Afrojack was disappointed to learn Fred again..’s track was made out of 3 Splice samples

Afrojack (Press) / Fred again.. (Press)

Afrojack was disappointed to learn Fred again..’s track was made out of 3 Splice samples

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Written by

Hemant Khatri

In a recent podcast with XLNT Sounds, Afrojack discussed his music journey and shared his thoughts on the use of loops in music production.

The hosts asked Afrojack whether using loops is considered cheating and brought up Fred Again’s track “Ten,” which features a melodic loop, bass loop, and garage loop layered together. Afrojack expressed his disappointment, stating, “It’s based on 3 Splice samples. To me, it was disappointing when I found out, ‘Oh my god, that’s four Splice sample loops on top of each other.‘”

The hosts also mentioned Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song “Espresso.” The use of Splice samples has been growing rapidly among music producers, serving as inspiration for some and as a shortcut to achieve professional-sounding results for others.

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Other music producers, including Deadmau5, weighed in on this controversial topic:

Deadmau5 commented, “‘Cheating’? Nah. Lazy and boring? Yes. But aside from all that ‘who cares’ stuff, you really gotta wonder where the IP is here. Do what you will, sample pack all you want, but take it from me: after 20+ years of doing this, regardless of your taste or opinion, your catalog is essentially your ‘net worth’ as an artist.“

Au5 also chimed in, saying, “The reason it’s controversial is because the value within the process lies somewhere different for every artist. It’s extremely personal where the part of the artistic act yields the fulfillment of passion, and should be honored. Anyone who hates on another’s process has a blind spot within their own process.“

Check out the complete video here.