Tracing the roots of sampling from a single record.
The joy of listening to a record is not found in the recorded music alone.
The familiar thud of a drum beat. A phrase heard in a hip-hop classic. Or a sweeping melody that brings to mind a scene from a film.
By discovering where a sound came from, a single record can become a gateway to another era or culture.
"The Innerspace Magazine" is a journal that explores the hidden backgrounds and connections within culture through music, art, books, design, and objects passed down through the ages.
Rather than chasing superficial trends, it focuses on the circumstances that gave birth to a work, the expressions that branched out from it, and the enduring value that remains to this day. From a single discovery, it expands your perspective into worlds you have yet to know.
In this series, we use sampling as a starting point to trace how music is passed down across eras and genres.
The first installment features the album "Prelude," released in 1973 by Brazilian keyboardist and arranger Eumir Deodato.
At the intersection of jazz, funk, and classical music, this work contains the kind of groove that has captivated hip-hop producers.
01. Classical Music Becomes Jazz-Funk.
In the early 1970s, jazz was expanding into new sounds by incorporating elements of rock, funk, Latin music, and more.
"Prelude" is one of the works that symbolizes this movement.
After building a career in Brazil, Deodato moved to America. He gained experience as an arranger and keyboardist before releasing this work on CTI Records, led by producer Creed Taylor.
Opening the album is "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)," a bold reimagining of Richard Strauss's tone poem "Also sprach Zarathustra."
The motif of this piece became widely known through Stanley Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey." Deodato transformed its sweeping theme into dynamic jazz-funk, intertwining electric piano, horns, guitar, bass, drums, and percussion.
Rather than faithfully recreating the classical melody, he brings rhythm and groove to the forefront.
This approach also reflects the sensibility of sampling: taking music from a different era as raw material and rearranging it into a new expression.
"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" became a hit, and Deodato won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1974.
02. "September 13": A Gateway to Sampling Culture.
If you listen to "Prelude" from a hip-hop perspective, "September 13," included later on the album, is a track you should not miss.
The moment the song begins, a drum break strikes your ear.
Billy Cobham's powerful drumming creates a dry attack and a vibrant energy. Although it is part of the song, the performance also has a compelling presence as an independent beat sample.
Drum breaks have played an important role in sampling.
Producers cut out an impressive few seconds from a song and create a new beat by looping it or combining it with other sounds.
The material does not necessarily have to be music created for hip-hop from the beginning. Rather, the appeal of sampling lies in discovering the groove hidden in jazz or funk performances and reinterpreting it within your own work.
"September 13" is a track that teaches you how to enjoy it this way.
03. The Groove Passed Down to Pete Rock and Camp Lo.
The drum break from "September 13" has also been passed down to hip-hop works of the 1990s.
Notable examples include the intro to Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's "In the House" and Camp Lo's "Park Joint."
Pete Rock was a producer who dug up material from soul, jazz, funk, and more, reconstructing it into beats with a unique texture and swing. His method of bringing out the atmosphere of the original performance while transforming it into new music for rapping is essential to discussing 90s hip-hop.
On the other hand, Camp Lo's "Park Joint" is an impressive track featuring production by Ski Beatz and the group's signature effortless style.
What is interesting here is that 1970s jazz-funk and 1990s hip-hop are connected through a single drum break, transcending a mere difference in eras.
The groove created by the performers of that era was discovered by later producers and given new life as part of a different work.
Listen to hip-hop after discovering the original song. Or trace back to the original song through hip-hop.
No matter which gateway you take, the way music sounds will gradually change.
04. Sampling Is a Dialogue with Music of the Past.
Sampling is not merely a technique for quoting music of the past.
Which part do you choose? Where do you loop it? What do you layer, and what do you remove?
These choices reveal the producer's ear and aesthetic sensibility.
A sound that once seemed to have finished its role in another work shines again decades later in a completely different context. This shows that a record is not just a container for sound, but a medium that passes down values and ideas across eras.
"Prelude" includes not only "September 13" but also a variety of tracks, such as "Spirit of Summer," which evokes the atmosphere of summer, and "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun," which offers a unique interpretation of classical music.
Dropping the needle to find the source of a sample or listening to the album as a whole are both ways to enjoy this record.
From one record to another.
From one drum break to a hip-hop classic.
And on to the stories of the artists, eras, studios, and performers that lie beyond.
At "The Innerspace Magazine," we want to introduce music not simply as something to consume, but as something you can enjoy along with the culture behind it.
Deodato's "Prelude" is a perfect record for that.
The next time you listen to Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth or Camp Lo, please remember "September 13."
You might hear the breath of a performance born in a 1970s studio beneath the usual beat.
Record Notes
Artist: Deodato
Album: Prelude
Label: CTI Records
Original release: 1973
Format: LP
Genre: Jazz / Funk / Fusion
Featured track: “September 13”
Listen for: The opening drum break and Billy Cobham's groove
The record featured in this article is available at Vesper & Co.
Things Worth Keeping.
Vesper & Co. — Records, Books, Art & Objects.
