Thursday, March 15, 2012

Dan Black Interview: The Sample Master Returns with an Epic New Record



Dan Black is the world's current sampling genius.  Originally the singer and guitarist for the group The Servant, Black broke off on his own and released his first hit "HYPNTZ" in 2008, which sampled Rihanna's Umbrella and The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.  While the original lyrics were that of Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize", Black changed the lyrics when he released his album Un in 2009 and the track became "Symphonies".  Despite losing the unique gangster rap lyrics, "Symphonies" went on to be globally popular and was licensed everywhere, sometimes with the added rapping of Kid Cudi.  In 2010, Black released his mixtape Weird Science, which, again, sampled various classic pop songs and had Black singing other's lyrics with new melodies.  It was this mixtape that inspired Bag Raiders to call Dan Black for guest vocals on their track "Sunlight".

Since Weird Science, things have been quiet from the Black camp as he works on his newest record.  I tracked the singer/keyboardist/producer down via the net for his first interview in over a year where we chatted about sampling, his new record, and his favorite plugins.