A History of Sampling

forty-seven mp3 music files / two hundred and ten minutes / three hundred and sixty-five megabytes illustrating the history of sampling.

 

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A History of Sampling


  Artist ................................................. various artists
  Album .................................................. A History of Sampling
  Release Date ........................................... 02/27/2009
  Re-release Date ........................................ 05/25/2009
  Year ................................................... 2009
  Tracks ................................................. 47
  Total Run Time ......................................... 3 hrs 10 mins  
  Size ................................................... 365 mb
  Source ................................................. various MP3



  01.  Winstons "Amen, Brother"                                                     (1961)
  01a. Mantronix "King of the Beats"                                                (1990)
  01b. Snap! "The Power"                                                            (1990)
  01c. UK Apachi & Shy FX "Original Nuttah"                                         (1994)
  01d. L Double & Younghead "New Style"                                             (1996)
  01e. Squarepusher "Port Rhombus"                                                  (1996)
  02.  Isaac Hayes "Ike's Rap II"                                                   (1971)
  02a. Portishead "Glory Box"                                                       (1994)
  02b. Tricky "Hell is Around the Corner"                                           (1995)
  03.  Kraftwerk "Trans Europa Express"                                             (1977)
  03a. Planet Patrol "Play At Your Own Risk"                                        (1982)
  03b. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force "Planet Rock"                             (1982)
  03c. Alva Noto "Planet Rock"                                                      (2008)
  04.  Lyn Collins "Think (About It)"                                               (1972)
  04a. Roxanne Shante "Girl Go On"                                                  (1987)
  04b. Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock "It Takes Two"                                        (1988)
  04c. Ultramagnetic MCs "Travelling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix)"  (1988)
  04d. DJ Jazzy Jeff "I Wanna Rock"                                                 (1993)
  04e. Dizzee Rascal "Pussyole (oldskool)"                                          (2007)
  05.  Kraftwerk "The Man-Machine"                                                  (1978)
  05a. The Fearless Four "Rockin' It"                                               (1982)
  05b. MC Lyte "Cha Cha Cha"                                                        (1989)
  05c. Jay-Z "(Always Be My) Sunshine"                                              (1997)
  06.  Edwin Birdsong "Cola Bottle Baby"                                            (1979)
  06a. Daft Punk "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"                                 (2001)
  06b. Kanye West "Stronger"                                                        (2007)
  07.  Michael Jackson "Smooth Criminal"                                            (1987)
  07a. Luomo & Raz Ohara "Give It Away"                                             (2003)
  08.  Gil Scott-Heron "Home Is Where The Hatred Is"                                (1971)
  08a. Kanye West "My Way Home"                                                     (2005)
  09.  Steve Reich "Electronic Counterpoint (Fast)"                                 (1987)
  09a. The Orb "Little Fluffy Clouds"                                               (1990)
  10.  Bill Conti "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)"                                (1976)
  10a. Deize Tigrona "Injeção"                                                      (2004)
  10b. Tati Quebra Barraco "Sou Feia Mas Tô na Moda"                                (2005)
  10c. M.I.A. "Bucky Done Gun"                                                      (2005)
  11.  Cheryl Lynn "Got To Be Real"                                                 (1978)
  11a. Brother D & The Collective Effort "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise?" (1980)
  12.  Liquid Liquid "Cavern"                                                       (1983)
  12a. Grandmaster Melle Mel "White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)"                      (1983)
  13.  Mtume "Juicy Fruit"                                                          (1983)
  13a. Notorious B.I.G. "Juicy"                                                     (1994)
  14.  Pekka Pohjola "Sekoilu Seestyy (The Madness Subsides)"                       (1974)
  14a. DJ Shadow "Midnight in a Perfect World"                                      (1996)



Total Running Time: 
3 hours, 30 minutes, 10 seconds.

 

• 01. Winstons "Amen, Brother" (1961)
The most heavily sampled song in the history of music, the source of the "Amen Break". The song is an up-tempo instrumental rendition of an older gospel music classic. The Winstons' version was released as a B-side of the 45 RPM 7-inch vinyl single "Color Him Father". For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_break
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac
• 01a. Mantronix "King of the Beats" (1990)
Kurtis Mantronik is a Jamaican-Canadian émigré who grew up in New York. The "Amen Break" is just one of many samples in this song.
• 01b. Snap! "The Power" (1990)
Snap! is an electronic music project formed in 1989 by German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. This song features rapper Turbo B. This song was their first hit; a combination of house and hip hop elements, contained a number of unauthorised samples, taking the drum loop from "King of the Beats" by Mantronix, the rap from "Let the Words Flow" by Chill Rob G and the classic line "I've got the power" from "Love's Gonna Get You" by Jocelyn Brown. It was initially released in the United States through Wild Pitch Records, but after Chill Rob G threatened legal action, the rap was re-recorded by Turbo B and additional vocals were recorded by Penny Ford. The single rocketed to number 2 in Germany in March 1990, and spent two weeks at number 1 in the United Kingdom, becoming the first rap single to top the chart. It later reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified platinum.
• 01c. UK Apachi & Shy FX "Original Nuttah" (1994)
Oldschool jungle hit. One of the best known drum and bass tracks. Everyone in the jungle scene sampled the Amen Break. This song also samples the horn loop beat from Cypress Hill's "I Wanna Get High" and the introduction narration from the film Goodfellas.
• 01d. L Double & Younghead "New Style" (1996)
Another jungle track. This also samples Lauryn Hill from the Fugees.
• 01e. Squarepusher "Port Rhombus" (1996)
An enormously popular hit in the IDM genre. The Amen break is chopped up on computer and barely recognizable in this very melodic, jazz-influenced song. Squarepusher is Tom Jenkinson from the UK.

 

• 02. Isaac Hayes "Ike's Rap II" (1971)
From the LP Black Moses.
• 02a. Portishead "Glory Box" (1994)
Bristol, UK band who helped invent the trip hop genre. This song was released as a single from their debut album Dummy which won a Mercury Prize.
• 02b. Tricky "Hell is Around the Corner" (1995)
Also from Bristol, Tricky left Massive Attack to go solo with the massively successful Maxinquaye album. Another trip hop hit, although Tricky hated this term. The lyrics on this song were later used in Massive Attack's "Eurochild".

 

• 03. Kraftwerk "Trans Europa Express" (1977)
German synthpop pioneers used programmed synthesizers to create the driving train-like rhythm. The idea for the album was born during a lunch at the restaurant Le Train Bleu, an opulent classically-styled space situated above Paris' Gare de Lyon railway station. The idea behind this track harks back to 1974's Autobahn, which recreated a journey on the German motorway network: "Trans Europa Express" was intended to evoke a trip on one of the TEE rail services that were still operating at the time of its writing.
• 03a. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force "Planet Rock" (1982)
The melody "Trans Europa Express", and the percussion from "Numbers", taken from Kraftwerk's Computer World album, were used as the basis for the song "Planet Rock", recorded and released by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force in 1982. Kraftwerk were originally uncredited as authors for the song, which led to a successful lawsuit brought on by Kraftwerk against Bambaataa and Tommy Boy Records, eventually resulting in an out-of-court settlement between Kraftwerk and Tommy Boy Records.
      It is claimed by many that "Planet Rock" elevated hip hop music to the next level, and was the genesis of electro music. Although not a huge hit at the time, the song is now widely regarded as one of the earliest and most influential rap songs, helping to change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music. It is credited with giving birth to the electro style and helped pave the way for other genres such as techno, house, and trance. "Planet Rock" blends synthesizer and vocoder sounds with breakbeating. It was influenced by artists such as Kraftwerk, Gary Numan and funk pioneer George Clinton. It was the first hip-hop recording to use a drum machine.
• 03b. Alva Noto "Planet Rock" (2008)
Carsten Nicolai was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany. He is an avant-garde minimalistic electronic musician whose music is typically based on logical and scientific patterns. Nicolai created this song when asked to reproduce a song which had a large influence on him for the Recovery compilation. Alva Noto's restyling of Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" is an instrumental electronic realisation of a landmark track that Nicolai sees as continuing the exchange of ideas instigated by Bambaataa when he sampled Kraftwerk for the original.

 

• 04. Lyn Collins "Think (About It)" (1972)
Funk song by Lyn Collins released as a single. Along with "Funky Drummer" and "Funky President", "Think (About It)" is one of the most frequently sampled James Brown-produced recordings, having been used on tracks by dozens of hip hop, drum and bass, and Baltimore club artists. The song appeared on the sixteenth volume of the Ultimate Breaks and Beats compilation series in 1986, shortly before the release of the E-mu SP-1200 sampler in 1987. This resulted in "Think" being sampled heavily in the ensuing years. Both the song's main rhythmic groove and a vocal passage known as the "Woo! Yeah!" break have been used as samples.
      Perhaps the first song to sample "Think" was "Go On Girl" by Roxanne Shanté in 1987 (produced by Marley Marl). A few months later the same 4-bar loop of "Woo! Yeah!" appeared as the basis for Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two". In 1988, DJ Slick Rick used it at the end of "Children's Story". Janet Jackson also sampled the song in her 1990 hit "Alright".
• 04a. Roxanne Shanté "Girl Go On" (1987)
Roxanne Shanté was born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects. Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with the legendary Juice Crew. This was the first song to sample "Think (About It)" but only a few months later the same 4-bar loop of "Woo! Yeah!" appeared as the basis for Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two".
• 04b. Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock "It Takes Two" (1988)
The song samples heavily from from Lyn Collins' 1972 song "Think (About It)", using multiple drum breaks, the well known "Woo! Yeah!" sample, as well as the lyric sung by Collins which gives "It Takes Two" its title. The song was sampled by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince in their song "I Wanna Rock" in their album Code Red, Ciara's "Make It Last Forever" and sampled many times in the Girl Talk album Night Ripper.

• 04c. Ultramagnetic MCs "Travelling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix)" (1988)
This song contains samples from "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaata & the Soulsonic Force, and "Numbers" by Kraftwerk. Because of problems clearing samples, it was not released until 2004 on re-issues of 1998's Critical Beatdown. Produced by Ced Gee, the album features audio sampling techniques which had rarely, if ever, been used previously. In particular, Ced's syncopated drops of chopped, out-of-context samples (building on the E-mu SP-12, the E-mu SP-1200 predecessor) have led some to credit Ced Gee, and Critical Beatdown, as among the critical sources of the "golden age" of sampling.
• 04d. DJ Jazzy Jeff "I Wanna Rock" (1993)
The song samples the beginning line of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two", "I wanna rock right now".
• 04e. Dizzee Rascal "Pussyole (oldskool)" (2007)
This song in the grime genre samples Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two".

 

• 05. Kraftwerk "The Man-Machine" (1978)
Kraftwerk again with the title track of from their album The Man-Machine. The German group’s post-disco sound proved to have an enormous influence on early electro and Detroit techno.
• 05a. The Fearless Four "Rockin' It" (1982)
The Fearless Four was a old school rap crew from Harlem, best known for their 1982 song "Rockin' It", which was based on the Kraftwerk track "The Man-Machine" and was featured in the 1983 documentary Style Wars. The Fearless Four was the first hip hop group to ever sign with a major record label, Elektra Entertainment. In 1983 they collaborated with rapper Kurtis Blow to produce the single "Problems of the World Today".
• 05b. MC Lyte "Cha Cha Cha" (1989)
"Cha Cha Cha" is a single from MC Lyte's album Eyes on This.
• 05c. Jay-Z "(Always Be My) Sunshine" (1997)
"(Always Be My) Sunshine" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z's second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. It features vocals from Foxy Brown and Babyface as well as production from Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool. Vanderpool samples Alexander O'Neal's "Sunshine," MC Lyte's "Cha Cha Cha", Kraftwerk's "Man Machine" and the Fearless Four's "Rockin' It" for the track's beat. The song's lyrics helped indicate Jay-Z's change from his Mafioso rap style to a more commercial "jiggy" era of late 90's hip-hop, often credited to videos and albums from Puff Daddy and his Bad Boy record label's roster of artists including Notorious B.I.G. and Mase. Jay-Z later mentioned on a television show that if he could do one thing in his career over, it would be Vol. 1, claiming that "it [the CD] was this close to being a classic, but I put like, a few songs on there that ruined it." Two examples of what he was referring to are "I Know What Girls Like" and "(Always Be My) Sunshine".

 

• 06. Edwin Birdsong "Cola Bottle Baby" (1979)
Edwin Birdsong is a keyboard/organ player who was known in the 70's and 80's for his experimental funk/disco music. He never achieved chart success, but developed a strong fan base, and has also been sampled by other artists many times, including Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and Gang Starr who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skillz".
• 06a. Daft Punk "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (2001)
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" features a robotic vocal performance by French duo Daft Punk. The title phrase resembles a line from the famous opening sequence of the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. As documented in the Discovery liner notes, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" contains a sample of "Cola Bottle Baby" by Edwin Birdsong.
• 06b. Kanye West "Stronger" (2007)
West collaborated with Timbaland to rework the percussion for the final cut of the song, which appears on the Graduation album. This version contains master use of Edwin Birdsong's "Cola Bottle Baby". The refrain "That that don't kill me can only make me stronger" stems from Friedrich Nietzsche's quote "What does not kill me, makes me stronger" from his Twilight of the Idols.

 

• 07. Michael Jackson "Smooth Criminal" (1987)
"Smooth Criminal" is the seventh single from Michael Jackson's Bad album. It has since become one of Jackson's most popular songs.
• 07a. Luomo & Raz Ohara "Give It Away" (2003)
Finnish electronic musician Sasu Ripatti used the bassline from "Smooth Criminal" for this song from his two-track Running Away EP released under his dance music name Luomo. The b-side from the EP samples "Billie Jean".

 

• 08. Gil Scott-Heron "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" (1971)
Scott-Heron is known in many circles as "the Godfather of rap" and is widely considered to be one of the genre's founding fathers. Given the political consciousness that lies at the foundation of his work, he can also be called a founder of political rap. On hip hop music in the 1990s, Scott-Heron later said in an interview, "They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There's a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There's not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, and you don't really see inside the person. Instead, you just get a lot of posturing."
• 08a. Kanye West "My Way Home" (2005)
From Kanye's second album Late Registration. Common performs although Kanye wrote the lyrics.

 

• 09. Steve Reich "Electronic Counterpoint (Fast)" (1987)
"Electric Counterpoint" is a minimalist composition written by American composer Steve Reich. The piece consists of three movements, "Fast", "Slow", and "Fast". The composer has offered two versions of the piece: one for electric guitar and tape (the tape part featuring two electric bass guitars), and the other for an ensemble of guitar. It was first recorded by guitarist Pat Metheny in 1987.
• 09a. The Orb "Little Fluffy Clouds" (1990)
"Little Fluffy Clouds" is centered around clips from an interview with Rickie Lee Jones in which she recalls picturesque images of her childhood. The interviewer is LeVar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow fame. Jones was upset at the unauthorized use of her voice and pursued the issue in the legal system. Label Big Life chose to settle out of court for an undisclosed sum of money for use of her voice. The song also uses a harmonica sample from Ennio Morricone's "The Man With The Harmonica" (from the film Once Upon a Time in the West) and parts of "Electric Counterpoint", a piece for multitracked guitars composed by Steve Reich and recorded by Pat Metheny. Reich, unlike Jones, was "genuinely flattered" by The Orb's use of his work and instructed his record company not to sue. Orb member Alex Paterson has also mentioned that fans would "die" if they discovered where the drums on "Little Fluffy Clouds" originated from.

 

• 10. Bill Conti "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)" (1976)
"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with the movie Rocky, the song became part of American popular culture after main character Rocky Balboa completed his daily training regimen while the song played. The song finishes as Rocky completes his famous run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and raises his arms in a victory pose. The song is also often played at sporting events, especially at sporting events in the city of Philadelphia or featuring sports teams from there.
• 10a. Deize Tigrona "Injeção" (2004)
Deize Tigrona is a Brazilian funk carioca musician. Born in the São Conrado neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Deize worked as a house cleaner until her music career became successful. "Injeção" became a hit in the funk carioca genre, which often uses uncredited samples and features sexually explicit lyrics.
• 10b. Tati Quebra Barraco "Sou Feia Mas Tô na Moda" (2005)
Another funk carioca track by Tati Quebra Barraco, born in the favela of Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro. The title translates as "I’m ugly but trendy".
• 10c. M.I.A. "Bucky Done Gun" (2005)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam is a British musician of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. "Bucky Done Gun" is the third single from M.I.A.'s debut album Arular. The track samples heavily from Deize Tigrona's baile funk song "Injeção".

 

• 11. Cheryl Lynn "Got To Be Real" (1978)
Lynda Cheryl Smith is better known by her stage name Cheryl Lynn, and is best known for her 1978 disco classic, "Got to Be Real". The song was prominently featured in Paris Is Burning, the 1990 documentary about New York’s drag houses.
• 11a. Brother D & The Collective Effort "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise?" (1980)
Daryl Aamaa Nubyahn, Brother D, a math teacher and community activist from Brooklyn issued "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise?" with his group Collective Effort in 1980 on the radical reggae label Clappers. The rap is a strident and provacative call for solidarity and organization in the Reagan Era. It denounces the drug abuse and passitivity which Brother D discerned in ghetto life.

 

• 12. Liquid Liquid "Cavern" (1983)
Liquid Liquid was a New York City post-punk band that was active from 1980 to 1983. Their track "Cavern", from the Optimo EP, recorded by Don Hunerberg was sampled (actually played by the Sugar Hill house band) on Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Do It)".
• 12a. Grandmaster Melle Mel "White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)" (1983)
"White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" is a song by Grandmaster Melle Mel, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel's signature tracks. The instantly recognizable bassline is sampled from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band playing Liquid Liquid's "Cavern". Originally, the song was intended to be an ironic celebration of a cocaine-fueled party lifestyle, but it was abridged with the "don't do it" message as an anti-cocaine song as a concession to commercial considerations.

 

• 13. Mtume "Juicy Fruit" (1983)
Mtume (pronounced em-tu-may) was a funk and soul group that had several R&B hits in the 1980s. Its founder, percussionist James Mtume, previously played with Miles Davis in the 1970s. Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas and Tawatha Agee. Their 1983 album Juicy Fruit, provided Mtume with its biggest hit, when the title song reached number one for eight weeks on the U.S. R&B chart.
• 13a. Notorious B.I.G. "Juicy" (1994)
"Juicy" is a song by hip hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. and his debut solo single from his 1994 debut album Ready to Die. It was produced by Bad Boy Records producers Poke and Sean "Puffy" Combs. Its melody is sampled from Mtume's "Juicy Fruit", and has an alternative chorus sung by R&B girl group Total. The song is considered by many to be among the greatest hip-hop songs of all-time.

 

• 14. Pekka Pohjola "Sekoilu Seestyy (The Madness Subsides)" (1974)
Jussi Pekka Pohjola was a Finnish multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. Best known as a bass player, Pohjola was also a classically trained pianist and violinist. Originally Pohjola rose to fame as the bass player of the Finnish progressive rock band Wigwam, but he soon departed on a solo career, initially releasing Frank Zappa -influenced progressive rock albums. As his career progressed Pohjola developed a more novel musical style that could best be described as fusion jazz. In 1974 his second solo album, Harakka Bialoipokku (English: Bialoipokku the Magpie), was released in Finland. The album saw Pohjola's sound developing to a more distinctive direction, with heavy usage of trumpets, saxophones and piano. The somewhat jazz-influenced album piqued the interest of Virgin Records executive Richard Branson enough to release it in the United Kingdom the following year under the name B the Magpie.
• 14a. DJ Shadow "Midnight in a Perfect World" (1996)
Joshua Davis’s debut album, Entroducing... is noted for being one of the first instrumental albums created entirely from samples of other records. Samples used in this song include "Soul" by S.O.U.L., "Outta State" by Akinyele, "Sower of Seeds" by Baraka, "Life Could" by Rotary Connection, "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw, "The Human Abstract" by David Axelrod, "The Madness Subsides" by Pekka Pohjola, "Dolmen Music" & "Gotham Lullaby" by Meredith Monk, "Releasing Hypnotical Gases" by Organized Konfusion, and "Summer Breeze" by The Isley Brothers.

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION

The World's Most Important Six Second Drum Loop
Who Sampled