Feature ¦ When do we cross the line between a sample and robbery?

Call me naïve, but when I first heard the Duck Sauce song Barbara Streisand, I genuinely thought that the Djing duo of Armand Van Helden and A-Trak had managed to come up with a catchy summer melody that would go on to dominate dance floors across the world.

Despite the fact I found the song hugely irritating, and knew it would only grow to be more so with the countless hours of airtime that would follow, I did appreciate what ‘they had done’.

With this in mind it was to my disgust (Ok maybe that’s a tad harsh, but certainly to my displeasure) that I discovered the song heavily sampled the 1979 track Gotta Go Home by Boney M, who coincidently sampled Hallo Bimmelbahn’s 1973 hit Nighttrain.[1]

You may well ask what my gripe is with this.  It is well-known to many that samples are a widely used facet of the music industry and in fact many hits, particularly in the rap/hip-hop and dance genres, utilise samples.  My problem, however, does not lie here.

If you take 10 minutes out of your life and listen to the songs previously mentioned you can see what my problem is.  At least I hope you can. (Songs linked below) 

The song samples the previous works to such an extent that it virtually is, Gotta go home/Nighttrain.  The only added value they put to the song was the now infamous ‘Barbara Streisand’.  Which, I must admit is borderline genius.  What better way to sell a song than to stick a much maligned stars name in at 5 second intervals for the masses to chat out mindlessly.

I suppose though, they did take the time to meticulously sound out the celebrity name with the best potential.  This I can imagine took endless weeks in the studio.

So I hear you say, when is a sample acceptable?  Well in many instances they can be subtle.  They can also be blatantly obvious.  But I feel that an artist should use the sample to ENHANCE their track, and not DEFINE it.  For although, the mention of Duck Sauce will immediately gain the response, ‘Barbara Streisand’, it is the infectious,” I can’t stop dancing” beat that truly made it such a big success.

Countless other bands/artists/producers have used, and will continue to use, samples in their tracks on a near daily basis.  However their mastery of ’making it their own’ (I know, the most overused term in music history, but still, you can’t deny its relevance in this instance) defines them from the likes of Duck Sauce.  For example, one of my all-time favourites at this art, Late Nite Tuff Guy shows his mastery in his track ‘One night at the Disco’.  (Linked below)

       

The song he samples in this? Sister Sledge’s – He Is The Greatest Dancer.  Blink, however, and you will miss it.  Have a listen and see if you can spot it:

2.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LUie81E82k (Sister Sledge’s- He Is The Greatest Dancer)

Sister Sledge must surely be one of the most sampled bands in history and the producers of the Will Smith anthem Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It utilised the Sister Sledge song mentioned before once again to outstanding effect. [2]

3.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JcmQONgXJM (Will Smith’s – Getting Jiggy Wit It)

So when do we ‘cross the line between sampling and robbery?’   One thing for sure is that it’s a hugely grey area.  Producers will continue to be cunning in their use of samples, choosing sometimes hugely obscure tracks that very few will remember let alone their new and generally ‘pop’ audience.

P.S. All that remains for all you budding producer/DJ’s out there is to get out there and steal some music of your own.  Just make sure it’s from circa 1970.  Or if you can’t even be bothered with that just have a go on here: http://gobarbra.com/ .  I’m sure they won’t mind, and you may just find yourself with a Grammy award winning track of your very own.