Bi-weekly record-diving sampling extravaganza | 41 | Janne Schaffer - Den Blå Porten

Welcome to another new edition of our bi-weekly record-diving sampling extravaganza!




Thank you all for joining in another week of sampling goodness! Before we get into our artist and track in focus, and in case you aren’t already aware, there are some other Mission Briefs/Challenges currently taking place that you may also fancy spending some time on here:





Just recently, I was having a discussion with a fellow naut, and realized that up until this point we haven’t sampled any Swedish artists before, and that felt rude. So, @everyone let us join in wandering into the lands of our musical machine forefathers here based in Sweden, through a tight guitarist, Janne Schaffer. “Den Blå Porten (The Blue Gate)” is the third track from Schaffer’s album, titled, “Katharsis,” which was originally released in Scandinavia in 1976 through CBS Records (CBS – CBS 81142).

Here is some information about Janne Schaffer, and the album, from Wikipedia and AllMusic:

Jan Erik Tage “Janne” Schaffer (born 24 September 1945) is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and Tony Williams. He also played at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival.

Schaffer’s 1979 album Earmeal included session work from brothers Jeff, Steve and Mike Porcaro, as well as their father, Joe Porcaro. This is one of the few instances where the entire Porcaro family appears together on one album, the most well-known examples being Toto’s Toto IV and The Seventh One.

Schaffer is a member of the Electric Banana Band where he plays guitar as the character ‘Zebra’. He also performs with the group The Night Agent.[1] Schaffer received the Albin Hagström Memorial Award in 1999 and in 2005 Illis quorum.[2]

-Taken from Wikipedia.org

“Katharsis: purification by shock or fear. Few albums have a less well selected title, for if there is one thing that Janne Schaffer’s Katharsis is not, this would be it. Katharsis is extremely well played and smoothly produced, and mixes African and Arabic influences with jazz fusion. Most of it is guitar-based, but never to the extent where it verges on masturbation, Schaffer is too disciplined, and maybe too humble, to fall into that trap. This mix could have been exciting and funky. It could even have been shocking, though that isn’t necessary. But instead, the entire album is very harmless. Not bad, not for example like when Schaffer, in a collaboration with Björn Jason Lindh in the late '80s, produced something that could be branded Muzak. It is just so very non-disturbing. There is attitude in some songs, or soul if you prefer, but you have to look deep down, beneath the production and probably even beneath the intention: Buried so deep down, the attitude may be a leftover from Schaffer’s first two solo albums, because on these he was something more than just nice. Niceness may not be the worst of traits, but in Schaffer’s case there seem to be corresponding curves through his career, where increasing kindness is followed by decreasing quality.”

- Review for AllMusic by Lars Lovén


Here are two versions of the track available on YouTube, in case anyone experiences regional playback issues:

Here is a link to a version of the track that has been converted to 16bit/44.1KHz wav, and to the STEMS, please delete it after using:

JANNE SCHAFFER - DEN BLÅ PORTEN - (WAV)

JANNE SCHAFFER - DEN BLÅ PORTEN - (STEMS)

links are active for one week from today (05/11/24)




Album Photos:

images from google search




THE BRIEF

YOU have been selected by the notorious Global Sound Syndicate for a top-secret operation. Not really, please, share with your friends, family, and even the hardworking people manufacturing the beautiful glassware that we enjoy taking sips from on a daily basis.

Mission:

-Sample any part(s) of the track we’ve nominated
-Spend no more than 1 week turning it into music
-Post your creations here for us all to enjoy

Deadline: Sunday, May 19, 2024

Submit your entry no later than 11:59 PM, Sunday, May 19, 2024, or be faced with a brief moment of self-loathing for not participating. Submissions entered on later dates are also welcome!

Compensation:

Hearts and compliments from the community
(not guaranteed)


You can use as much or as little of the sample track as you like, you just have to use it. No winners, no losers, just good times!




Every two weeks we will post a track from our record collections, ideally something you’ve not heard before. Jams, full tracks, noodles - share whatever you like!

6 Likes

There is a brutal allmusic review for this album guys, let’s prove it wrong together :muscle:

3 Likes

Woo and yay

1 Like

Another interesting selection @aarb420
and fun to play about with.
I had a go this evening using Ableton, I’ve only heard it through headphones so hopefully the levels are ok.

8 Likes

@Yabba That is what is up man :muscle: It would be fun to skate down a smooth hill along to this track any day. Those stretches are delicious! Thank you for sharing :beers:

1 Like

Cheers mate, I woke the following day not being as keen on it as I was when I made it getting back from the pub haha so I may have another go on digitakt.
Amongst other things I’m really finding it difficult getting the low end to sound how I want switching back to Ableton after using Digitakt solidly for the last 6 years or so.
But on the plus side it’s nice to use warping and stretching again

2 Likes

This is Logic for iPad
It’s all from the track except MF Doom, a bass synth and a couple of one shots to beef up the weak kick in the sample.
The fun flanger is transit.

7 Likes

That’s sick. You have a gift man.

2 Likes

@Yabba honestly, the phatness you’re achieving with your bass samples got way louder when switching back to Abelton (idk if it’s just my ears), and it actually made me quite jelly in a positive work-towards-acheiving-that-phatness kind of way. What differences do you hear between DT/Abe for the bass parts? It could be hardware EQ related with Elektron’s flavors perhaps keeping things “tame” :thinking:

@monquixote man this beat already had the instant bobs, and then the Doom drop just blew it up! That ending is dang snappy :muscle: Thank you for sharing man! :beers:

1 Like

A while ago, made a decision to cut a Cormega section featuring Prodigy, off of his own album’s track, and did that on purpose because of wanting to use this juicy Cormega Strech & Bobbito freestyle, which I’ve come to understand through his freestyles, was around the time when he broke off from being a member of The Firm. Also, want to note that I wanted to use the very last section of the beat more, but it just didn’t allow the vocals to get up-close as much, so it’s a mostly drum and bass beat :older_man:

4 Likes

@monquixote great beat again man, really funky, I like the way you make the high end ride on your beats it really adds to the headnod factor.
And thanks man :slightly_smiling_face:

@aarb420 another great classic sounding (for all the best reasons) drop.

Thanks buddy, You see I listen to this track you’ve posted and I wonder how you get it to sound that way too :joy:
All I can hear in mine is things I wish I had done eq wise.
I think i definitely get bored of every track I’m making quite quickly so it really takes me a long time of not listening to it before I can appreciate it.

With regards to the Ableton vs Digitakt thing
I guess my beat sounds ok now it just took me about 4 times longer to eq and distort it to get it sounding how I want in Ableton, with Digitakt I just find it really quick to tweak the sound how I like it, although I guess can make the actual beat quicker on Ableton.

2 Likes

I know you can do it all with stock plugins in Ableton but for clipping stuff and making it crunchy Decapitator is just so nice as well as Devil Loc and basically everything Sound Toys if you can catch it on sale.

2 Likes

@Yabba Thank you man! :beers: I totally understand the predicament that you’re in, and not to add more gas to that flame, but either way your songs consistently sound amazing! Actually, switching between gear could work out to be a nice thing, as it sounds like new/fresh flavors for the ears from the listener’s experience. I thought you picked up a new phattenizer! :older_man:

@monquixote Decapitator looks like a neat tool man! :beers: Is it good at the EQ cut like getting rid of low end efficiently?


Here’s another attempt with a song that I just came across the other day after looking for Swedish, then French, then UK female artists, until returning back to the US lol. Initially, this was en route to becoming a Sade song because that’s the sort of sound/feel that was felt at first, but it was just too mismatched, in an unfun way. Right as I was ready to throw in the towel and just keep the beat buried in the archive, an awesome duo that went by Finesse & Synquis wildly appeared to restore some faith :sweat_smile:

3 Likes

Decapitator has some very nice sounding EQ but the main thing is it’s ability to emulated an overdriven Tape machine, Mic preamp, Desk channel or Valve amp.

Saturn can do the same but Decapitator just has some kind of magic.

1 Like

Had a go in Digitakt this morning, I sent the same chops I used in ableton to it.

I was gonna put an acapella over it but won’t get round to it now.

3 Likes

@Yabba OOF!!! Call the :fire_engine: man what an awesome bounce. I can’t tell which version of you is “better,” but can I ask that we get more of both? :baby: Awesome second take man, that snare spank is huge, and the beat is just big and pretty. Thanks again for sharing man! :beers:

2 Likes

The Takt sounds more “you” but that might be just because I’m used to you using it.

Both excellent so you can’t lose.

2 Likes

I keep promising to record some live bass so I did a version with live instruments.

I’m super happy with how cool my bass sounds it’s literally a £200 squire jazz bass.
The bass is through the Nembrini Dark Glass emulator and all the others through their free Krank emulator.

Fun fact it’s the first time I’ve recorded a live instrument in 7 years having had a bad time doing a demo with a band put me off recording.

4 Likes

@monquixote it’s not the car, it’s the driver :beers: Man EFF YEAH :muscle: This became so much more of a delicious beat with you playing, and the mix feels more welcoming! Head has been on bob mode all the way through and it just hits harder damn man great stuff. Thanks for blessing us with the bass and for sharing! :beers:

1 Like

@everyone thank you again for joining in on another fun voyage, and for sharing the awesome flavors with us to learn and be inspired from :muscle: In hindsight, this was a trickier sample to work with, and I hope that didn’t deter more people from joining in. This upcoming week’s track is going to be considerably funky with a “new” find featuring some big OG players, and I hope to see you all there soon! :beers:

3 Likes