Make It Funky: 150MB of free samples for NuFunk.net readers

We've had a great response from some of the samples and resources we've shared over the past couple of months, but this week, it feels like we've outdone ourselves.

We've been delving into the NuFunk.net crates to find some awesome samples for the producers amongst you. Some may be familiar, some are a bit more obscure, but they all come dripping with funky flavour.

We are proud to present the 'NuFunk.net Sample Pack: July 2010', containing nearly 150MB of free samples including breakbeats, percussion hits and loops, instrument samples, vocals and full grooves - all recorded from vinyl and presented as 24bit 44khz WAVs.

It breaks down like this:

29MB (19 Files) of Drums and Percussion including bongo lines, claps, snares, breaks and unusual stuff like finger cymbals.

68MB (25 Files) of Instruments and Grooves taken from some of the hottest funk, soul and disco tracks. Includes stabs, flute lines, guitar lines, bass and full funked-out grooves to chop and play around with.

52MB (15 files) of vocals including hip hop snippets and cool spoken word phrases.

Hey, we're not saying it's everything you need to produce a track, but combine these samples with your own arsenal and you've got a recipe for some banging beats.

We've uploaded to a bunch of places, so choose your favourite host and get busy. Hit us up if you notice a broken link.

Mediafire

Rapidshare

Megaupload

Hotfile

Enjoy!

What's That Sound? Harlem Shuffle

One of the most famous sounds in the world this week.

In 1969, Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson recorded one of the greatest duets of all time: 'Harlem Shuffle'. The track made it into the top 50 of the 'Billboard Hot 100', but today it is more familiar not for the vocals but for the distinctive horn fanfare that opens the song.

Listen below:



Makes the hairs on the back of the neck stand up, doesn't it?

Of course it featured in House Of Pain's 'Jump Around' and has been sampled by many others, including Million Dan, whose track 'Mic Chek' can be heard below:



You can still get your hands on 7" vinyl copies of this classic track, look here for some Ebay action, and the tune appears on loads of soul compilations too.

Until next time, keep your fingers dusty and your grooves clean.

Make It Funky: Soul Voices

Brace yourselves, we have nearly 200MB of soul acapellas for you this week. With more than 50 tracks, this pack is one of the definitive soul vocal packs.

Featuring classics from Diana Ross, The Four Tops, The Jackson Five, The Supremes, The Temptations and many more, you need this in your life whether you are a producer or a DJ.

It's got soulful 'oooohs', funky grunts and catchy hooks aplenty. So slice them up, loop them up, mash them up or just chill out and listen to some acapella soul.

EDIT: Due to mad traffic on this pack, we've had to upload to Upload Jockey: NEW LINK.

Grab them here.

Or at this alternative link: Clickety click.

What's That Sound? Chas & Dave invented Hip-Hop

We're back with another delve in the crates to bring you obscure samplistics and trace the genesis of beats.

Not strictly NuFunk this time, but hey, a sample is a sample, right?

First up a bit of history. Specifically the history of these two luvverly cock-er-nies:

Their names? Chas & Dave. Their music? Well it sounds a bit like this:

So how the f*ck is that in any way connected with Hip-Hop / Funk / anything else in the realm of decent music?

Allow me to explain.

For this to make any sense you have to understand that despite all appearances to the contrary, Chas (Charles Hodges) & Dave (David Peacock) were once very well-respected session musicians.

They worked with many artists around the world including Labi Siffre - a jazz musician and poet who wrote the song 'It Must Be Love' (later covered by everyone from Madness to Rik Fu*king Waller).

In particular, Chas & Dave worked on a track called 'I Got The' from Siffre's 1975 album 'Remember My Song'.

This song went on to become the basis for the Dr Dre-produced Eminem vehicle 'My Name Is'.

But not only that. The song was also sampled by Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Def Squad and even Primal Scream.

For my money, the best riff is at the start - the one that Jay-Z and Def Squad jumped on, but you can hear the Dre loop around 2.10.

Anyway, here it is, in all its Chas & Dave-ish glory:

Siffre's 'Remember My Song' album is still widely available, and this track also appears on his greatest hits compilation, 'The Best Of Labi Siffre'. All of his work is worth checking out for heavy atmospheric grooves.

Until next time, keep your fingers dusty and your grooves clean.