Artist Stories: Jacob Sampson

This week we had an opportunity to catch up with California producer Jacob Sampson, better known to the Splice community as DJSAMPLES. We asked him to tell us about his release Everyone and to show us how Splice fits into his production workflow.

This blog post mentions Splice Studio, which is no longer active. Learn more about the shutdown here.

What inspired you to share this track with the Splice community?

I felt like I really had something special with this song. It’s a fun track that will immediately get people bobbing their heads up and down. That’s what I look for whenever I’m making a track – I want it to be fun and enjoyable to listen to at the same time. When I released this song, I was hoping that in sharing it someone would want to collaborate on the track with me. The track may sound finished, but I feel like there are still a lot of things that can be done with it. I’m excited to hear what the Splice community can bring to the table. I know that there is a ton of talent within the community – I’m just hoping to meet someone that has that talent and would be willing to help me finish the track. Music is relative. People will hear what they want to hear. I’d always like to have an extra pair of ears to tell me what is needed of the song – with Splice, I now have a seemingly endless supply of fellow producers to get feedback from.


“Music is relative. People will hear what they want to hear. I’d always like to have an extra pair of ears to tell me what is needed of the song – with Splice, I now have a seemingly endless supply of fellow producers to get feedback from.”


Tell us about your approach to production. Any favorite sample packs or plugins?

My go-to plugin is currently Massive from Native Instruments. The types of sounds that Massive can create is extraordinary. I’ve been working with this instrument for around two years now, and I feel like I know the ins and outs well enough that I have the ability to quickly create any certain sound that I’m thinking of. As for samples, I really do appreciate the quality of the Sounds of KSHMR pack from Splice Sounds. The pack is great because all of the samples are completely ready to go for any banger that you’re making. I also have a folder for samples right on my desktop – whenever I hear a sample that I like, I throw it in there. I use that folder for practically every song I make.

You’re primarily an Ableton Live user. What is it about Live that makes it your DAW of choice?

Ableton Live is a wonderful program. I’ve tried them all, but none have stuck with me like Ableton. There was a pretty steep learning curve with this program since I was coming from Logic, which I saw as basically just a more complicated version of Garageband. The transition took around a year, and I’ve been working with Ableton ever since for around four years now. I still have some of the first songs that I made, and while I was digging them at the time, it makes me laugh to see how far I’ve come. It’s always really important to keep up the practice of loving what you make, as your attitude towards what you’re making definitely reflects itself in what you actually release.


“It’s always really important to keep up the practice of loving what you make, as your attitude towards what you’re making definitely reflects itself in what you actually release.”


How has Splice had an impact on your production process or workflow?

Three words that I would use to describe Splice: Innovative, Community-Driven, and one of the most important: Lifesaver. Splice has some very forward-thinking elements to it. One of the most useful to me is the sample library, Splice Sounds. They have solved some of the biggest problems I have when buying sample packs. Sometimes there are sounds in packs that I just don’t feel like I would ever use. Now, if I need a certain sound, I can just go to Splice Sounds and search for the exact sample that I need. It’s very innovative and extremely helpful in my production process. The Splice Community is one of the most active communities for music production that I’ve ever been involved with. If I ever need an opinion on a track or want tips on something like mastering for example, there’s an entire online community that is there ready to help.  The most important aspect to me is the lifesaving protection that Splice offers. I’ve recently been having many problems with my computers and somewhere along the line began to lose a lot of my projects. After I finally restored my computer and got Splice running again, I noticed that my projects were saved on the cloud and that I was able to continue working on them, which was followed by a few days of intense music production! I really owe it to Splice for saving me a lot of time and tears.

“After I finally restored my computer and got Splice running again, I noticed that my projects were saved on the cloud and that I was able continue working on them, which was followed by a few days of intense music production! I really owe it to Splice for saving me a lot of time and tears.”


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What are some of your musical influences at the moment?

One of my main influences currently is KSHMR. He has a way with song and melody structure that gives me goosebumps every time I hear something he’s released. For example, the recent Sounds of KSHMR Remix Contest that he put out with Splice – when you go through and listen to the tracks, the amount of layering, production and counter-melodic writing is just unreal. It’s forever inspired me to try to get more out of my sounds by trying to layer my synths together. Another major influence on me over these past few months has definitely been Deorro. This dude knows how to rock a song! The stuff that he puts out always has my head bobbing from start to finish. His Panda Funk style has actually had a heavy influence on “Everybody” as well.

You’ve had quite a few users in the community Splice the project file for “Party Everywhere” – what do you hope that they’ll do with it?

Honestly, I hope that they take it and make it great! As I’ve said, there are so many talented artists on Splice, and I want to hear what they have to contribute to the track, whether that means collaborating with me to finish it or coming up with their own versions and remixes. My main focus is making songs that stick with people. I love a good catchy hook, and I feel like I found that with this song. I just want to see what other producers can do with this song and hear them make it their own.

Where do you think that music is headed next?

That’s the true beauty of music. You may never be able to predict the future of where it’s going. It’s a medium that’s always changing and shifting – you have producers that can take just take a genre and run with it. In terms of creation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see new software primarily built around convenience, something that allows newcomers to try their hand at music production without feeling completely overwhelmed with all of the technology involved. There can definitely be a steep learning curve, and it takes a lot of patience and perseverance to reach even an amateur level – but anyone can do it if they want it badly enough!

We’d like to thank Jacob for taking the time to chat with us and for offering us some insight into his process. We’re looking forward to hearing many more tracks from him! Be sure to keep an eye on his Splice profile at DJSAMPLES for all of his latest projects and upcoming releases.

 

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November 6, 2015