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Sample based song writing


FatHand

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I'm new to this but fascinated. Anyone into this method of song writing? I've been using samples and sampling my own riffs to play on my MPC but would like to get more adventurous kind of Frontier Psychiatrist by Avalanches style. I'm adept at the physical part of sampling and messing around with the sample but what I seem to be struggling with is discovering those perfect combinations of completely disparate sources. I want to get away from using 4 bar stretches all the time, so if your into it, how do you get into the zone?

And put down a link to some of your work so I can take a listen!

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Guest Tam o' Shantie

most of the sample based construction i have done has been in a hip hop style, loops & chopped up drum breaks. the stuff i am trying to write just now is constructed in the same way, as it is quite influenced by suicide and the like. it's repetative melody. stuff i'm sampling so far for melody/riffs is the likes of YYYs,Pixies,Shins,David Axelrod,Animal Collective. the beats are coming from suicide, raveonettes etc but primarily from miami bass/classic NY electro records. Along with this i'll be playing live guitar & drums and doing a lot of trippy delay/noise stuff as well. Should turn out interesting.

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most of the sample based construction i have done has been in a hip hop style, loops & chopped up drum breaks. the stuff i am trying to write just now is constructed in the same way, as it is quite influenced by suicide and the like. it's repetative melody. stuff i'm sampling so far for melody/riffs is the likes of YYYs,Pixies,Shins,David Axelrod,Animal Collective. the beats are coming from suicide, raveonettes etc but primarily from miami bass/classic NY electro records. Along with this i'll be playing live guitar & drums and doing a lot of trippy delay/noise stuff as well. Should turn out interesting.

Would like a listen to some of this stuff when you get it finished.

I've just "finished" one, it's pretty much made from samples from B movies and some stuff from Old School. Kind of an amusing vocals I suppose but I like the outcome. I'll be playing it tonight at the Tunnels for the funk and hip hop night I'm doing if you want to hear it. I've done another that takes quite large chunks out of a Sly and the Family Stone song. They're really just interlude length intros for the bands who are playing.

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i find just rooting through your music till somthing catches and then put it through things like acid pro, reason or wave labs

but im more into the idea of plunderphonics like taking samples over a beat or sound scape iv made

i fell into doing this as i found it really tricky to make beats that fit accapellas

i think that if you can do this sort of thing and make a new tune out of bit of other peoples music rather than just a + b bootlegs then your super talented and my hat goes of to any one that can do it as i cant and throw in the towl and start putting my own stuff or noise over one sample of music

i think to be able to really pull this off you must have a great ear for music and be able to tell what chords are being played and you must also have a great collection of music

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I did quite a lot for a while, mainly Mo Wax-esque narco beats and electro breaks style, before breaking with the whole thing in favour of written sequences. I'll put an old one up on myspazz later this week as an example, of bloody 6 years ago. I still think its a totally valid way of working, but the quality is dependant on the sample. I just got bored of tracky loop stuff all the time.

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I did quite a lot for a while, mainly Mo Wax-esque narco beats and electro breaks style, before breaking with the whole thing in favour of written sequences. I'll put an old one up on myspazz later this week as an example, of bloody 6 years ago. I still think its a totally valid way of working, but the quality is dependant on the sample. I just got bored of tracky loop stuff all the time.

I'm sure that my flitty nature will mean that I won't become a master but really enjoying making up little stories/phrases from bits of audio. Had to move onto sampling DVDs as my internet broke for a while. I've been using a combination of sampling myself (synth stuff) and layering it over sampled beats and kind of spoken word from various sources.

I tried to do intros this way for the acts performing at the funk night I put on but it didn't turn out slick enough. Going to put this idea on the back burner for a while until I can free up the apropriate amount of time requried to make it decent rather than half assed. Shame, was pretty excited about the concept.

Look forward to hearing your example.

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