London producer Gold Panda has revealed some of the limits he imposes when choosing samples.
Releasing a string of singles, Gold Panda was already surrounded in hype before the release of 'Lucky Shiner'. Attached to Ghostly International, the producer mixes glitchy electronics with a vast array of samples.
Containing disparate elements of music drawn from sources across the globe, 'Lucky Shiner' was a remarkably complete album. Justifiably hailed as one of 2010's strongest releases, Gold Panda has revealed some of the secrets behind its production.
Speaking to FRWRD the producer revealed some of the limits he places on his production. "There’s no code… you can only sample from vinyl, I have my own rules because I have my own limits. If I want to use a drum machine, it has to be the original drum machine, I can’t download a WAV. I have to borrow it or own it" he insisted.
"I think the point is that you have to have limits. I need limits for what I’m doing. If I’m just downloading all of these things it just feels a bit fake and false, that’s not why I was making music for" the producer explained. "The main reason was that it was all made from old records. I like the sound that an old record gives. It give a nice atmosphere. I wouldn’t go through a sample CD."
'Lucky Shiner' has enjoyed huge word of mouth success, with rave reviews helping to buoy the material. Gold Panda explains that he begins with a blank track, using only the original sample as a basis for material.
"For each track I start with a blank track where I start with a sample. The ones that work out best are the ones that are made really quickly, where I’m kind of mucking around. And the ones where I’m planning stuff is too forced" he explained.
"It started off with an Atari and an Akai sampler, and the main way of making music with that is with sampling. Just growing up with hip hop is just sampling old tracks. Then you realize you can’t be Puff Daddy and you start to work out what you can do with samples and smaller samples and you start to sample with less and build them into bigger things."
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