Our Sample Challenge, in which we asked a slew of top producers to build all-new song sketches using the same, very basic, sample pack and a set of strict rules, is well underway.
Armed with just 10 loops and 20 one-shot samples, our star entrants have created everything from wonky vocal pop to rolling techno, melodic house, experimental DnB and beyond.
Now, it's your turn.
So, using identical initial sounds and following the same rules as the likes of Zonderling, who got creative with wavetables, and RAC, who came up with a slice of delicate lo-fi house, what can you produce?
The two best tracks will win copies of Ableton Live Suite, and the overall victor will be featured in Future Music and on MusicRadar, complete with a full breakdown feature detailing how it was made.
Check out the full rules, download the sample pack for yourself and get involved below. If you need inspiration, have a listen to all our star entries here.
Entries close at midnight on 31 July. Good luck!
The rules
• Create a song ‘sketch’ of at least 16 bars.
• Your creation must use the sample pack as a starting point. There’s no restriction on how many of the samples you need to use: you could use all 30 or you could just use one sample in a multitude of different ways.
• You’re not allowed to use any samples other than those contained in our pack.
• You can add 1 new audio recording (eg. a recorded vocal, a hardware synth bassline, a recorded instrument part).
• You can add 1 new software instrument part (eg. a softsynth or software drum machine part).
• You can use any DAW/audio recorder, any combination of hardware or software samplers – including sample-based synths – and as many effects as you like.
• You can ‘resample’ the samples or bounce them out through external effects as many times as you want.
The sample pack
Download the Sample Challenge pack yourself or listen to the original samples in the playlist below.*
*All the samples are supplied as WAV files so can be imported directly into your DAW or sampler of choice. Because they're royalty-free, you're welcome to use the samples in your music in any way you like - all we ask is that you don't re-distribute them.
Enter the Sample Challenge
To enter, simply fill out the form below. Our judges' decision is final. Entries close at midnight on 31 July.
