Afrojack has weighed in on Fred Again..'s use of loops from sample packs in his productions, saying that he was disappointed to find out that Fred's track Ten was made primarily from loops available on the popular sample platform Splice.
In a recent interview with XLNTSOUND (at the 22:50 mark) the discussion lands on the pros and cons of sample-based music, before the host points to Fred Again..'s track Ten, released in 2023, as an example of a successful track based primarily on loops.
"It's based off three Splice samples," says Afrojack. "To me, that was disappointing when I found out. 'Oh my God, that's four Splice sample loops on top of each other!"
"I love Fred Again.., and he's super talented," he continues. "But when I found out that was a sample, I was like..."
As far as we can tell, the song makes use of two loops from Capsun Pro Audio's Lofi House: Sweet Sedation sample pack, which is available on Splice; Fred used a chord sequence taken from a melodic loop and sped up a drum loop for the beat in the intro. We're unclear on the origins of the other samples.
Afrojack goes on to discuss Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso, another popular song made primarily from Splice loops. "When I saw that I was like, so a guy took the beat that you produced, and then he looped it and played bass on it, and now it's his publishing, his intellectual copyright," he says.
"I'm like, whoa - all due respect to the guy, no disrespect, he used samples and the guy made it a sample - but you made a composition. The composition is the talent. The people appreciate the melody and the composition, they don't appreciate the guy that put four samples on top of each other!"
Neither Fred Again.. nor Espresso's producer have simply dropped a few loops into their DAWs and called it a day
While Afrojack makes a fair point, neither Fred Again.. nor Espresso's producer have simply dropped a few loops into their DAWs and called it a day. Espresso features an original bassline, additional synth parts and - of course - Sabrina's all-star vocal, while Ten clearly benefits from Fred's deft sample chopping and effects processing, along with vocal contributions from Jozzy and Jim Legxacy.
Not to mention that, while it's admittedly easier to lift a loop from Splice than to write an original melody, the process of picking out samples that work together and combining them in a successful arrangement still requires creativity. Artists have been using samples for decades, and whether that sample comes from Splice or from a dusty old vinyl record, the only thing that really matters is that the final track sounds good.
