11/14/2018
Here's a story about sample-making and myself that I thought I'd share in hopes that it might inspire you in some small way or at the very least give you some insight on trying something new.
Making samples.
How this all started.
A lot of the time I’m asked by producers how I started the sample-creation part of my production career. They either really love the music that in packs and/or are fascinated by the amount of detail that goes into each sample.
My answer is usually simple.
Collaboration.
I was asked to hand in a beat for a project at VH-1 sometime recently, and I’d found myself suffering from a bit of “beat-block”. Has that ever happened to you? It doesn’t happen to me very often, usually, I’m highly-inspired musically and can jump into a session and just create. But for the first time in a while, I was at a road-block mentally. It was draining.
I’d played an incredible synth top-line with counter-melodies, and the wave on it was just so damn good, but something very important was missing. I had the music done (instruments, top-line, melodically, textures, even the arrangement), but I just wasn’t finding the drum-pattern that I wanted. I thought to go and get a live player and buy some studio time, or just to use an old break, but that didn’t cut it either.
What did I do?
I asked for help. I called a good friend of mine, Dilemma, a Philly-based producer who’s done work with Migos, Meek Mill, Jazmine Sullivan, and others and told him the situation:
“Yo, I have this project pending and I need some drums. You game?”
Dilemma had told me that ironically he had been finding it hard to start a project because of his busy schedule with his other career as a world-traveling DJ, and this would be a lay-up because I had already handed him the meat-and-potatoes of the record. Without hesitation Dilemma took on the task and the very next day, after getting his drum and 808 tracks and doing the mix, we had the beat.
I had found that fascinating. After years of constantly forcing myself to finish production projects on my own, I saw that collaboration was a game-changer. I got to work with a great producer who was established and talented, and I was also inspired by both the finished product and the fact that a load was off of my plate, mentally and creatively.
Collaborating was life.
From that one experience came Gold Nuggets: Volume 1. I started thinking with the fellow-producer in mind and just started playing music, without drums, as if I was making a full-composition, or even a movie score. I used the best vintage gear and instruments that I could find, I recorded everything with tape to feel like records from the past while maintaining the flare of today’s music, and I brought in some players when necessary.
I began thinking about how to make the life of any producer or musician that I'd work with going forward the easiest, both creatively and practically, in order to give them something of quality that they could take and make their own and not have to worry about getting past that initial period of “beat-block”.
A month later, after various recording and mix sessions, I had Gold Nuggets. I was overcome with this feeling of extreme satisfaction and enthusiasm about the work, and more importantly the collaborations to come with any producers who would use the sample pack.
That’s the story of how I got into sample-creation. I didn’t look to see what other guys were doing in the field. It just came organically. Because I collaborated. And that’s what Gold Nuggets Sample Collection is all about. Collaborating with each of you to make a “whole” that is greater than the sum of its parts.
I’m excited to collaborate with each of you via these packs and can't wait to hear all of the great music and placements that we achieve together through these collaborations.
Broadway
Check out my new website: https://www.beatsbybroadway.com/
