Tracks made purely with personal samples

Hey,

So this really interests me in general and I wondered if you could direct me to producers who create tracks purely with samples they've collected and edited using microphones.

So I'm not really interested in straight samples of analogue gear, re-sampled and used in tracks - more artists that are renowned for making unique sounds and then using those to replace the preconceived essential elements of an electronic music track - i.e. kick/bass etc etc.

With the ease of today's ready-to-go sample libraries in all DAWs, this is perhaps one of the most important ways to sound different to anyone else. I get excited by the idea that I have sounds no-one else will be able to recreate 100% and will continue to build tracks based on this thinking.

Anyone want to share some related work?

There's obviously nothing wrong with using ready sample libraries of course...I suppose it's how you manipulate those sounds.

Well, if you want the samples to be deep and personal then there's this shit show...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphomatriarch

But I do hope that most people who release their music go through the hurdle of designing their own sounds. I'm a-okay with sampling but you shouldn't be able to tell what you've sampled.

Hmm, I'm not talking about sampling someone else's stuff. More like purely sounds you've recorded like hitting stuff with spoons etc and recording what ever interesting stuff you find. Perhaps I'm getting mixed up regarding the definition of sampling.

HAHA what the hell:

But yeah, that's kind of what I'm getting at. I really like some of this...kind of disturbing but really atmospheric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPmq1PYuots

Lots of folks.. Matmos made this their shtick throughout most of their early career. I think A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure was their last release like this.

Autechre seems to do this quite a bit, although usually amidst synth sounds, or processed to the point that they sound like synths. This was deployed heavily on Chiastic Slide and Draft 7.30. Fol3 (get it?) from Quaristice is fairly straightforward field recording rearranging by their standards and Rob has said in an interview that this was also the basis of "M39 Diffain" from their latest EP.

The first two tracks on this release used only samples of voice, scrunching paper, etc for the percussion:

http://pselodux.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-triangles-and-or-numbers

and the percussion in this track was entirely sampled from various commercial printers and binding equipment:

http://pselodux.bandcamp.com/track/creion

I tend to synthesize everything these days though, and I've never really used samples of non-musical sounds for melodic content.. since I find it's suited more to percussion sounds.

Interesting. Thanks. Will check all this out.

  On 5/10/2015 at 4:11 PM, modey said:

I've never really used samples of non-musical sounds for melodic content.. since I find it's suited more to percussion sounds.

Yeah that's much easier, because you can just go around knocking objects together or striking objects with a drumstick and it's basically the same principle as a lot of drums. It's easier to get kind of Latin percussion like claves or woodblocks than to get kicks, snares, hi hats, claps, etc. but anything is possible with enough imagination & processing.

For melodic stuff you can either find really resonant sounds, or sounds based on continuous friction like a squeaky door, or you can take any old sound and then just grab a tight loop of it. The latter approach is best done with a sampler that lets you easily tune loop points, bonus points for modulation options. You'll probably find that most sounds are kind of reedy or nasal and more bass heavy thud-type or woody, resonant sounds will give you richer, more obviously melodic results.

edit: (This is all based on my experience, of course)

here are a few (90% all my own samples in the other 2, the water track is all original recordings)
Liquified Breakdancing all made using water recordings with large diaphragm condenser microphones in stereo
https://pro.beatport.com/track/liquefied-break-dancing-original-mix/547225
All recordings from a local Wallmart (crackly shell)
https://pro.beatport.com/track/crackly-shell-original-mix/547215
shopping mall records (purple gears..)
https://pro.beatport.com/track/purple-gears-with-green-bolts-of-electricity-original-mix/547216

you should give it a try

  On 5/10/2015 at 4:11 PM, modey said:

and I've never really used samples of non-musical sounds for melodic content..

Oh WOW, liquified breakdancing is excellent. I've wanted to do something.

Can you explain why you needed to use large diaphragm mics for that?

Is the Zoom H4N small diaphragm condensers?

large diaphragm microphones pick up bass frequencies much better (basically the larger the diaphragm the better/richer/more full low frequencies it will record). At first the idea wasn't intentional, my friend happened to have two Neumann TLM103 microphones for vocals he was buying for cheap just to flip on ebay the next week, so for that week we just tried recording a bunch of stuff we would normally use something like a Zoom recorder for, field recording. I Wouldn't recommend doing field recording this way, but if you want to pick up crazy bass frequencies from weird objects (for example getting an extremely clean massive 40-50hz bass tone out of undoing a roll of duct tape) these types of microphones are great for it.

Most portable field recordings have the same X/Y pattern stereo array style and more or less similar built on microphones. I think the only portable recorder you can get for under $2000 which has 'better' microphones would be the higher end marantz or sony equivalents to the lower end Zooms. I don't think any field recorder you can buy has anything like a TLM103 built onto it, because its designed for a mostly studio vocal booth situation, plus the size of it is cumbersome and heavy.

for an idea of the scale of the mic here is what it looks like, also notice the shock mount around it, the bigger the diaphragm the more you need a shock mount because of how sensitive it picks up bass frequencies from just subtle movements.

  On 5/10/2015 at 6:02 PM, John Ehrlichman said:

large diaphragm microphones pick up bass frequencies much better (basically the larger the diaphragm the better/richer/more full low frequencies it will record). At first the idea wasn't intentional, my friend happened to have two Neumann TLM103 microphones for vocals he was buying for cheap just to flip on ebay the next week, so for that week we just tried recording a bunch of stuff we would normally use something like a Zoom recorder for, field recording. I Wouldn't recommend doing field recording this way, but if you want to pick up crazy bass frequencies from weird objects (for example getting an extremely clean massive 40-50hz bass tone out of undoing a roll of duct tape) these types of microphones are great for it.

Thanks for this tip. Somehow it never occurred to me that I should have a mic for this stuff. I've only ever done field recording with cheap vocal or built-in mics and the low end has always suffered. Now I'm thinking in the future I might pick up a Studio Projects B1 or something similar.

Check my bandcamp bruh. But seriously, all my tracks are 99% my own shit and occasionally ill use an ASMR sample from youtube

Thanks for really informative posts. I think in the future I'll get a separate condenser and shock mount to extend my recordings.

Since getting my Volca Sample I've been scouring through hours of field recordings to find little sounds that I can use for drums. Even with just a handful so far it gives my tracks a much more enjoyable organic feel.

On a slightly daft note, the first six tracks on here are made entirely from field recordings my girlfriend and I made when living in an absolute shithole. Was pretty fun to make.

  On 5/10/2015 at 8:21 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 5/10/2015 at 6:02 PM, John Ehrlichman said:

large diaphragm microphones pick up bass frequencies much better (basically the larger the diaphragm the better/richer/more full low frequencies it will record). At first the idea wasn't intentional, my friend happened to have two Neumann TLM103 microphones for vocals he was buying for cheap just to flip on ebay the next week, so for that week we just tried recording a bunch of stuff we would normally use something like a Zoom recorder for, field recording. I Wouldn't recommend doing field recording this way, but if you want to pick up crazy bass frequencies from weird objects (for example getting an extremely clean massive 40-50hz bass tone out of undoing a roll of duct tape) these types of microphones are great for it.

Thanks for this tip. Somehow it never occurred to me that I should have a mic for this stuff. I've only ever done field recording with cheap vocal or built-in mics and the low end has always suffered. Now I'm thinking in the future I might pick up a Studio Projects B1 or something similar.

 

it's definitely not a technique that any field recordist i know uses. and just to clarify i never really got many good sounds literally going into the field walking around and recording shit this way. Arguably what i'm doing is more of a foley approach, using large condensers with very limited movement (keeping their placement static) while bringing sound making materials close to the stereo field of the mics.

If you have very specific things out in the field you want to record it can work, but keep in mind large diaphragm condensers pick up wind noise like a mother fucker, putting a dead cat over them helps but it doesn't mitigate wind noise like a shotgun mic or something like an earthworks mic would (they have small capsules generally speaking). the only track i posted where i used TLM103 is the water recordings track. Everything else i posted was done with a handheld sony stereo microphone used for minidiscs (at the time this was the most efficient / best quality/least expensive field recording method, iphones and portable devices with mic addons did not exist back in 2000-2003)

How about using iPhones as field recording devices? Anyone did that already? I might give it a shot

  On 5/10/2015 at 10:42 AM, Polytrix said:

Anyone want to share some related work?

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=668029655/size=medium/

Some fieldrecorded stuff in here made with the original Zoom H2.

When I was in recording mode I've gotten some sweet results hooking up bin-aural mic's to a zoom, lowering these in well's (or how you call the stuff rain goes into the street?). Getting a nice tube'y flavor from the outside noise, mainly traffic, resonating in the tight space. If you live in an urban environment, you will get tired quickly of traffic noise though, it seems impossible to escape. The low frequencies from buses, constant drone of exhaust emission :) .

Might pick up a recorder for a summer mission, what are the top budget model's currently? Think of spending 200 euro max, bonuspoints if you can hook up external mic's.

[youtubehd]ecZ0abgoAUs[/youtubehd]

Just realised there are new replies on this post. Thanks guys and gals!

@ purlieu, yeah, I'm doing the same. As I go through long audio recordings from my Zoom, I cut and chop the best bits in small WAVs and add them to my ever expanding drum rack of samples - it's hard to consistently classify them I find as sometimes something that, for instance, could be a snare could equally be made into a kick or whatever. I feel it adds a lot to my tracks. I'm in the process of making a track mainly with these samples and due to the fact that the last set of samples I took was when I had an empty house with a massive reverb through a series of rooms and fucked around with loads of kitchen stuff...it's sounding industrial and brooding - did guitars today too.

My friend actually saw Electric Wizard last night (gig I couldn't attend so passed the ticket on to him) so perhaps that's why. I'm just making it scarier and weirder each time I work on it. I personally ADORE playing guitar over perc loops I've made myself :)

@ DJeroek - that's an amazing idea...dropping mics into a well to get the sounds...and you are totally right..there is too much low frequency shit going on all the time with condensers I find. I find it's best to do record very early morning or in naturally quiet places like hill tops or forests etc where the outside noise is buffered out. The H4N would do all you need nowadays, I often have a dynamic mic recording from out of it too - plugged in at the bottom. So yeah, you could get that..it's not too expensive for what you get.

Oh you mean like drain covers? Why would you need a binaural mic to do that?

  On 5/16/2015 at 11:14 PM, Polytrix said:

Oh you mean like drain covers? Why would you need a binaural mic to do that?

you wouldn't but I had them at hand and with the cables it was easy to lower them into.