Sample: Not for Sale

The use of examples in making new creations is as old as mankind. Even every word we speak is derived from what we have heard before. It is only the combination of how we use words what makes a person 'unique'. The re-use within literature, architecture, Internet and art in the broadest sense of the word is a common thing. Within music is this phenomenon is labeled as 'Sampling'. Sampling can be tracked back a long way in music history, but there was a period in time when it was never before as dominant. In the seventies, from New York's deprived Bronx district, out of need a new music genre and subculture called 'Hip Hop' naturally emerged. Without the ability to get musical training or attend music schools, old Jazz, Funk and Rock records were 'recycled' by making collages by a new generation and the turntable became a musical instrument. Sampling pioneers like Marley Marl and later Public Enemy, showed the innovativeness within the phenomenon and soon the eighties were seen as the golden era of Hip Hop and it became a global phenomenon. The use of samples became so popular that a new music industry arose far beyond Hip Hop culture. Both within the creative plane as in a new form of bureaucracy to fight the illegal use of someone else's music in whatever form. Meanwhile, the evolution of sampling didn't stand still... Dutch guerrilla filmmaker Mike Redman (Walkmen, Anagram, Nighttown) takes an in depth look at the art and culture of sampling. Redman has spent his recent years meeting with some of the most important leaders in this sample culture. Without a budget and by unorthodox ways he managed to speak to sample pioneers which created an uncompromising film. Legendary artists share their insight, with a focus on the creative aspect of this art, building (and sometimes burning) bridges between various musical generations.