The first resource I took a look at was Citizen DJ. It is an incredibly cool resource to use as it has a collection of many sound samples that are now public domain. This website was created in 2020, so it is still fairly new when compared to other Public Domain resource sites such as IMSLP. The creator states that there will be many more samples that will become public domain every year. It already has a big resource library as well as really cool pre-made samples that can be played with the beat in the website. This is definelty a website to keep an eye on throughout the years, it can become a great resource for digital compositions.
The second resouce I looked at, or rather listened to, was the piece El Divisadero by Chris Watson. Its really amazing how Watson was able to take such a normal sound we hear everyday and sample in his music create an ambient piece. I really like the use of the percussive sound trains make as the go over rails, as the drivining rhythm throughout the piece. This is a great example of how we can take sounds we hear everyday to create an amazing piece.
For this assignment, I decided to research M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes", produced by Diplo. There turns out to be a total of 4 different samples in the piece. The primary beat is actually a sample from The Clash's "Straight to Hell". We hear both of them at the beggining. Although M.I.A.'s version is actually an interpolation sample, a sample where the audio being borrowed is recreated. This forms the basis of the song, serving as the driving beat.
The second sample we hear is from Rump Shaker's "Wreckx-n-Effect" feat. Teddy Riley. We hear this interpolated sample in the chorus at 0:56. M.I.A. sings "All I wanna do is *3 gun shots*", which is a rerecorded verion of Rump Shaker's "All I wanna do is zoom zoom zoom", which you can hear in their song at 0:58. M.I.A. and Diplo replaced the original zoom's with gunshots, while maintaining that same rhythm as the orginal sample.
The third and forth samples are direct samples of gun shots and gun reloding in the chorus. ".357 Magnum Pistol Shot 3: Close Perspective. More Ring Off Than FX 28" and "Gun, Classic Pistol Cock", created by The Hollywood Edge Sound Effects Library, can be heard in order in the chorus at 0:56. "All I wanna to is (gun shot sample, repeated 3 times) and a (pistol cock sample) (Cash register sound effect) check in my name". The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th samples I talked about all appear as the basis for the chorus, being repeated every time the chorus is played.
For this project, I decided to use Rio's Midi project "Simba Confronts Scar". I wanted to use this piece because I wanted to add vocal/sound effects to someones piece to add an extra dimension to it. Rio's MIDI song not only provided a really well composed piece but, it also provided a backstory to build off of.
Most of the edits I made to Rio's piece were adding additional sounds to his piece. Since he created this song on Cubase, a different DAW software, it would be harder to sample his piece as I would have to remake each part. I decided that I would just instead work with the mp3. I decided since editing the audio would be hard, I would instead reimagine the fight through the piece by using sound effects.
At the beggining, you can hear audio from the scene where Simba finally confront Scar for his Kingdom. The thunder strike announces the beggining of battle. Throughout the piece, you will hear a higher pitched lion roar meant to symbolize Simba. First, Simba roars to announce his arrival and Scar(lower roar) roars back to tell the hyenas to go fight him. You then will hear Simba fighting back against the hyenas, landing a nasty slash at the end of their encounter. The hyenas retreat and Scar comes into the battle, prepared to fight Simba to death. At the end, you will hear Simba finally landing the last strike and ending scars tyranny. This marks the return of the rightful king and the start of a new era in the Kingdom.