in second in the 1987 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo.

On the 27th of February 1988, she competed in the Belgian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with fellow Belgian artist Yannick Darkman, coming in 3rd place in the national finals.

After the late 1990s, Samantha stepped away from Hi-NRG and Eurobeat to focus on her passion for Jazz, which she still performs in small venues today.

(Information thanks to a relatively recent online interview with Samantha and general knowledge gained since 2018.)

The 7" single cut version of Let Me Feel It! was only released in select countries, including Japan, on the 21st of October 1985 on Savoir Faire Records.

Track Listing:
0:00 - A - Let Me Feel It! (フィール・イット)
3:08 - B - Let Me Feel It! (Instrumental)

Producer:
Fonny De Wulf

Written By:
Fonny De Wulf

Recorded at:
Kritz Studio

Catalogue number: 7Y0095

℗ 1985 Savoir Faire Records

Distributed by Canyon Records, Inc. Japan

I do not own any audio or visual material present in this video; all rights belong to their rightful owners.

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