needletothegroove

Where have I heard that before?

The art of music sampling Part 1:

I love this feeling. This feeling never let me down no matter would kind of mood I am in.

Its the feeling I get when I discover for the 1st time an original record which until know I only associate with a sample used on a more modern version.

With a little awareness from D.J Andy Smith and the power of the internet I am the proud owner of this little gem. Taking right back to the days of a child endlessly hunting through shelves of vinyl records.

Title: ‘Soupy’

Artist: Maggie Thrett

Label: DynoVoice 1965

Sampled by

Title: ‘Jenifa taught me’

Artist: De La Soul

Album: 3 feet high and rising

Label Tommy Boy Music 1989.

This is a great example of what I am trying to explain.

De La Soul’s debut album: 3 feet high and rising was groundbreaking for its time and illustrates perfectly the succesful art of sampling. With over a 100 samples carful chosen to produce this masterpiece. It raised the bar for future artists to contend with.

As mentioned before this was far from new at this time, infact the 1st examples of sampling music date back to the 40s. It didn’t really take off until the 60s when experimental musicians worked with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, by looping tapes and manipulating vinyl records. This soon caught on with the popularity of vinyl and the methods in being able to do this. The rise of popular & disco music also paved the way for this art form to flourish.

So what is sampling exactly? Well its the use, or sample of a sound recorder and reusing for the purpose of an instrument, effect or further sound in another recording.

Permission to use a sample, especially in the early days, was not always granted by the artists, labels or original copyright source. That is of course if they were aware there material was being sampled which was more often the case.

The Hip Hop culture in the 80s was famous for staging house parties were if permission was enforced just wouldn’t of been able to happen. This was overlooked by most at the time but then the popularity of this Genre resulted in more Artisits being signed, more exposure and a greater potential to make money which is when the reins tightened. Even more so in the digital age, were nothing is no longer scared and everything instantaneous.

Examples of successful sampling:

1) PORTISHEAD – GLORY BOX

ALBUM: DUMMY - 1994

LABEL: GO DISCS