Are you tired of using the same samples over and over again?
If you’re eager to expand your sampling toolkit, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we showcase five resources and techniques that will allow you to uncover unusual and at times straight-up weird samples that extend into uncharted sonic territory.
Let’s dive in!
1. Data sonification
Put simply, data sonification is the representation of data as sound. While it’s traditionally used to help us gain additional insights beyond what a visualization alone might show, the technique can also be used creatively to construct some truly unique samples.
Whether it’s a dataset that’s closely tied to music or something completely unrelated, you can use free tools like TwoTone to transform a .csv spreadsheet into an audio sample or MIDI file that’s ready to be imported into your DAW for further manipulation.
You can also explore pre-existing instances of data sonification—see NASA’s audio collection for example, which consists of soundscapes birthed from nebulas, samples generated from the behavior of exploded stars, and more. While it’s worth reviewing their latest guidelines on copyright, they’re generally pretty lenient when it comes to allowing their assets to be used in other works.
2. Field recordings
From the vibrant noises of a cityscape to the tranquil ambience of a forest, there are so many unique sounds in the world around us—and capturing them as field recordings can be an excellent way to craft new samples. Try taking a walk while capturing audio with a Zoom recorder or even just the built-in mic on your phone and seeing if there are any sounds you gathered that could be useful as atmospheric or percussive elements.
While exploring your own environment leads to sounds that are inherently the most individualized to you, there are also existing resources you can check out here as well—see the Yellowstone National Park Sound Library for example, where you can find rare animal sounds, the soundscapes of weather events, and more.
3. Rare Finds
If you’re using the Splice Sounds library, Rare Finds is the perfect search feature for finding samples that you may have not uncovered via other means. Rare Finds narrows down your search to a curated list of sounds that are still undiscovered by most users, and the results are refreshed daily—giving you the latest look at samples that deserve a double take.
Whether it’s a standard sound like a drum loop or something more niche like a foley one-shot, Rare Finds can help you come across the samples that are at the bottom of the digital crate, still waiting to be discovered. All of the samples on Splice Sounds are also royalty-free, giving you the most amount of convenience when it comes to releasing your music.
4. Public domain libraries
Ranging from old radio broadcasts to ambient recordings, public domain libraries can be another great resource for finding weird samples for your productions. The aforementioned Yellowstone National Park Sound Library is a solid example, as they state that the sounds can be used without limitation; all they request is that the “National Park Service” is credited where appropriate.
Freesound.org is another popular resource that can be used to uncover environmental sounds in particular—there is a lot of variation when it comes to audio quality here, but that could be a point of appeal in its own right. If you’re intending to use a sample in a commercial work, just make sure you check that the particular file has the “Creative Commons” tag (which many of them do).
5. Wavetable synthesis
Last but not least, while it might not sound like a sampling technique on the surface, getting creative with wavetable synthesis can allow you to generate some weird samples that have never been heard before. For example, Xfer Records’ Serum allows users to import .png images as wavetables; simply drag-and-drop your image file into an oscillator, and the synth will map its pixel luminance to amplitude. So, if you want to make a synth out of a picture of your pet dog or your favorite company logo—now you can.
From here, you can continue editing the wavetable in Serum, or bounce your timbre as a one-shot for further resampling.
Go forth and make some weird samples
And there you have it! Hopefully this article gave you some new ideas for how and where you can find weird samples for your music. Do you have any go-to resources or techniques of your own? What other topics would you like to see us explore next? Start a conversation with us and an ever-growing community of other music creators via the Splice Discord.
Grab a Creator or Creator+ subscription and start crate digging like never before with Rare Finds:
August 16, 2024
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