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Danswift And The Sock People- Church Of The Rocksteady (part I&II)


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Fuck! This is live?! This is superb.

thanks Chris !

 

Yeah,all live on two Sp 404's...although I normally use just one but Alecs brought his shiny new 404-SX machine over so I got to have a play with both of the samplers for this tune.

 

I don't actually own any music making software yet so I make all my stuff this way and usually record straight to cassette or mini disc after I've finalized the arrangement of the track.

 

Stupidly good. Make an album and stick it on Bandcamp and I'll buy it.

Wow !...that's a seriously nice comment, thanks Steve. :d

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Dan. Time for some real talk (bear with me, this ain't the start of a lame facebook rant... even though they always include the words "real talk")

 

Expanding on what Steve said basically...

 

This is fucking great. I look for new original music made from samples all the time - there's some great stuff out there and there's a lot of also-ran dross IMO. Not bad stuff, but stuff that's been done a million times before (and better too). This (and other tracks you've made for past DV battles) feel like the antidote to some of the same old, same old I feel gets too much praise.

 

Moving forward, you need to finish about ten tracks or so (quite possibly including some you've already done) you've made in this style. Although you often talk about your tools and working methods as a hinderance, I think right now they are a definite plus point - 404s and lo-fi production is as hot as it gets right now. So not only should you keep on working this way, I think you should actually make a point of letting people know exactly how it's made... all live, on a 404, sampling 'vinyls', etc. It's currently a selling point and of course for those of us who don't care how you made it, it's good music so that's all that matters.

 

Definitely make a bandcamp album at the very least. But also, I think you should first try submitting it to a couple indie labels that deal in this sort of thing too - Redefinition Records or King Underground types. Places that are already have a roster you could slide right into basically. You never know, but I honestly believe there's people out there who would really dig what you do.

 

(as you were, 'real talk' is now over :d )

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Many thanks Rock.

 

I really appreciate both your opinion of and the encouragement you've given me regarding the tracks I've made since the Bob James battle last summer,as I've stated elsewhere that was my motivation to start making sampled music again after a long time away from doing so.

 

The Bandcamp thing is a nice idea..tbh I never even thought of using that as an outlet for my music at all.

 

I also totally agree with your comment about the lack of originality in a lot of sampled music out there and like yourself I'm always on the look out for the best stuff within the genre and ironically enough all my favourite sample based music from last year was made by members of this forum.

 

When I make my own sampled music I really do strive to try and put my own individual stamp on things and I'm also trying to establish a 'signature' sound to what I do...I know that i don't make Hip Hop in the conventional sense,I've tried too, but I just cant do it so I have to make the music that feels true to myself otherwise I don't think I'd feel satisfied with anything I recorded at all.

 

The fact that people here take the time to listen to what I do and appreciate the music and leave comments is nice enough for me but i'll definitely look into the Bandcamp idea...I just need to record a few more tracks first though !

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I don't think of what you make as hip hop beats really either, in a good way though... in my own mind I have you filed under 'freestyle sampler jazz'

That's a cool term !

 

Speaking of Jazz and sampling it made me chuckle somewhat after reading this list and seeing who was #1

http://www.whosampled.com/news/2014/04/01/top-10-most-sampled-jazz-artists-of-all-time/

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Between the musicians I know you rate Dan and the kind of sounds you sample, your stuff sounds very rooted in 70s jazz to my ears. Quite free, quite fusion-esque, etc. As you're playing it live too and doing one takes without overdubs, it definitely makes me think of an updated take on musical themes started by people like Bob or Weather Report for instance. The idea of updating 70's fusion for a more modern invention/instrument makes sense to me. As does expanding the use of samplers beyond sampling snippets of jazz for modern genres and actually going full circle and making new jazz records for right now.

 

Personally, I totally believe in sampling. But I don't think the possibilities of the technology have been fully explored at all. When samplers first became affordable, users were free to decide how to use them and what new music to invent. But I feel like later on, a lot of people have just repeated and regurgitated these earliest ideas.

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Between the musicians I know you rate Dan and the kind of sounds you sample, your stuff sounds very rooted in 70s jazz to my ears. Quite free, quite fusion-esque, etc.

Yeah in a nutshell that's definitely my approach to the type of music i'm trying to make..throw a heavy funky drum break on top of it and it's more or less good to go.. :((

 

I am aiming to think beyond the thrashy drum break though hence the more ambient sounding things I'm attempting to incorporate into the tracks...the last section of this particular tune was a lot of fun to make for example, just creating without any beats involved is really liberating personally, Alecs kept telling me to reprise some type of drum pattern over the section but I felt like the drums had said enough tbh and the music needed a little space to breathe (if that's the correct way of describing it.)

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Guest Psychedelic Schizophrenic

100 percent agree with Rocky :8

 

Dan you got your own unique dope style and have mad live skills on the SP, get yourself out there dude. Definitely get an album out on bandcamp man! Get yourself on social media as well as record some live shit and get a youtube channel going, this will help promote your talent no end too. If there is open night gigs at clubs/pub in your area then get busy with it, you never know where it might lead!

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Thanks mate.

 

Hehe the only open night gigs round here are filled with the type of people who actively enjoy Morris Dancing, wear Fair Isle cardigans and sing songs about drowning sailors and the War Of The Roses at the local pub's folk night..I went there once and took my guitar and sang them an Al Green song..It didn't actually matter how good it was, i may as well have played them an Iron Maiden one they looked that upset, so I quickly changed tack and played a John Fahey instrumental and things went downhill from there I'm pleased to report.

 

I left shortly after that.

 

The other places you definitely wouldn't want to enter after 6 pm..well not unless you're intending to cop off with a drunken cross eyed troll-woman with inflatable tits anyway.

 

Think i'll just stick to the Bandcamp thing tbh.

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