d e t r i t u s . n e t
dedicated to recycled culture
Audio
Audio sampling has become increasingly widespread over recent years, leaking into pop music via "electronica" and hip hop. This list will not attempt to mention everyone who uses the technique, only those who have been pioneers or self-conciously and intentionally pushing the envelope of audio appropriation.
This page lists only the very cream of the crop (in our opinion). For information on others who deserve mention but arent neccesarily "required listening", we have some reviews.
The copyright-bustin' media-tweakin' band from Contra Costa County... See here for a very interesting interview on KPFA with the group's Don Joyce and other copyright "experts".
Iowa-based group which builds their music exclusively from other music, first with traditional tape-cutup methods and now, as Public Works, using digital techniques. Highly recommended.
Sampler-based group from Ohio. An excellent example track is the 1995 single "Rebel Without a Pause (Whipped Cream mix)", a juxtaposition of Public Enemy and Herb Alpert.
Noisy turntabalist and sampler artist from Tokyo, also has band Ground Zero and has collaborated with numerous others including Bob Ostertag, Carl Stone, and Jon Rose.
Pay particular attention to his CD on Extreme, Night Before the Death of the Sampling Virus. His CD with Carl Stone, Monogatari: Amino Argot, is also excellent, being the result of repeated long-distance collaboration, mailing DAT tapes back and forth.
This band is great for many reasons, including that they've run afoul of copyright law at least 2 times. Most recently, the North American version of their latest album, "Tubthumping", had to have its liner notes abridged. In place of the offending sections, which were quotes that couldn'tcouldn't be cleared, is a message to check their website for the original text. This is great that they've made it available via the web. But i'm still furious at U.S. libel lawyers who threatened them. It doesn't feel very good to be a citizen of this country, supposedly so free and open, where i can't read the same album liner notes that someone can in Europe. Ridiculous!
Public Enemy
Legends of hiphop, masters of the sampler.
Christian Marclay
Downtown New York turntable improviser and collage artist. A turntablist who does not come from the hip-hop tradition but from the avant-garde.
Continually pushes the envelope of sample-based composition to new extremes. Collaborates with a variety of other composers and improvisors such as Otomo Yoshihide, John Zorn, Mike Patton, and Fred Frith.
British industrial/techno/dance/rap band that uses an incredible amount of sampling, and virtually evangelizes this practice in their lyrics (and name).
Also known as the Timelords, The Jamms (Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu) and most recently, K2. KLF stands for "Kopyright Liberation Front". A British pop-dance band that plays the media like an instrument, they consist of Jim Cauty and Bill Drummond, savvy music-industry manipulators who are masters of the press release and the contrived news event. Their first album, "1987: What the Fuck's Going On?" Was destroyed in a legal settlement with Abba, who's "Dancing Queen" was sampled without clearance. (Now available in our archives.) The KLF are also authors of an excellent book entitled "The Manual: How to Get a #1 Hit the Easy Way," a sarcastic yet strangely Zen look at the pop music establishment.
Amon Tobin, Bricollage and Permutation
Tobin uses an amazing barrage of instrumental samples to construct a techno/dance-oriented sound, ranging from extremely mellow, jazzy trip hop to intense rapidfire drum and bass.
Audio