Synthpop Samplespotting!

[~Quixote Chapter]

Ew! Ew! Me! *waives had sporadically in the air*


I was listening to Psykosonik's "Unlearn" and it seems that Gary Numan lifted the beat from Psy's "Need to Die" for use on his album "Exile." Or, maybe they used the same loop sample cds?


-Kevin

[~raven0us-]

great topic, great band [i.e. psykosonik] ... i was a bit disappointed with "unlearn" though, maybe i havnt given it enough time to grow on me. anyway...

i find myself hearing sounds ive heard in other groups as well, this is mainly because influence im guessing... gary numan and psykosonik i can see using the same instruments, psykosonik may have been influenced by him growing up and numan could have been impressed with psykosonik, that kind of the way it werks - both of these artists are extremely talented so i can not see them copying someone else, im not sure if its intentional by all means but it does make you wonder where the sound came from.

[~Eyuva]

Samples, I love samples. Me notes the Pet Shop Boys are king of samples. I heard once the beat from West End Girls was taken from Let's Dance by David Bowie, not sure though. Of course that isn't the only sample they've done. They did everything from cats, dogs, car crashes, casino noise, orchestra samples, you name it, the PSB have sampled it, hehe. Just kidding, but they did load their songs with samples.

My favorite samples are swoosh sounds, subtle spoken text, and the odd star trek sample, ala Information Society.

[~Grey Area]

I always thought Dance or Die had some of the best sampling work in their early albums, songs like "Galaxy" from 3001, and "Psychoburbia", with that sample of Ian Curtis from a live Joy Division performance [I can't remember what it is he says, but someone told me a story about it, something about a spotlight on him that was too bright and he was telling them to turn it down].

I don't know if I can pick one single artist as the best use of sampling, but I think Cabaret Voltaire would have to be up there somewhere. when I listen to albums like "Micro-Phonies" and "The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of The Lord", I'm just amazed by how much they fit in there and how everything is manipulated, stretched, layered, etc.

[~jesaar]

My two favourite sample bands are Biosphere and Pop Will Eat Itself.

Biosphere's two first albums are strewn with well-chosen samples from "2010", "Space: 1999" and other sources. PWEI's Flood-produced "This is the day..." is a must-have album, with samples from "Twilight Zone", "Akira"... I keep coming back to this album, and to Biosphere's "Microgravity" and "Patashnik". They're on my "All Time Top Ten Albums Of All Time" list and have been since the day I bought them... :)

/Jan-Erik (sample selector for the electronic pop group Loveless)