Sample based ambient is a type of ambient music that is created by or heavily features samples from other media. Some prominent artists who have used this technique are William Basinski with his ‘The Disintegration Loops‘ and The Caretaker with ‘Everywhere At The End Of Time‘ and ‘Selected Memories From The Haunted Ballroom‘. Sample based ambient has been a major interest for me for the past three years, releasing my own sample based ambient under the moniker ‘deaftapes’. i’ve lost my head & the dancing pig being released 2 years ago by me and were recorded using a Tascam four track and Ableton live. The sound of sample based ambient for me has this nostalgic, dreamlike and surreal quality to it which can be used to create a nice or disturbing atmosphere depending on where you want to go with the song stylistically.
For this project I would like to record an unnerving piece of sample-based music, being inspired by films like The Shining and Blue Velvet. Though on the surface these films seem quite different, there are elements of that are quite similar. Both have a dreamlike quality that makes the films feel very unique. Blue Velvet’s dreamlike feel is prominent from the first shot of the film where we see red roses up against a white picket fence. Meanwhile the surreal feel of The Shining grows throughout the film, with blips of surrealness and ever-growing tension and hallucinations building a dreamlike feel to the film. Both the films also use old ballroom and rock ballad music. The Shining using Midnight, the Stars and You by Ray Noble Orchestra & Al Bowlly and Blue Velvet using In Dreams by Roy Orbison.
Bibliography
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). the dancing pig. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ataLbCnYj7o [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). i’ve lost my head. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VG7n3OJmpU [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjnAE5go9dI&list=RDmjnAE5go9dI [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stages 1-6 (Complete). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJWksPWDKOc&list=RDwJWksPWDKOc&t=20885s [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). The Caretaker – Selected Memories From The Haunted Ballroom (Full Album). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryg8_HQ0VX0&list=RDRyg8_HQ0VX0 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Ray Noble – Al Bowlly – Midnight The Stars And You – 1934. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ9aT-Wa_tE&list=RDvJ9aT-Wa_tE [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Roy Orbison – In Dreams. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVRunwyoTMA&list=RDMVRunwyoTMA [Accessed 22 Apr. 2023].