Nadav Poraz (WhoSampled) – Interview (Part 2)

This is the second part of the interview with Nadav Poraz from WhoSampled.com. If you haven’t done so already, check out Part 1 here.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I’ve been a music fan since about the age of 8. I guess the first band I really got into was The Police – I bought all their back-catalogue when I was 10! My taste in music has changed quite dramatically since then though.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a file on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

Yes, I have a label called Buffalo Frequency (http://www.buffalofrequency.com) and I’ve released a few hard electro tunes under the name Spinks. Here is a snippet from a live performance I did in Japan a couple of years back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrTVchQDW8

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

My biggest passions of the last 15 years or so have definitely been electronic music and hip-hop. It does have a lot to do with my love of sampling. I’m a big fan of Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim and the earlier Chemical Brothers and Prodigy stuff, and on the hip-hop side Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, Kanye West and even stuff like Jedi Mind Tricks. But I like loads of other genres too – Reggae, Funk and more recently even some World music.

If you had to name the song that moves you the most, what would it be? Can you pinpoint the reason why?

Tricky’s Hell is Round the Corner is amazing. I’ve got a special place in my heart for it – it came out at a time when I really connected to it emotionally. It’s based on an Isaac Hayes sample and I’ve given it the honour of being the first sample to be entered into the database in the days before the site launched:

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/1/Tricky-Hell%20is%20Round%20the%20Corner_Isaac%20Hayes-Ike%27s%20Rap%20II/

Is there a song that – to you – captures the spirit of your site and what you have set out to do? What would it be?

It’s hard to name just one but if I must I’d pick Rapper’s Delight by the Sugarhill Gang’s sample of Chic’s Good Times:

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/100/Sugarhill%20Gang-Rapper%27s%20Delight_Chic-Good%20Times/

It’s a song that captures not only that golden moment when Hip-Hop surfaced to the limelight, but also the very essence of sampling: find an incredible groove, loop it, rap on top of it and have the best party in the world.

Thank you so much for your time, Nadav!

1 thought on “Nadav Poraz (WhoSampled) – Interview (Part 2)

  1. Pingback: Nadav Poraz (WhoSampled) – Interview (Part 1) | MusicKO

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