%20copy.png){kind=logo}
Thursday, June 25
6pm - 9pm EST
Sliding Scale $0 - $15
Free for those who cannot afford it
100% of ticket sales will be donated (see below)
Zoom video link will be sent out 15 minutes prior to event
EXPLORATIONS IN PLUNDERPHONICS
SAMPLING AS BEAT-MAKING IN ABLETON LIVE
Plunderphonics is any music made by taking one or more existing audio recordings and altering them in some way to make a new composition.
Plunderphonics, AKA sampling, is the epitome of the cultural feedback loop. The beauty of sampling is that all recordings of the past and present are shared, expanded upon, mutated, and mirrored back to the culture that birthed them through the lens of the individuals who are inspired. This can be used as a political tool, a social commentary device, or simply an inversion of available sonic fodder.
The tools used to create samples vary widely, and this workshop will focus on digital sampling using Ableton Live. Composer and sound designer, Kate Siefker, will give an abbreviated history of musical borrowings and mutations focusing on key songs and artists who so innovatively paved the way for the digital sampling era.
We will briefly examine moments in music history where this influence led to a shift in genre or manner of creating music particularly with a focus on hip-hop beat making. We will then create our own sample mutations followed by a period of independent exploration and discussion.
The workshop is suitable for those with rudimentary knowledge of audio editing software.
HARDWARE & SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
- Computer with Ableton Live (a free trial version is available here, and we can also help extend your trial if it has expired)
- Headphones
OPTIONAL MATERIALS
- MIDI keyboard
- Any other electronic sampling devices or instruments
For those requiring additional tech assistance or who have questions about software, please email us: hi@womeninsound.org
INSTRUCTOR BIO
Kate Siefker is an audio engineer, composer, producer and sound designer based in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and graduated with a degree in Recording Arts. Kate worked as a mastering engineer at White Arc under producer Paul Mahern and would frequently venture around the US touring as a drummer. She has spent the last few years working in commercial audio as Music Supervisor for the production studio Black Math in Boston. She handles everything sonic including music composition, sound design, audio recording and mixing. Kate released an electronic EP under the pseudonym Follies last spring.