Sapphire

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Diving deeper into the sounds of Sapphire

Late '60s-70s, jazz, funk, rock, and soul fused together to create some of the most memorable and sampled grooves ever. Miles Davis' 1970 record, Bitches Brew is known as the catapult into this new era of jazz. The influence of Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters album was massive in jazz and across hip hop with several tunes from the LP being sampled. Hancock isn't the only one. This era of jazz has been sampled in hip hop productions for decades. You'll immediately recognize Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew" in A Tribe Called Quests "Electric Relaxation", for example.

If you've ever taken a look at a jazz chart or music book, you'll see that the two main characteristics of a piece are chords and melody. Sapphire by Soul Surplus focuses primarily on these two elements so that they work together in the most harmonious way possible. As you explore the loops in the pack, you'll hear melodies highlighted with analog synth leads backed up by Fender Rhodes, all carried by a moving bassline and warm guitar chords, as heard in Melody Loop 1. You'll also come across real analog spring reverb achieved with Endless Summer Deluxe Reverb by Recovery Effects, adding a thickness and texture to the composition. You'll also discover beautiful fretless basslines effortlessly sliding in and out of each note, weaving through each chord.

All of these elements combine to create a collection that will inject old school cool into any hip hop production or any genre.

Companion Packs

Session Tapes

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Original Motion Picture

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Soulstice

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Cruise Control

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In The Cut

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Phantasm

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Dungy Bins

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Golden Era - Retro Soul

Golden Era is a '70s soul sample pack in the style of artists like Marvin Gaye who transcended the era to make an impact that was genre-defining and timeless in sound and mes...

Soul Seeking - Warm Soul

Soul Seeking is a flagship presentation of what the Soul Surplus Label does so well--soul. Soul has become the backbone of so many popular music genres today that it is almos...

Fragmented Vol. 1 - Resampled Soul

Over the last two years the Soul Surplus team has created volumes of new music. A lot of those creations took place in studios outside of our main studios. Much of it remaini...

Hidden Gems

Hidden Gems recreates the experience of discovering records you never knew you loved from the good old dollar bin. This pack features 15 melodic loops of different styles and...

White Label - Hip Hop

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Found Footage - Vintage Cinematic Soul

Found Footage is a vintage, cinematic themed soul release straight from Soul Surplus’ in-house production team. This pack was carefully crafted with vintage analog synthesize...

Cinematic Selections

Cinematic Selections contains 100 Astra presets and loops composed with epic themes and dynamic arrangements. These presets are perfect for anyone doing scoring compositions ...

Echochamber

It is no mystery that the Soul Surplus team enjoys utilizing ambient sounds in the many projects we work on. Yet, it’s not often the terms ‘ ambiance and soul are used in the...

Chill Guitar Vol. 2

Chill Guitar Vol. 2 is the second guitar sample pack release from the Soul Surplus team. These loops are perfect for creating those summer time records that are all about cru...

Vinyl Melodics

The Soul Surplus team presents Vinyl Melodics, a collection of soulful keybeds played with acoustic and electric pianos, warm synth leads, pads, harpsichords, bells, chimes, ...

Lofi Keys Vol. 1

So much timeless music has the stamp of lo-fi warmth, aesthetic, and imperfection that many still chase today letting us know that, “lo-fi never dies!”. Soul Surplus presents...

Bliss

Right on the heels of the release of The Original Motion Picture Sample Pack, the team went back in the lab to create yet another soundtrack adjacent pack, entitled "Bliss". ...

Platinum - Classic Soul

“Platinum: Classic Soul” is a Soul Surplus release that is exactly what the name suggests. All of these feel good vintage sounds included can serve as the basis for any ...

The Blue Pack

Get in touch with your acoustic side. The earthy, wooden tones of the Blue Pack come from real instruments recorded in a room through analog gear. There are no VSTs or even s...

Live Room - Organic Soul

Live Room is a Soul Surplus release inspired by the magic that happens when instrumentalists are captured in a recording studio. From jam sessions to recording individual ins...

Guitarchitecture

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Heritage

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Astra Found Footage

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Retrograde: Vintage Soul

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Old Soul

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14 Karat

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Theater of Soul

Soul Surplus presents Theater of Soul, a sample pack of masterfully created cinematic vintage soul music. Dive into these compositions containing classic sounds like...

Mirage

This special release feature’s compositions created by Soul Surplus’ own “42North,” the brother production duo who had a hand in starting the label. Mirage consists ...

Soulish the House Party

“Soulish” The House Party takes on the spirit of soulful house and r&b that gets people moving and dancing inspired by artists like Kaytranada who have continued to champ...

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