“Soul Purpose” was made the old fashion way, using vinyl records and an old drum machine sampler.
Dj Nicar is a full time deejay and music producer residing in Washington, DC. His music credits include the MTV shows “My Super Sweet 16″, “Teen Cribs”, and MTV3’s “Pimpiando”. DJ Nicar has collaborated with numerous independent artists and performed around the country. In DC he’s played regularly at the Red Lounge on U Street, Avery’s, Kabin, Rosebar, and Gallaudet University. His mixing style is versatile, incorporating a range of music from Top40, Electronic Dance Music, dance hall and hip-hop to suit the atmosphere.
Dj Nicar’s 10-track instrumental album “Soul Purpose” was made the old fashion way, using vinyl records and an old drum machine sampler.
In fact Dj Nicar delivers a painstakingly created collection of classic soul-filled tracks all carefully programmed and skillfully engineered and produced to perfection. All of the tracks come with that special and timeless punch, which can only be achieved by layering original drum sounds over samples from vinyl.
In the early 1970′s, years before producers had begun chopping up old records on samplers; Bronx-based DJ Kool Herc introduced a new approach to mixing records, paving the way for the development of Hip-Hop beat-making. At the time, when playing extended disco mixes and heavy funk, Herc noticed that it was the instrumental versions, and often the percussion-only breaks in the middle of those records, which sent the crowds wild. He began extending these instrumental passages by hand, switching from one record to the next, chopping from break to break. Bedroom producers soon began looping drum breaks on cassettes, and eventually, the arrival of dedicated digital samplers and drum machines made the job easier, allowing far greater control and manipulation.
Dj Nicar has mastered that control and manipulation in his tracks, and it’s pretty clear on “Soul Purpose” that he is doing a great job, creating some warm and explosive soul music. Music that’s based around samples of vinyl records is big business these days, and getting started with this kind of production seems easy. In reality, though, fitting samples from vinyl records into a whole new production or matching sampled drums presents plenty of practical challenges, both while making the music and when creating a final mix.
Beat-slicing, pitch-shifting algorithms, hiss crackle & hum, plus stereo width all come easy to Dj Nicar as he turns on his sample magic across these tracks, from standouts “Make The World Disappear”, “Don’t Go”, “Piece of Me” and “Cali Sunshine” to “Shopping Mall”, “Hater Of Players” and Purple “Diamonds”.
These 70’s-era soul tracks were produced entirely by DJ Nicar, primarily using old vinyl and the Ensonique ASR-X – a sampler, synthesizer, sequencer and effects studio workstation. This definitely has a classic soul sound to it and even includes some vocal parts to give it an authentically warm feel.
If you’re looking for some instrumental soul productions, look no further Dj Nicar has you covered!
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