From BigKumquat Sent Wed, Jun 9th 1999, 19:59
From BigKumquat Sent Wed, Jun 9th 1999, 19:59
<< Actually, one of the reasons you don't hear very many James Brown breaks
is because of the massive royalties associated with them, including the
"Funky Drummer" sample. After that break blew up, the lawyers went crazy
tracking down those who hadn't cleared it, apparently, and since then
people have kind of avoided JB's beats. >>
I remember reading at the time that there was a lawyer fellow who had the job
of listening to new hip-hop tracks all day long, scrutinizing them for JB
samples. Sounds like quite an enjoyable job, albeit one with potential to
eventually drive one insane.
<< I mean there's plenty of decent
stuff out there you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for, so why
bother with JB's lawyers? Kind of a shame. >>
An alternate approach to sampling is to take the time to program a similar
break on your own. If you (meaning "you" in the non-specific, plural sense)
like the "Funky Drummer" break, create your own, similar version. Don't
worry, it'll never sound *quite* like the original. I don't think it's
possible to copyright beats, as long as you programmed it
yourself...melodies, on the other hand...
Plus, you'll have something which (hopefully) captures something of the
spirit of the original, yet is distinctly your own. Maybe you even spice up
the break a little, do something a little different with it, try to keep it
fresh.
Any maybe, someone out there at this very moment is writing their own new
break, destined to become the equivalent of the new Funky Drummer or Amen
break for the next 25 years. Who do you suppose is the most likely to do
this among today's artists...Squarepusher? (OK, I'm just throwing his name
in because it gets us all excited).
- Fred Church
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