“Samples, huh? That’s an original name for a DJ…”

I have have heard people say this about the name “Samples” for a DJ/producer. 

I simply tell them to keep their remarks to themselves and listen to his music – for the crunky Ben Samples came out the womb blessed with his ultrapimp name (especially for a DJ/Producer), and he melts faces regularly for his day (well, technically, mostly night) job. Consider it his destiny. That usually shuts them right up. 

Incision Magazine sat down for a chat with this Denver-based glitch-hop/dubstep/crunk artist backstage at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins, Colorado on September 29, 2012 before his set opening the night for none other than Guitar Hero superstar Buckethead. We discussed everything from his personal background to his latest accomplishments – and what we can expect from him in the future.

“Crunk-a-licious Ben Samples came out the womb blessed with his ultrapimp name.”

You may just now be hearing about Mr. Samples, but don’t be fooled into thinking he is a n00b by his innocent-looking long eyelashes, baby blue eyes, and his cute boyish looks. This 25-year-old has been on the circuit for quite some time now. In the words of Anchorman Ron Burgundy, Samples is “kind of a big deal”.  His music a hipster bass-music lover’s dream come true. As an extra bonus, with such an impressive resume under his belt, Samples is a surprisingly humble and polite individual. [dropcap]S[/dropcap]o far, he has performed on the larger stages at festivals Burning Man, Sonic Bloom, Shambhala, Glade Festival (in the United Kingdom), and last year he played the NYE Snow Globe 3-day festival alongside headliners Bassnectar, The Glitch Mob, Thievery Corporation, and Pretty Lights.

“…a hipster bass-music lover’s dream come true…”

He completed a 20-date national tour with Buckethead in October, who was listed by GuitarWorld Magazine as both one of the “Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time” and also one of the “50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time”. Buckethead was also featured throughout the Guitar Hero II video game (released in 2006). Buckethead has seemingly developed an affinity for bass music, not only because he handpicked Samples to be his opener on his national tour, but also because about half-way into his performance he dropped some Excision while rocking the eff out on stage to it!

To find out how Samples adapted and changed his typical performance to appeal to this new type of Buckethead audience – and more – check out our upcoming interview video. Immediately following the conclusion of the Buckethead tour, Samples linked up with The Polish Ambassador to perform on the road with them as they wrapped up their national tour that was already in progress….talk about stamina and non-stop hard work! Just as Samples was born with a name that fits his musical career perfectly, he was also blessed by being born with the talent to accompany the moniker. He was born March 4th, 1987 in Houston, Texas, but he gravitated to the higher elevation of Colorado about a decade ago. His roots in the ‘dirty south’ seem to have a huge influence on much of his music. He incorporates a lot of crunky hip hop into his mixes and songs. Besides hip-hop, he also takes many other genres and intertwines them together in such a perfect way, thus creating his own unique shade-of-grey sound that his fans just can’t get enough of. To elaborate on this, he remixes everything from Imogen Heap‘s Hide and Seek to Three Six Mafia’s Dope Boy Fresh, to having an entire 9-track rock-hop album entitled Sex, Drugs & Bass where he creates his own tasty renditions of songs like Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name, Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, Nine Inch Nails’ The Perfect Drug, and more. Samples is also one-half of a live musical collaboration on a side project with Fisk, another popular DJ based out of Colorado. Together they are called Fresh2Death, which was formed in January 2009. Their performance consists of dual-laptops live remixing in front of your eyes, bringing an  “adrenalized, heart-pumping element that is missing in most standard DJ performances.” –Fresh2DeathMusic.com. The genres that Fresh2Deathutilizes include glitch-hop, psyphop, and crunk-hop, while occasionally throwing in some downtempo, electro, and dubstep. Samples started his musical destiny early on – he started playing the guitar at a young age, but expanded his musical knowledge and explored into electronic music while attending college (he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Boulder!). During his studies at CU, he was a radio DJ for the college. He told me that it was during his time at this job that he was exposed to many different genres and styles of music that he normally wouldn’t have listened to, and found an appreciation for them, thus gaining inspiration for his own music from them. Fast-forward a few years later to the point when he decided to take EDM a bit more seriously. He started to consider making the music into a possible career rather than just a hobby towards the end of his time attending college, and he was silent about it, keeping this dilemma to himself. He had a choice of going into his field of study for which he had obtained a degree, or to pursue a career in music. Obviously, the latter choice took the cake, and it has paid off for him. Since then he has found good fortune in melting bassheads with his tunage, and has also been critically acclaimed within the industry.

“He takes genres and weaves them together perfectly, creating his own unique shade-of-grey musical sound that fans just can’t get enough of.”

Samples dropped an album titled Appetite for Construction on a limited hard-copy basis back in August 21st, 2012. It was exclusively released on a USB-drive through Grassroots California (a.k.a. GRC), but is slated for a worldwide digital release through MalLabel Music with Grassroots California (this is their very first digital release EVER!) exclusively on Beatport, on December 4th, 2012. According to Samples, most of the tracks on this new album were “written to be anthems for the main dance-floor”, and they are more along the lines of dubstep and electro-house than his usual glitch-hop feel he has displayed in the past. In addition, he partnered up with GRC for two custom hats for purchase. GRC describes itself as “a progressive clothing line that makes quality merchandise at affordable prices and donates a percentage of its proceeds on every purchase” on their official Grassroots California website.

“He has found good fortune in serenading bassheads with his tunage…”

From the Samples hat/album collection, the donation from each purchase will be awarded to the  Colorado Wildfire Fund to assist the victims of the devastating wildfires all across our homestate this past summer of 2012. Both a snapback style and fitted style are available, and both are limited to 420 hats per style. Pick one up for yourself while they are still available for purchase – they will no doubt sell out once Appetite for Construction is released digitally worldwide. You will own the latest steezy from Samples while also contributing to a good cause! It’s an all-around winning situation. The links for both the purchase of either style of hat, or just the album on the USB-drive alone, can be found below. In the meantime, peep the teaser releases from the new album below until the official release this Tuesday. Remember kids, t’is the season for love, joy, and gift exchange, and the gift of music or music memorabilia lasts longer and will more than likely be far more appreciated than the average ugly sweater or chocolates. [box_light]

For more Information, Free Downloads, and Merchandise Purchases:

SAMPLES’ DIGITAL ALBUM APPETITE FOR CONSTRUCTION HERE

(Released 12/04/12 / December 4th, 2012)

Samples Official Webpage | Fresh2Death Official Webpage | Buckethead Official Webpage

Samples’ SoundCloud | Samples’ BandCamp Page (FREE SAMPLES DOWNLOADS)

Samples’ Appetite for Construction (USB only)

Samples Hat/Appetite for Construction USB Combo (Fitted Hat) (Snapback Hat)

Samples		|		|
Fresh2Death
Buckethead

Appetite for Construction Album Preview

Blackk Sheep *FREE DOWNLOAD*

 SEX, DRUGS, & BASS (Rock N’ Roll Songs *Crizzunked Samples Style*)

Magazine Releases:
| Stephan Jacobs, Chris B, Ben Samples, & Atomic Reactor 4/26/11 | Event Photography

Social Network Releases:
| Facebook: incision photography (Nicholas (Nick) DeSuza) Part I
| Facebook: incision photography (Sean Tredway) Part II

 

Photography By:

Nicholas DeSuza