“The Skill Is in the Architect,
Not in the Bricks.”
There’s long been some contention about the credibility and ‘talent’ of producers who use samples, but it’s really quite simple for us: It’s always been customary within dance and electronic music for artists to build upon the recordings of other musicians, twisting the original source into something entirely new and unique, and of course, the entire origin of house music is based on the looping and sampling of disco records.
We firmly believe that the skill is in the architect, and not in the bricks. You can give people the same materials, but the end construction will look wildly different. We believe that anything that inspires you and helps you create and finish music quickly is entirely acceptable. Creating should be fun and its own reward. It’s the end result coming out of the speakers that counts. Art is about expression, not about trying to be perfect or change the world – but if you create enough stuff, you might just do that. Samples often act as a jumping-off point, and where you go from there is entirely up to you. What’s really exciting about using samples in modern productions is that due to the advances in plugins and processing power, the sound manipulation and mangling possibilities are so varied as to be basically endless. This means that no matter where you start from, the end result can be unrecognisable, giving you an almost unlimited sonic palette to work with.
Throughout many modern genres such as Hip Hop, R & B, and Trap, samples are accepted without question (often as the main melodic component of the track), and the talent or integrity of the producer is never called into focus. We find it strange that the same freedom does not exist within house, garage, drum & bass, and other related dance genres. We’d like to change that.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Creatives are wonderful, passionate people, and how creativity manifests, especially in music-making, can be quite the wild ride. There’s something beautiful about all those moments – the happy accidents, the surprises, the exploration, the quiet (lonely) isolation, and the hours sitting there frustrated, only for it all to click and fall into place at 2am.
We have a deep respect for the culture, coupled with many years of experience as music fans and listeners, record collectors, DJ’s, producers, and sound designers, and we’re borderline-obsessive about sonics and audio. This seems to be the ideal combination of qualities needed to create sounds that represent and reflect the genres they’re supposed to in a meaningful and authentic way.
Finally, what underpins our entire philosophy is you, the customer. We’re committed to outstanding products that make the creative process more fun and productive. As the people who use our sounds and allow us to keep on creating and doing what we love, you’re really at the centre of it all. This informs the way we communicate, the products we make, our sales strategy (hint: there isn’t one – for transparency and consistency, everything stays the same price, always – and we never have sales), and our marketing efforts. There is no ‘marketing department’ – we’re artists and producers with journeys much like yours, so we wish to be a resource to enrich, inform, and inspire creativity.
Scott Diaz, Creative Director – NITELIFE Audio
If you’d like to read more about my story, you can do so here.
