Appropriation, Additive Approaches and Accidents: The Sampler as Compositional Tool and Recording Dislocation

Harkins, Paul

Abstract

Brian Eno describes the recording studio as a compositional tool that has enabled composers to enjoy a more direct relationship with sound. This article will explore the use of the digital sampler as one of the studio tools that forms part of this creative process and focuses on interviews with a group of Edinburgh musicians called Found who successfully combine the writing of pop songs with the sampling of found sounds. The core song-writing partnership share an art school background and I was keen to discover if they use the sampler and other tools to sculpt sound in a similar way to how they paint. Much of the academic literature on digital sampling within popular music studies has been skewed towards its disruptive consequences for copyright law and, while legal and moral questions are still relevant, I am keen to concentrate on the processes of music making and the aesthetic choices made by composers and producers in the studio. Recent ethnographic work by Joseph Schloss has centred on these questions in relation to hip-hop and it is important to examine and understand how the sampler continues to be used by musicians and producers in a variety of genres.

Citation

Harkins, P. (2010). Appropriation, Additive Approaches and Accidents: The Sampler as Compositional Tool and Recording Dislocation. Journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, 1(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.5429/2079-3871%282010%29v1i2.3en

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 1, 2010
• Online Publication Date: Apr 15, 2011
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2017
• Journal: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music
• Print ISSN: 2079-3871
• Publisher: International Association for the Study of Popular Music
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-19
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5429/2079-3871%282010%29v1i2.3en
• Keywords: Art, digital sampling, hip hop, pop, recording studio, technology,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/5029
• Publisher URL: http://www.iaspmjournal.net/index.php/IASPM_Journal
• Contract Date: Jan 26, 2017