Creating through Collaging
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Introduction
For this music piece, I explored the intersection of hip-hop sampling and Indian classical music, inspired by examples like Kendrick Lamar’s creative use of samples—such as reversing Beach House’s *Silver Soul* for *Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe*. Similarly, hip-hop producer Timbaland has fused traditional Carnatic sounds with modern beats.

In my composition, I experimented with a collage of instruments like the sitar, flute, and tabla, blending sourced sounds with those provided in class. The goal was to craft a piece that sounded familiar to those who knew trap music, while at the same time sounding familiar to those who know Indian classical.

Making a 2-Bar Measure
As I progressed through making a set of 2 bars I felt satisfied with, I noticed the cuts I was making to the instruments were really small, and I was arranging everything in a way that felt trappy.


I started with cutting an Indian melody that had tabla and strings that I found online. I made really small cuts and was able to isolate different parts of the tabla. I added in the flute, getting to a rhythm in the bar. I repeated both sequences into the next bar, adding some variety in the pattern by experimenting with timing.


As I started to build out the melody, I used a free trap beat I found online and warped it a LOT. I combined it with the same Indian instrumental I cut for the beat, but a different section, to get the final melody.


The last step was adding in drums from the breaks we practiced with in class. I used Ebony Jam, and chopped it up to create two drum layers that function like a kick and a hi-hat.
Building it Out

I looked up how a trap beat actually gets made, since I really wanted to focus on the buildup and close of my mix on this assignment. I wanted to experiment with different combinations of sound, and how I could manipulate my arrangement to be more engaging and tell a story instead of just a loop of sound. The different parts of the mix are:
 

  1. Drums only
  2. Tabla intro
  3. Flute intro
  4. Indian melody intro
  5. Trap intro
  6. Final beat loop
  7. Cut drums
  8. Add chopped sitar melody
  9. Drums come back
  10. Tabla/flute cut
  11. Everything cuts except the melody

Final Product

The final product ended up being very close to what I wanted. I see a strong dance influence in the mix, and could easily picture Indian classical dancers doing Bharatnatyam or Kathak, two Indian classical styles, to the mix. I think if I had to continue working on this beat, I’d want to play with the melody more and try to make it more varied with a sitar.