We bring you a roundup of last year’s Samplethon competition produced in association with WhoSampled, KPM and Ableton. Watch the video below to hear what the esteemed judges had to say about the standard of entries in this edition of the sampling competition, and hear from the winning producer himself. You can also listen to the winning entry from Shatter Hands in full below. If you’re as inspired by this as we are, why not have a go at learning yourself? Almost all of our production courses have some focus on sampling, so check the full range and see which course is right for you.
For those unfamiliar with the competition, Samplethon in 2017 consisted of 20 competitors (selected from hundreds of applicants) who were presented with a set of samples from KPM’s library and then went head-to-head over seven hours to see who could make the most accomplished piece within the timeframe. So, from scratch, the contestants had to build, arrange and mix a track using a bank of samples they may never have used or even heard before. The panel consisted of Jonny Cuba (Soundsci), Shawn Lee, JD Reid, Ollie Teeba (The Herbaliser), Joseph Joyce (Ableton), Paul Sandell (KPM), Chris Read (WhoSampled) and our very own Ski Oakenfull. As expected, the standard was extremely high, as the judges attest in our video above, but the winner and runners-up were as follows:
1st Place: Shatter Hands
2nd Place: Daniel El Campeon
3rd Place: Asa Greenwood
Plus there was a further prize for Most Creative Use of a Sample, won by Tzu Jan
Shatter Hands flew in all the way from Denmark and built his track around a harp sound, switching up the feel for an intense peak and threading the track throughout with shimmering augmentations. For his efforts, he was flown out to Berlin by Ableton to have his track mastered, and received a 10″ dubplate of his cut at the end of the session. pointblank also provided a free online course and masterclasses. For more entries, check out the playlist below from WhoSampled.
Sampling is a brilliant way to unlock your creativity and can be the best way to take your first steps as a producer. We offer an Intro to Music Production course that makes use of the principles of sampling to get you started. The possibilities are endless, and as these producers have shown in Samplethon 2017, there’s plenty of reasons seasoned producers are always on the lookout for the perfect sample. If you have some experience of production but would like to take a step further, have a look at our BA (Hons) in Music Production and Sound Engineering, or our shorter Music Production Certificate .
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