Using samples to create a signature sound for an Album (& Download!)

Last week, my mate Atlas Castle shared some very detailed insight of the creative process we went through until we reached the final "Garagen" product. Today, I want to talk a bit deeper about the sound design and the samples we used (as this seems so be something folks are after). Plus we provide the samples for download!

So yes, samples are the be-all and end-all when it comes to making music with the Digitakt. It was clear from the very beginning of the project that each of us will do 2 tracks for the EP. But we wanted them to be "connected", we wanted to let listeners feel like they are a unity instead of separated tracks and create a vibe.

The result of this development is the "Garagen" sample pack. Half of the samples in this collection were created and choosen by Guillaume, and the other half by me. The basic idea was that the tracks on the EP should be written exclusively with the samples in this pack.

At the end, we got a pack that pretty much sums up each of our styles, glued together by using the Digitakt on both ends. It contains a nice selection of Drums, Chords & Stabs, some FX, Pads, Bass sounds and Vocal Chops.

In the beginning I was a bit sceptical whether the small but rather limited selection of samples would provide enough variation for a complete EP. But I was soon proved wrong, because the pack turned out to be super versatile, thanks to Digitakt and the two "Styles" we've put in there.

This approach has another interesting aspect. The samples Guillaume chosed are very different than mine. This forced me to try out new ways of sound design and it was very refreshing - it felt a little bit of "Remixing" one of his tracks.

We not only want to share our insights with you guys, we also want to share the sounds with you! To all interested musicians, we are making the sample pack available for free download!

When you make a track with it, feel free to put the hashtag #GaragenEP2021 so we can see what others are doing with our sounds.

You can download the pack here.

A lot of artists struggle when it comes to find their "Signature Sound". But pretty often, they just need a third opinion to figure out that they found it already. I can help you with that - take a look at my coaching offerings and book a free session.

I & II - 59 Perlen

III & IV - Atlas Castle