BEHIND THE BEAT: WHY I STOPPED USING SPLICE AND STARTED FLIPPING RECORDS (IT’S COMPLICATED)

Once upon a time, I was an 18-year-old aspiring DJ/Producer and transfer student at Howard University. For various reasons, I did not get along with my first two assigned roommates, so I spent most of my evenings in the stacks of Louis Stokes Library (not only is it one of the more modern facilities on campus, but it’s also right across the street from my old dorm, which meant I could stay until closing hours and walk back quickly). 

Before starting any homework assignments, I’d load up GarageBand on my computer and pick a sound to play on the keyboard (Musical Typing). However, with zero knowledge of chord progressions or music theory, the loops I created were very basic and not really cool. As a consumer of hip-hop, I wanted to produce beats that lyrical artists like Mos Def could rhyme over… so I’d watch YouTube tutorials on sampling techniques. Basically, I learned how to use the “Split at Playhead” feature in GarageBand which allowed me to chop old-school records on any given part of a song. Then, if I found a cool loop, I’d overlay an acapella verse with a similar tempo. After that, there wasn’t really much else I knew how to do. My process was unique, to say the least, and honestly not the most efficient. I hadn’t yet figured out how to add drums, change pitch, or do anything else that would inspire more creativity. Plus, I usually had an essay or two due the next day. 

A few years later, at the age of 21, I used my tax refund to upgrade from GarageBand to Logic Pro X. Then, I bought my first MIDI controller: the AKAI Professional MPD218. I didn’t realize this fully then, but I was building a studio. Although my original melodies were drastically improving, the default sounds in Logic felt very limited, and I wanted to focus on crafting my own drums. After all, I had a beatpad, not a synthesizer. That’s when I first started using Splice. 

For those who don’t know, Splice is a royalty-free, subscription-based sound library with millions of loops. This meant that all I had to do was drag full melodies into my DAW (digital audio workstation), add drums, and sell/distribute beats without giving up any backend percentages. In other words, for just $9.99/month, I could pump out premium instrumentals and keep all the profit. To make things even easier, each loop also contains information about the sample such as its BPM or key. It was a no-brainer decision to speed up my workflow. 

In hindsight, what I appreciate most about Splice is that it helped me to identify my “sound” by forcing me to choose samples that inspired me to create. After using the program for a while, I would gravitate toward specific types of loops. For example, in my “Moonchild” era, I was heavily into spaced out, warm pads because they reminded me of my own melodies, just a bit more complex. Then, once I bought a new speaker system, I started to try out Trap, Afrobeat, and Soul loops more often. Eventually, as my taste developed, I began to blend elements across genres to create a distinctive sound profile which felt authentic enough for me, in my eyes. 

You’re probably wondering why I stopped using Splice (if it was such a helpful tool for my production). Well, because like with most things that feel too good to be true, sometimes they might come with unexpected consequences. Let me explain. First, I heard a beat that sounded similar to mine in a DiGiorno commercial... nothing says exclusive and original like a jingle for mass-produced frozen pizza [extreme sarcasm]. Then it happened again, except this time in a movie on Netflix and listed under another artist’s name. While it’s quite possible they just so happened to stumble across the same exact loops as me, I was bothered by the situation nonetheless. To make matters even worse, some of my beats were still hit with copyright claims on Youtube/SoundCloud because the technology for detecting duplicate sounds does not account for the use of royalty-free loops. Thankfully, I was able to successfully dispute those claims, but I couldn’t help but wonder how this could potentially affect my relationships with clients. Nobody in the music industry wants to deal with the unnecessary stress of demonetization. 

Replacing the copy-and-paste method, I started to mess around with the built-in plugins on Logic to transform those royalty-free loops into something more specialized. I also challenged myself to exercise advanced editing techniques such as reversing (Functions) and phase vocoding (Flex Time -> Polyphonic) to form less replicable melodies. Overall, this helped tremendously with my mixing/mastering skills, and I felt confident to share my music again. However, as The Vault grew, I stopped enjoying the process of “digging” for loops on Splice. I found myself having to sort through dozens of really, really bad sounds before settling on a loop to sample. I’m talking about noises that could drive a person insane. It might seem dramatic, but it’s true. Very few things in life give me more anxiety than harsh frequencies, and studies show that prolonged exposure can potentially cause damage to the ears, a producer’s nightmare. 

At a crossroads, I transitioned into my DJ bag and didn’t make a new beat for several months… until one day, I came across the perfect loop to sample. I was listening to one of my playlists and heard something in the introduction section of a song that I just knew would slap if I flipped it in a specific way. Part of me couldn’t believe the original creators didn’t think of it already, and part of me felt like it was an alley-oop from the musical gods/ancestors… like the passing down of a gem to be repurposed by a new generation. I can only describe the experience as spiritual. 

The main reason to stay away from these types of records is paranoia about the legalities of sourcing materials from copyrighted music, but I’m way too free to let fear consume me. If the original creators of the work felt a way about it, I’d be happy to negotiate percentages. On the flip side (pun intended), there’s really no reason for the original creators to be mad at the fact that their work inspired a new creation. Ideally, it should be a win for all parties. For example, when The Fatback Band’s lead drummer Bill Curtis was asked what he thought when Sugar Hill Gang sampled “Kim Tim II” to create “Rapper’s Delight,” he stated “it’s not a big deal to me… I’m a record man, I love to make music.” The messiness stems from labels potentially striking down… the same corporate entities historically responsible for ripping off Black musicians with unfair deals and capitalist interests. Again, fear is the enemy of Love. I must carry on with what feels right in the present moment. 

Politics aside, flipping records is for the culture. There are so many diverse sampling techniques and subgenres within just the world of Hip-Hop, not to mention R&B, Pop, etc. One of my favorite new styles is the incorporation of 2000’s Top Ten Hits into Drill/Trap type beats. Most of today’s new school rappers are 21 years old and younger, so it only makes sense they’d want to sample music that came out from that era to invoke a sense of modernized nostalgia. 

There’s also the popular phenomenon of what people usually call “drumless loops,” aka sample chops pieced together into an audible collage, without the addition of new kicks, claps, hi-hats, etc. The original drum and bass sounds are often transformed from vintage to contemporary by boosting certain frequencies in the mix. When flipped in an innovative way, the lack of fullness provides an open soundscape for artists to personalize their flows in harmony with the selected chops. Some call it lazy, I say it depends on the circumstance. Crate-digging is a process worthy of respect. It can take 10 hours or 10 minutes to find the right samples. For the sake of convenience, I prefer to dig digitally, but I know a lot of folks who spend their paychecks at the record store. Rarity is key. 

If producers had to get clearances every time we chose to sample a record, we would simply never sample records… and perhaps the most foundational aspect of Hip-Hop music would slowly fade away into obscurity… a shame if you ask me. Sites like Tracklib make licensing easier, but for a monthly fee plus $50 per sample (at minimum), it’s not the most accessible. There’s also thousands of packs readily available online with original compositions for sale, clearances guaranteed, but again, the cost adds up quickly. 

At the end of the day, I only want the best sounds to go into my production. Why sample Johnny Appleseed and Friends when I can chop up the greatest compositions of all time? That’s why I stopped using Splice for melody loops and started flipping records. 

Will I ever go back to using Splice loops? It’s not too likely, but not impossible either. I definitely still have some royalty-free slaps to get out of The Vault, too… but now that my studio has grown in the technology department, I’m looking forward to creating my own original compositions from scratch. My point is that it’s important to stay versatile in this game. 

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