March 24, 2015

The Dirty Sample

The Dirty Sample

…A seven pointed star, painted with an odorous concoction of owl blood and the ground rinds of bananas from the West Indies is smeared across the floor in precise brush strokes. The dim lights from various DAT machines and keyboards of all makes and scale flicker from the edges of the room, casting scintillating ghostly shadows of the precariously perched stack of wax centered perfectly in the star’s inner geometry. Casting the dismantled components of a poorly constructed apex microphone into a smelting pot, heated on the dash of a compressor bank, and letting them melt into a dull glowing sludge, I incant the terms of the Great Ape and await a sign that my efforts have succeeded. The Star begins to smoke from the floor and the machines lights flare up suddenly. I am convinced I have conjured his essence, and carefully ask my first question of the evening…

Chapter: “To Whom am I speaking?”

Dirty Sample: Apeface aka The Dirty Sample
Professor Mandrake aka TwoBlueApes aka missing2wisemen aka Crash Silverback

C: Just who or what is the Dirty Sample?

DS: Dirty Sample is a producer from YYC. He’s a little mad. Spends most days in the dark and most of his nights by flames crawling up walls, creating odd things within his lab. Time is his enemy and sleep has an untrustworthy family tree.

C: Where did the Dirty Sample come from?

DS: Raised in the Kootenays but trained on the prairies. He sees no flaw in water stained vinyl or old dust encrusted platters of wax. Anything that makes noise may be sampled. Cracked, filthy and scratched is ok with gorilla.

C: I’ve heard the history of your work over the last decade, and everything seems to have its own particular voice. What do you attribute this to?

DS: Creating projects and trying to up the plateau constantly. I grew up in the time of the tape and credit a lot of my work to that era. Listening to an album front to back. Artists having a personalized touch on their sound. That’s what inspires me to create a whole project and give it an entire feel for the artist I am working with.

C: What decides the direction of a particular project such as Raw Produce? Where did you begin with your choices on this album?

DS: Raw Produce started with the beat for “ Gun in your Pocket” Adam Bomb, D-Sisive and Tech 12. I’ve always enjoyed doing albums with multiple artists on it and with the help of Kyle Lundie at ColdWax and the homey Ty-G. We started putting together a list of artists that we could get up on the album. One by one they just fell in place.

C: Did you have any particular artists in mind when you set out to make this album? What made you add these characters to the list as you worked out the project?

DS: Well, some artists were particular. Roc Marciano, Guilty Simpson, Adam Bomb, D-Sisive, Hash Mills but some just fell nicely into their spot. Kirby and Kay were rolling through YYC with Factor for a show and I just so happened to have a beat I put aside for the album that they murdered, one warm summer night in the Golden Triangle.

C: What is your process when building a song? Does it vary? Why do you think that is?

DS: It does vary. Sometimes I find the sample then mash in the drums and sometimes vice versa. I spend a lot of time on tracks after vocals are laid. It’s the main reason I don’t sell a lot of beats one-off. A lot of cats just want the wave and that’s it. But if my name is on a project I want to rework the beat after vocals have been laid to give the artist a full track. Have it come together in totality.

C: Do you see specific instrumentals or songs as a larger part of a whole when they are in their infancy? Do you know immediately whether you are crafting a song for an artist in mind, or does that come out during the progression of creation?

DS: Yes I see them as a larger part of a whole. I normally try to craft for an artist in mind. Though sometimes it doesn’t work out. I always try to keep a few projects on the go which makes me push towards making beats for the artists I am working with.

C: What is your work flow like? Do you sit down daily and practice your craft, or at the other end of the spectrum, do you wait for inspiration to hit you?

DS: Work flow is sporadic however I do sit down everyday to work on music. If I don’t, I get a little stir crazy. I spend a lot of time in the lab listening and working. Sometimes I have no inspiration and still try to get something done just to push through the numbness and get my fix.

C: Sampler of choice, First Sampler you owned and your Dream Sampler and why for each of them?

DS: First sampler was a Roland CDX-1. It was an interesting little machine. If I used a sampler as my main piece I would use a 2000xl. Whatevski and I have made some bangers on his and I am like a Pig in a shit house when he brings it over.

My main choice is the oldest of the new school. I sample through Goldwave and create beats in AcidPro. Yeah I said it, Acid Pro. Still running windows XP.

C: What do you feel is the most important aspect of yourself as an artist to cultivate?

DS: Every aspect. I don’t look at it like this though. I feel I’m just a madman putting sound and words down so I don’t go completely insane and throw myself off a building before my real time is up on this rock.

C: Real quick, favourite banana region of supply?

DS: Central American isthmus

C: What’s next for your horizon?

DS: Working on a new album with Touch entitled THE THING. Have a couple younger artists I am starting to work with and I really want to get some well made video’s done this year. Maybe another Instrumental album for the heads. But we’ll see.

C: Any shout outs and quotables?

DS: “Find what you love and let it kill you” – Charles Bukowski

C: Much thanks for the words of illumination!

DS: Thank you G!

Check the new album Raw Produce at phonographique.com or phonographique.bandcamp.com