Flipping Formula

[dacalion]

When you listen to a song for flipping purposes, what key features do you look for?

i.e. I look for...

1. Good separation of instruments.
2. A nice melody or atleast something that I feel is "catchy".
3. A workable bpm usually 94 and down.
4. Good vocals.

 

[RAW-D]

i really do the same thing...

 

[UNORTHODOX]

Anything, Just a sound or group of sounds that I can build around. Thats it really lol

 

[dacalion]

Do you believe that it's important to make the sample "totally" unrecognizable? The reason I quoted "totally" is because, some people (like myself), don't do it 100% of the time. I mean, I kinda view it as 3 different levels of a "flip".

Level 1 - Keeping the essence of the original song...(making it closer to a remix than a true flip).

Level 2 - Somewhere in between recognizable and not.

Level 3 - Totally unrecognizable.

I get more personal satisfaction out of a level 3 flip BUT some songs are so rare that no one would ever know the difference.

 

[slik da relic]

anything without drums most of the time... i make my own melody out of the sample, then make my own drum pattern... no vocals that can trace the sample.. thats pretty much it.

da relic

 

[thedreampolice]

I am all about Level 3 - Totally unrecognizable.

Most of the time I think in instruments anyway, IE I grab a string section or pianos or whatever.

In fact this track

http://soundcloud.com/drunk-pedestrians/good-foundation

is like 12 different records, and I bet you could not pick out a single one.

 

[2GooD Productions]

I dont have any real formula, I just get loads of chops that I like and try to peice the puzzle back together, usually in a new way that doesnt sound like the original but thats not always possible, many times its just about what I can get to work, in a fluid consistent way. And then I always go to town with the composition afterwards, trying to pick melodies from the sample and recreating them with the composition. Or to enhance certain features of the sample that I like.

 

[skidflow]

I like to chop small pieces and create a melody with it. Then build around it with other stuff.

 

[Sucio]

I do all of that...it depends on how I hear the song....

I hear the song in loops = I loop the record..

I hear the song in chops = I chop the shit out of it.

I don't have much preference in what I'm looking for.....I listen to everything, anyway....



In terms of tempo? It doesn't really matter...I time stretch it to what I want....pretty much...

 

[dacalion]

anything without drums most of the time... i make my own melody out of the sample, then make my own drum pattern... no vocals that can trace the sample.. thats pretty much it.

da relic

That really cuts your selections waaaay down doesn't it? I mean isn't it hard to find really good material with no drums? I understand your reasoning and I think that would be ideal but your resources have to be extremely limited...or do you know something that you're not sharing?...lol

 

[slik da relic]

nah... there's billions of songs out there as u know... intros, endings, instrumentals, breaks, classical, and so on... i started doin that years ago... i get some samples with drums once in awhile, but i try my best to avoid them.. i dont look for hot loops or pieces, i try and just create it.. i like keepin the sample police guessin.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bvKNCGQFRc"]YouTube - ‪RS7000 quiktorial‬‏[/ame]

da relic

 

[dacalion]

hahaha dope! Nice style with it too.

 

[DJ Excellence]

You guys think way too much ... anything can be flipped. I really don't have any formula.

 

[Greg Savage]

Groove that's really about it. I don't typically care if the instruments can be separated or not because replay them anyways.

 

[dacalion]

I was really looking for what people look for when they decide to flip a song...not so much - "what" - can be flipped. I agree, anything can be flipped, but my experience says that some things can be flipped more effectively than others (like songs with a good separation of instruments, no drums and so on...). Ofc, thats not a requirement to flip a song but it sure does help me pick and choose.

I have also run across some dope grooves that didn't = a dope flip but made a super dope remix. I'm not talking about my skills alone but others as well couldn't really do anything with it but thats beside the point...I'm looking for the key aspects of what makes anyone say "I'm gonna flip this", they flip it, and they come up with something dope because of ___________.

 

[Greg Savage]

"I'm gonna flip this", they flip it, and they come up with something dope because of ___________.

For me its the groove (the timing) not so much the instruments. If i hear something setting well rhythmically I gotta sample

 

[dacalion]

So how far do you aim with flipping it? Do you aim for totally unrecognizable at the start? or does it just depend on the song?

 

[Greg Savage]

So how far do you aim with flipping it? Do you aim for totally unrecognizable at the start? or does it just depend on the song?

I don't try to hide the fact that I stole someones timing in a track because its not something I can be sued for. I like to keep it out there because it makes people listen.

Most will sit there and go "It feels like so and so but its not that" which is exactly what I'm after.

If I'm not sampling for groove I always try to make it unrecognizable... Better for business in the end that way

 

[dacalion]

cool, thanks

 

[Gaba]

I usually look for beautiful melodies and sounds that give a sort of feeling. I think that good music is the one that give u a sensation.